How to Make Pine Cone Fire Starters!!

This is the greatest idea EVER!  They are super easy to make and they make starting a fire so simple.  Their is a ton of info on line on how to make pine cone fire starters and you can really make them using a variety of materials.  I started researching on how to make them last year when I realized how much money we were spending on starter logs.  I chose the least detailed/fancy way to make them because after all I would just be throwing them in the fire.  However, if you were to give them as gifts you may want to make them a little more fancy.  Lets get started......  

First, you need paraffin wax.  You can buy this in a small block like this or you can buy it in a very large block.  I used to buy the larger size when I was into making candles several years ago.  You can also use soy or beeswax.  Cover the wax with a towel and use a hammer to break the wax into smaller pieces.

Now you have to prepare the pine cone with a wick.  I used twin but you can use any variation of rope or candle wick.

Simply wrap the wick around the pine cone by starting at the bottom and tying a knot once you reach the top.  Make sure you leave enough wick to dip the candles into the wax.

Using a double boiler you can begin to melt the wax.  The purpose of the wax is to fuel the pine cone once it starts to burn.  Since I don't have a real double boiler this is my make shift one.

You don't want the wax to be directly touching the burner.

Once all the wax is melted lower the heat and dip the pine cone into the wax.

Let the pine cone dry on some wax paper and then dip it again into the wax covering about 1/2 of the pine cone.  Do this a few times until the wax builds up.

As you can see in this picture the white wax is how the paraffin dries.  I added some beeswax into the paraffin adding the yellow color.  If you want your wax to be colored or the pine cone to have a nice smell you can buy color and sent at most craft stores and you add that to the wax once the wax is melted.

Once the wax has dried you can trim the wick and they are ready to go!  Use matches or a lighter to light the wick and watch how quickly it will start to burn.  Make sure the pine cone is in the center of stacked wood in the fireplace and if the wick burns out too quickly light the top of the pine cone.  Also, make sure that the pan you melt the wax in is an old one because you won't be able to cook with it again.  I picked up the one I used at a thrift store for a $1.00.




Pin It



Linking up to:
http://mommahenscoop.blogspot.com/
http://threemangoseeds.blogspot.com
http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/
http://serendipityandspice.blogspot.com/