How To Make Fire Starters For Free — A few years ago I had some leftover wax after makeing my old candles into new candles. At the time, I wasn’t sure exactly what I was going to do with it–but it felt kind of like a waste the extra wax and to throw it away. Then, lo and behold, I happened upon my friend, Jane’s, idea to turned them into little fire starters.
Reduce, Reuse and Recycyle… That’s what we’re supposed to do, right?
So anyway, I thought I would share this clever little tip with you again because I think these little DIY fire starters would make fantastic inexpensive FREE hostess gifts for anyone with a wood burning fireplace or stove…or even a couple wrapped in cellophane for the campers in your life.
Supplies
Unscented candle wax {I used leftover wax from old candles}
Twigs {my friend Jane uses sawdust or wood shavings}
A double boiler
Old muffin tin, egg cartons, toilet paper or paper towel rolls
How To Make Fire Starters — For Free
I wanted a more rustic looking fire starter so used bit of torn tissue paper and small twigs instead of sawdust. Start by breaking/tearing the twigs and tissue paper up and placing them in the container of your choice.
Melt the wax using a double boiler. You can use an {old} regular saucepan too, you’ll just have to watch it super close. If you are using unscented wax, you can add a couple drops of essential oils to the melted wax. {Cinnamon is my favorite}.
Once the wax is completely melted, pour it over the twigs and tissue paper. Allow the wax to dry completely.
Pop those little suckers out of the container and you have yourself some free fire starters. Seriously, ingenious, right!?
**To use the fire starters, place one under the logs in the fire, light her up, and it will stay lit long enough for the fire to take hold in the logs.
Free and useful. It doesn’t get much better than that.
~Mavis
Delores says
Fire starters are great! I learned to make smaller ones, but very easy to make:
cardboard egg cartons
dryer lint
wax
put lint in each egg cup, put melted wax over top, then light the carton part on fire when you want to use them.
I am thinking I could just add the lint to your combo.
Thanks for your awesome blog!
Nancy from mass says
That’s what I do top!
Rita says
I used to use the little white paper catsup cups you use at a restaurant. Filled them sticks and candle wax. I use an old crock pot to keep my candle wax in. Pinecones are nice because they crackle in the fire. I stick a little rolled lint for a wick. I also cut cardboard about 3 x 4 or 5 inches and dip half of the cardboard into the wax. Then with all the junk mail I get, I use the envelopes, put a piece of dipped cardboard in the envelope along with the junk mail that came with the envelope. These are great to take camping. I call them redneck fire starters. Great fun and useful xmas gift for campers or those with a fireplace.
Carrie says
we also do egg crates. The ones from Costco’s 5 doz pack are the best. We use wood shavings (from when my husband is sawing the logs for our wood supply) and wax (we just ordered something cheap from amazon). My mom also dips pine cones to make them.
Michelle says
Hey could you use poppouri
Carla says
Once I threw a handful of old pot pourri into our woodstove, then went outside for a minute. Our front yard smelled great! Always thought that would be a nice thing to do when expecting company.
Jennifer says
My husband makes a mixture similar to Delores. They use these Scout camping all the time. Works way better than rubbing 2 sticks together! Lol
Cass says
What Delores said….dryer lint and old/recycled wax in paper egg cartons….just break one off the dozen and put in the bottom of the fire place/pit/stove and off you go. I buy candles cheap and set them on the top of the wood stove to melt them and pour directly from original candle container into the egg carton. Sometimes it takes me a couple weeks to have enough wax to do up a full dozen….but it’s worth the wait. (Be sure to put something plastic under the egg carton because the wax will soak through and ruin anything you have set it on)
amy says
One year for Christmas, we made a cute kit for a friend that had just moved into a home with a wood stove We made fire starters like these but topped with collected pinecones for cuteness sake. We also included a log carrier made from a couple thick dowels and some fabric from the thrift shop. They use that log carrier every single day in the winter still.
Mavis says
That is such an awesome gift idea!
Lisa Millar says
Thanx for this post!
Definitely going to make some of these – for us but also as presents (I am going to try to take a leaf out of the book of one of your readers that said her family did all home made presents for Christmas!)
Beth Anne says
Love this idea! Just wrote down so I can make for family next year. I will be using pine cones I think. 🙂
Mavis – did you see the posts going around at the holidays for the birdseed “ornaments” you mix up, cut out with cookie cutters, make holes for hanging, dry and hang from trees? That’s another cool “woodsy” craft. Neat for bird lovers. 😉 Might be fun to make seasonal ones for all the fall/winter/spring holidays.
I just started a list, may try some of these next Christmas for teacher gifts at the school I work at, shhhh! 😉
Tiffany F says
Does the wax not leave a mess in your fireplace? Does all of it burn up? I love this idea!
Cass says
I have never seen any wax left inside my wood stove….it all burns off….
Julie says
Thank you! My question too 🙂 Wouldn’t want to leave a mess for my gift recipient! AKA my mom – which would mean I’d be cleaning it up! Hehe
Ian Anderson says
We have loads of cardboard egg trays and pine cones around the place so I’ll definitely be experimenting with this idea, thanks!
Love the idea of using the leftover candles for something too, it’s been buggin’ me for years lol!
Stay well
Mavis says
Glad to help. Let us know how it works for you if you try it out!
Mindy says
Is there a reason you can not use scented candles, but you can add a scent at the end?
Cass says
I use ANY candle wax that isn’t burned up by the wick at 99.9% of mine are scented. You don’t smell the scent when you use it to start a wood fire, so spending money to ADD scent would be a waste.
Jane says
I know that in the instructions that came with our stove years ago (a Jotul) it said that paper with colored ink should not be burned because the dyes can produce a residue. I also came across this article http://www.woodheat.org/poison.html (read 3rd paragraph) where it says the dyes can create a chemical reaction you don’t want in your home or stove. I don’t know if scent would fall into this category so we stick to non-colored, non-scented candles for our fire starters. 🙂
Mavis Butterfield says
Thanks for the link Jane {and all your wood stove tips}. I caught the HH researching Jotul stoves yesterday. 😉
Gigi says
I have never used one, but isn’t it a double boiler not broiler?
Linda Harber says
I made these recently for a camping trip and they saved the day!
Mary Dove says
I have a lot of old broken crayons from grandkids. Can you use that for the wax?
Linda Sand says
Yes, you can use crayons but, if you don’t separate the colors, your candles will all be black.