It's the time of year our wood stove is making the Michigan Winter a little more cozy and, let me tell you, getting that fire started some days is like pulling teeth...without anesthetic...and rusty a rusty pair of pliers. To make this task easier, I was told to make egg carton fire-starters.
They. Are. Awesome!
So, if you have a fireplace, like to go camping, or know someone this might make a fun gift for...
You Will Need:
- Recycled Material Egg Carton(not Styrofoam)
- Dryer Lint (you read that right)
- Cotton String
- Wax (old candles work well)
First, get your wax melting. You can place it in a sealed baggie in a pan of water heating on the stove or in a glass measuring cup in a pan.
Egg cartons are a little awkward to cut and I found a box cutter to simplify things. I cut the carton into strips of cups (otherwise they won't stand up) and placed them on an old cookie sheet. Then I put a piece of the cotton string in each one.
A piece of dryer lint goes on top...
When the wax is melted, pour a little in each cup, wetting the lint. If you want a more pleasant look you may also put a pine cone in the cup at this point.
Let the wax cool and you have your fire-starter.
You can also do this in small dixie cups with wood chips...........say you use your chainsaw. place the chainsaw chips in a 2 or 3 ounce paper cup and pour over some hot wax. You don't even need a wick, Let dry and just light the cup.....These work so well.
ReplyDeleteGreat great fire starters!
Love Jody :-)
Thanks for the tip, Jody!
ReplyDeleteAlison this is great! I'm gonna make some of these for my pyromaniac hub. It'll be a post-Christmas Christmas gift. And I hoard egg cartons so all i have to do is do the laundry and voila, I'll have everything I need. SO cool! Ya, that's a craft in my books!
ReplyDeleteI've never seen them made like this. Super cute! Thanks for the idea, I'll be linking.
ReplyDeletei make these all the time. don't bother to cut the egg cartons apart - fill each cup as you said. once they harden they are sooooo easy to just break into individual cups. you won't need the wick either b/c enough of each cup is left to catch the flame!
ReplyDeleteI used to make and sell these to a local hardware store. They really work. I used old muffin tins for them.
ReplyDeleteI've created a blog post link on my blog to your tutorial so others can enjoy it. And, by the way, I think your tutorial definately falls into the crafty category! Cheers!
ReplyDeleteAnother great tip. Thanks Lorena!
ReplyDeleteAnd thank YOU, Flash! :)
alison just thought i'd let you know that i made some of these today! thanks for the great idea!
ReplyDeleteLove to hear it, Michele!
ReplyDelete