These DIY natural fire starters make a beautiful, practical gift for the holidays. Inexpensive and easy to create for everyone on your list.
We enjoy a good wood burning fire during the winter. To get things going, we use my Herbal Homemade Fire Starters made from garden herbs and twine. However, they usually don't last very long.
Recently, I remembered making fire starters as a Girl Scout. We would use cardboard egg cartons and fill them with dryer lint and paraffin wax. Sometimes we would even use dried leaves.
This got me thinking about making some fire starters with pretty dried materials and wax. Instead of egg cartons, I used paper muffin liners.
You sometimes see them in the store, made with sawdust and wood chips. However, these made with pine, cinnamon, and or orange peels have a nice aroma and look great too.
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Supplies
- Paper muffin liners
- Paraffin or candle wax
- Clippings from the yard -- pine, non-toxic berries, mini pine cones
- Citrus peels - orange, lemon, grapefruit
- Cinnamon chips or sticks
We have a lot of hemlock trees in our yard. I'm always thinking of ways to use the adorable mini pine cones from those trees. Once, I made tabletop Pine Cone Christmas Trees with them.
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They were perfect for this craft. I also used some dogwood berries and some crushed-up cinnamon sticks. Don't you think this combination looks Christmassy?
In another batch, I added dried orange peel instead of the berries. You can do this easily by simply peeling just the outside layer of any citrus fruit with a vegetable peeler.
The only caveat is that it may take a couple of weeks to dry out. If you are in a hurry, you can buy some or try placing them on a cookie sheet in a low-temperature oven for a few hours.
How to Make Natural Fire Starters
- Gather evergreens, non-toxic berries, and mini pine cones from the yard.
- Place the natural materials into a muffin pan with paper liners. Include spices and dried fruit from the house in the mix if desired, such as cinnamon chips and dried citrus peels.
- Melt paraffin or wax like beeswax pellets in a double boiler or simply use a can or glass measuring cup set in an old pan of water on the stove.
- Carefully pour the wax over the plant materials in the muffin liners.
- Once dry, remove the muffin liner fire starters from the muffin tins.
- Bag up and gift.
They turned out really nice, and I will be giving some to all my fire loving friends this season.
When tested, we noticed that they worked best if lighted from the top. You may still need some smaller sticks or other kindling to get the fire going, but these DIY fire starters were a great start.
Aren't they pretty? Just another example of how the beauty of nature makes everything look so good.
Homemade Natural Fire Starters
Equipment
- Old pot
- can or glass cup to melt wax in
Materials
- Paper muffin liners
- Paraffin or candle wax
- Clippings from the yard -- pine non-toxic berries, mini pine cones
- Citrus peels - orange lemon, grapefruit
- Cinnamon chips or sticks
- Candle wicking optional
Instructions
- Gather evergreens, non-toxic berries, and mini pine cones from the yard.
- Place muffin liners in a muffin pan.
- Place plant materials from the yard including cinnamon chips and dried citrus peels in the muffin liners.
- Melt paraffin or candle wax in a can or glass measuring cup set in an old pan of water on the stove.
- Carefully pour the wax over the plant materials in the muffin liners.
- Allow to dry and remove the fire starters from the muffin tins.
Notes
Brenda
How full do you pour the parafin wax in the cupcake holders?
Patti Estep
Brenda, I pour the wax close to the top. However, you could use a little less and they would still work.
Linda
Nice! Do you peel them from the cupcake liners before burning or giving them as gifts? Or do you leave the paper liner on?
Linda
Patti Estep
Linda, I leave the liners on and they burn just fine.
Wendy
Doesn’t the wax mess up the fireplace and make it hard to clean?
Patti Estep
Wendy, I can see why you might be concerned. However, I can only tell you that I have not had a problem. The wax should burn away and dissipate with the plant materials as the fire burns.
Sue
Would these work in a wood burning stove? They are so cute!
Sue
Patti Estep
Sue, I'm sorry I have no experience with a wood burning stove. It would seem to me to be okay but I would do some research on it first.
MrsSW
Thanks, I see that now. So pretty. The birds get ours before anyone has a chance to get a good look at them.
Sheila
Carole West
Good Morning Patti - these are so cute and now I'm wishing I had an outdoor fire pit. Love this for gift giving, you have the best ideas and love how nature inspires so many of your fun projects.
Patti Estep
Thanks Carole and a great reminder to use them in a fire pit. I'm already focused on indoor projects as it's super cold here! Thanks for reminding me that many people still have nice enough weather to create a beautiful fire outdoors.
Amanda
Very pretty. Makes me wish I had a fireplace
Vicki Newton
i used to work for a woman who made these every year....she also used dryer lint at the bottom...pour the wax over and then secure cones ,etc
Patti Estep
Vicki, I bet added dryer lint to the bottom helps a lot with burning. Great suggestion.
MrsSW
Good morning, Patti - these cute fire starters make me wish we had a wood burning fireplace! Maybe I could make some and put them in a basket near the hearth anyway. They should be OK if I keep them far enough away from the gas logs that they won't melt.
Sheila
Patti Estep
Sheila, that would be so cute. I don't think you have to worry about them melting near the gas logs. I plan on giving mine away but now I think maybe I should make more and find a cute basket for them too. 🙂
MrsSW
Patti - what is the red flower In the background of a couple of your pictures?
Thanks,
Sheila
Patti Estep
Sheila, those are berries from our dogwood tree. They form in little clusters so I guess that's why they look like flowers.