These DIY fire starters make a beautiful, slightly fragrant 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 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 to thinking about making some more fire starters with pretty dried materials and wax. Instead of egg cartons, I used paper muffin liners.
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How to Make Homemade Fire Starters
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.
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.
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.
P.S. You may also enjoy this post about making Homemade Fire Starters from herbs in the backyard or this Homemade Apple and Orange Potpourri. You can find them and many more creative ideas on my DIY Projects page.
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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.