Homemade Fire Starters

Not pretty but does the job

Hey Firestarters,

During my recent Ladies Craft Night: Poured Candles I squeezed in a second craft that has been on my crafting bucket list for years. Fire starters!

I make quite a few bonfires during the summer months and my ability to forget what I need to start a fire is unmatched (Get it? Matched?) I was inspired by The Art of Doing Stuff's Homemade Firestarters post. From top to bottom, the whole craft is very simple. Just keep a few candles that have burned out for their residual wax, an old paper egg carton, and your dryer lint (other more ambitious option include wood chips, paper towels, cotton balls, pine cones, and sawdust). I used them on an overnight trip to a few WI State Parks and they worked like a dream! Just cut them apart, stick under your future fire and light.

A few tips for prepping this project:

• The original blog post suggests that you can melt your wax in an old can on the stove. I just put my wax in a Pyrex and stuck that bad boy in the microwave for a minute and a half or until it melted.
• Take the metal wick holders out of your old candle wax before you put in the microwave.
• Place your carton on a surface that you don't mind catching wax that has seeped through. Maybe lay down some paper grocery bags first.

Fanning the flames of my heart, BK