Have you ever used fire starters made out of wood shavings? While camping early last summer at Patoka, we bought one at the camp store. It was fabulous! I really don’t know what it was made of, but it was in one of those small paper cups you keep near your fridge. The friend I was with had been talking about making some ever since, so she could use them in their backyard firepit.
Make Wood Shavings for Fire Starters
So, I made those tree branch and log candle holders. See, she was worried about chemicals in the fire starters, so I didn’t want to use lumber to make the shavings/sawdust. Look at those fabulous wood shavings!!!
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I placed a piece of vinyl wallpaper under my work table to collect the sawdust and shavings.
Recycled Egg Cartons
The darker shavings are from the horizontal log candle holder and the sawdust looking stuff is from the vertical candle holders. My friend Regina had saved the egg cartons. I cut the lids off of four of the egg cartons. I also used a half dozen of the small paper cups. Now all I need is wax!
Upcycled Candles – A Frugal Choice
Another friend donated a jar candle for this project. I examined it closely to make sure it didn’t have a metal wick plate on the bottom. Setting the microwave on MELT seemed like the best way to go about this. Patience is the key here. Unfortunately, I lost track of how much time this took, but I did it in 5 minute increments, never leaving the melting wax unattended. I noticed that once it started melting, the hot wax did a better job of making the candle continue to melt.
Have you ever burned yourself with hot wax? It’s not fun, so be very cautious when transporting it. I put the jar of melted wax into a plastic measuring pitcher to carry it outside to my work table.
Pour Melted Candle Wax over Wood Shavings
Carefully, I transferred the wax into the pitcher for pouring.
Looks easy enough, right?
Can Pine Cones be used as Fire Starters?
While I was at it, I dipped some pinecones from my yard in the wax. They seem like they might make a good fire.
Divide Egg Carton Sections
If you wait till the wax sets up, but is still slightly warm, the egg carton is easily cut with a larger serrated knife. You wouldn’t want to let the wax get too hard.
Once the egg cartons are cut, each one sort of resembles the Flying Nun!
Store Fire Starters in Lid
Can you see how much cuter they look now that I trimmed their points off? I suppose you could leave the points on to give extra burning material for your fire. Did you notice they are resting in the lid of the egg carton? It’s a handy way to transport and store them.
I was anxious to test all three varieties to see which worked best!
Which Fire Starter Works Best?
I placed each of the three fire starters in my fire pit and lit them. I used a lighter, but I prefer to use long wooden matches.
Can you see the progression of the fire? Which fire starter do you think worked the best? The time lapse of these photos is about 35 minutes. Honestly, I don’t think I had the best wood. They were all small logs and branches, none of the wood was split.
Yummy Toasted Marshmallows
Another 30 minutes, and the hot coals of the wood were perfect for roasting marshmallows! BUT! It started raining, and my fun was suddenly over! Only after I popped these yummy marshmallows in my mouth!
So, if you want to make sure your fire starters are chemical free, make your own! My friend didn't want to roast hot dogs and marshmallows over those easy start logs, so we found another way to start fires easily!
How do you like your marshmallows? Do you catch them on fire, or are you more like me and LOVE them when they are a crispy golden brown? If you have any great tips for s'mores, please leave a comment below. I like them, but I prefer them when the graham crackers are soft, not firm.
gail
Tressa
Thanks for this post! This is exactly the route I was hoping to go and I'm glad to see you have done it successfully. Looking forward to repurposing pine bedding from our hedgehog cage into fire starters for our wood furnace. And I believe I have more than a few old candles I can use for wax!
Gail Wilson
Awesome idea Tressa!!
Good luck, and enjoy your firestarters.
gail
Jennie
This was really funny timing for this blog post. Our home had a 50+ year old, 45’ tall pine tree in our front yard. During a particularly bad monsoon storm last month it fell across our yard, the street, and squashed my neighbors cars. All is well, thank God no one was hurt but when they cut it up there were hundreds of pine cones everywhere. See there was something I could have done with them.
Gail Wilson
Ohhh, no! You didn't save any? they make really great firestarters! Especially when they're dry.
I'm so happy to hear no one was hurt! That's really scary.
gagil
Elic
Another good thing to use to start fires is dryer lint. My sister just uses the lint, but I've also seen it with lint and wax. Since cotton fabric makes lint more than other fabrics, you don't end up with a lot of chemicals.
And I like my marshmallows just golden and crispy on the outside and warm and gooey on the inside. I do agree with the graham crackers being softer rather than crispy. However, due to my corn allergy, the only marshmallows I can safely eat are "Dandies" since they have tapioca starch rather than corn starch. However, I've been on a diet for almost 5 months - I've lost over 10 pounds, maybe closer to 15 or 20 and eating marshmallows isn't on my diet.
Gail Wilson
Elic,
Congrats on the weight loss! You like the marshmallows just the way I do. I've heard about dryer lint. Currently, I have a whole bin full, maybe I'll do some of that for fall. I think people put it in tissue rolls?
gail
Alicia
Love, love, love this idea. No waste projects are fantastic
Gail Wilson
Thank you Alicia, I totally agree! 🙂
gail
Helen
Love this idea and can't wait to get started!
Gail Wilson
They work soooo well!
good luck!
gail
Nola Adams
One way I like is I crush the graham crackers to make them small crumbs kid u not then I melt the chocolate. Yes it can be done on the fire. And then when I get the marshmallow light golden brown I dip it in chocolate then the graham cracker. .best way to eat them
Gail Wilson
Oh my gosh, Nola, I LOVE this idea! Sounds soooo yummy. Thanks for sharing that tip with us!
gail
Jennie Wallick
Great idea. We have no burn days here in the desert Southwest in our “winter” which is really like your fall temp wise. The pollution gets awful so no pit fires, Bon fires, or wood burning fireplaces. So I have a gas fire table. Great for marshmallows. Grand children (the second came last Saturday) are too young so it can’t be on when they’re here.
Have you ever made your own marshmallows? Alton Brown’s recipe is the best. I make them for hot chocolate (also Alton Brown’s recipe). This makes a nice hostess gift with a couple of mugs, a mason jar of hot chocolate mix, one of marshmallows, and some homemade cookies in a cute basket. You could easily cut the marshmallows bigger to use in s’mores.
Gail Wilson
As always Jennie, you have the BEST tips! We were in a major drought for a couple of months. However with some much needed rain, we're a lot better. This is the first fire in my pit since Spring. At the campgrounds, everybody has fires EVERY night, no matter the temperature. I've only had a few this past season, and none last year. (it was too hot)
I haven't made my own marshmallows, but I've seen easy recipes. I LOVE marshmallows in any form. heheheh
gail