homemade fire starters

for father’s day last month, we made some fire starters.

supplies:

• an old egg carton
• wax for melting (candle ends with wicks removed, or broken crayons, or canning/sealing wax)
• dryer lint

we stuffed dryer lint into the spaces of an egg carton.

i took some candle pieces (wicks removed) and put them in a heat-safe measuring cup.

i melted the wax in a pot of boiling water. be really careful that everything is steady and safe. have some oven mitts nearby.

it took a few minutes of boiling and stirring for the wax to melt. very hot!

using an oven mitt to hold the cup…

i poured the wax over the lint in the egg cartons.

you can put a cookie sheet or newspaper underneath as some of the wax can seep through the egg carton.

we let it cool completely (a couple of hours), and that was it.

i tested it out in the chiminea. i tore out one of the egg compartments, lit it, and it burned for over 5 minutes.

we had a bit of rain during this last camping trip, and it was helpful in getting those soggy logs going.