Autumn is coming and there is nothing more homey than to add fragrant, homemade fire starters to your fireplace. I love to start my fires with these homemade fire starters while I am cleaning up aound the house, reading on a leisurely Saturday afternoon, or drinking a hot cup of chocolate or apple cider. Homemade fire starters are easy to make with things you have around the house. Below find out how to make egg carton homemade fire starters. Browse my blog for other homemade fire starter ideas and how to package these unique homemade fire starters for gifts during the holiday season
EGG CARTON HOMEMADE FIRE STARTERS:
ITEMS NEEDED FOR HOMEMADE FIRE STARTERS: All you need is a paper egg carton, candle wax from old candles, dryer lint (you heard rigtht), and for an extra kick some fragrance oils to get started with these homemade fire starters.
Everyone has old, unused candles and glass container candles lying around. You can melt these in a “double boiler” method. Simply fill a cooking pot with water and place the glass containers with candles inside. They will melt as the stove heats up. After the wax has melted, remove them from the stove. Careful though, handling melted wax is HOT business! Let the wax cool a little and remove the metal wicks (save the wicks for projects discussed further on this blog). If you have many old glass container candles, you can then combine all the melted wax into a measuring cup with a spout to make pouring easier for your homemade fire starters. If you do not have any old glass container candles, try purchasing paraffin wax from Wal-Mart. This is great too and you can then melt the paraffin in your microwave in any non-metal measuring cup for easier pouring. The same will work for old candles, but use the double boiler method. Just place the candles in a glass container and then place this into the cooking pot on the stove. Pull out the wicks from the candles once they start melting. When your wax is sufficiently melted enough, you are ready to start assembling your hamemade fire starters.
Next, line the bottom of each section of the egg crate with your dryer lint. Dryer lint is highly combustible and works as a great base for your homemade fire starters. Then, pour in the melted wax into each section just to the brim of each individual egg hole.
Then for your fragrant homemade fire starters, you can add just a drop of fragrant oils into each section of the egg carton. Mix it around while it is still hot and liquid. I use an eye dropper for this technique. I have found a great online company, The Scent Wizard's Fragrance superstore. All their 1 oz fragrance oils are under $5. I have included a list in the paragraph below for my favorite fragrance oils. You can access this site from this web. Once you have entered the web, just key in the below fragrance names in the search for box and it will pull up for ordering information. Just click on any of the banners below to access their site.
Here is a list of my personal favorites for autumn, Christmas, and coffee fragrance oils for your homemade fire starters.
Autumn: Acorn Harvest, Amish Friendship (aroma of fresh baked bread with notes of risin, nut and strawberries), Apple Cinnamon (apples with warm spicy cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla notes), and Baked Pie.
X-mas: Holiday Pine, 7up Pound Cake (hints of vanilla, almond, brown sugar, and roasted pecans), Pumpkin Spice, Apple Crisp (applies with warm spicy cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla notes),Vanilla Cinnamon.
Coffee: Amaretto, Hazelnut, Chocolate Raspberry, Mocha Cappuccino, and Coffee
As I stated, these fragrace oils for your homemade fire starters are not expensive and should last you through the next Christmas season, but if you are like me, you will use them up. They make great hostess gifts for your holiday parties. (See other blogs for packaging/holiday gift ideas for your homemade fire starters.)
After you have added the fragrance oil and the wax hardens, close the lid of the egg carton and store your homemade fire starters in the freezer until you want to use them. When ready to use these homemade fire starters, simply cut off a piece of the egg carton and place it in the bottom of your fireplace. It lights easy and burns long enough to get the rest of the fire started.
Browse through the rest of the blog for other great Christmas projects that are cheap, aromatic, and decorative. Enjoy!
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