Fire Starters

Happy New Year!!! There’s nothing like celebrating the new year with a nice warm fire. If you’re in the colder areas of the world, inside is always comfy… but if you live somewhere a little warmer like me, it is the perfect time to grab a blanket and sit outside around a campfire. One of the most annoying parts about having a fire is starting it. I know, I know… I was a girl scout, so I know how to do it properly. But the easier the better sometimes, right? So when I found these homemade fire starters out of things I already have around the house, I had to test them out!

I used:

wax from old candles and wax burners
lint from my dryer
a pot and a metal bowl to act as a double broiler
flexible chocolate or soap molds
Stove top
Oven Mitt

I started by stuffing a bit of dryer lint into each of the molds. It tends to expand, so I did my best to keep it balled up without exploding out of the mold. When I got those situated, I set those aside. On the stove, I boiled about 2” of water in my pot.

Once it got to boiling, I turned down the heat so it would stay simmering but not boil over and put my metal bowl carefully inside the pot so the water could heat it up. I placed a few handfuls of my extra wax in the bowl and stirred it around as it melted. Of course it smelled amazing! Now that the wax was melted, I used my oven mitt to pour it gently into the molds. You’ll notice the dryer lint squishing a little bit. This is the perfect time to push a little extra in your molds if needed.

It took about half an hour for the wax to cool down so I could pop them out of their molds. Now they’re super adorable wax starters! The dryer lint catches on fire easily, and the wax will burn slow enough that the flame will catch the wood on fire. Plus, it smells amazing as it burns! Have fun and enjoy your (safe) fires 😊 As always, if you take any fun pictures or videos, tag me on Instagram @SmileMakePeopleWonder and use the hashtag #DandelionSmiles. Don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss out on the next exciting idea.