Pinecone Firestarters

I found these on somethingturquoise.com a while back. They were intended to be wedding favors (which is why they each have a tag), but I thought how lovely these would be in a basket on the hearth, and since they don’t seem that difficult to make, I wouldn’t feel too badly using them as they are intended to be, as firestarters.  Pretty and practical sounds like a win to me.  Of course my fire place hasn’t been used in a decade and we have no fire wood, and I need to get my husband on board here since I have no clue how to go about making sure my chimney is clean and safe and functional, but that’s another issue altogether.

pinecone

Her tutorial has tons of pictures and lots of tips. It’s a lot to scroll through and I have the basic idea, so I am just getting the streamlined version down here for easy reference.

Waxed Pinecone Firestarters

2 lb. Soy wax flakes
Pinecones
Candle fragrance oil
Candle dye blocks, chopped into small pieces
Wired candle wicking
Wooden spoon
Large heat proof container
Frying pan / pot
Wax paper
Scissors
Cute tags and twine

Use the heat proof container (such as a glass bowl or large measuring cup) and the frying pan to create a double boiler. Melt the wax slowly over the boiling water, stirring with the wooden spoon. Add color block pieces to the melted wax. Add candle fragrance oil if desired. Pinecones will dip best if the wax is cooled down to 130-140 degrees. This will take 20-30 minutes, but depending on the size of your container, it could take more or less time. Set up your dipping station, protecting your surface with waxed paper or aluminum foil. While waiting for them to cool, wick your pinecones. Use about 12 inches per cone (unless your cones are especially large or small). Fold in half and tie a loop knot in the center of the wick. Hold the loop at the top of the cone and wrap the wicks around the cone, each in the opposite direction. Tuck the ends into the pinecone. When wax has cooled to temperature, hold each cone by the loop and submerge into the hot wax, allowing extra wax to strain off the cone. Set aside on a sheet of waxed paper and repeat for remaining cones. One the first coat is done, the pinecones need to set for about 15 minutes. When dry, break off any extra wax “feet” on the bottom of the cone and set aside to re-melt with your wax later. Each cone should be dipped 2-4 times; it depends on how you want them to look. You will have to re-melt your wax after the second dipping. When pinecones have enough coats, dip the wick loop.

  • If you dip the pinecones while the wax is too hot it will take forever to build the wax coat
  • If you dip too cold you can get lumps in your wax and uneven areas, plus it’s hard to do
  • If your wax gets too hard, re-melt it
  • Strain as much wax off each pinecone as you can
  • Let your pinecones dry for at least 15 minutes in between each dip
  • Use your spoon to help you submerge the pinecones
  • Let them dry on waxed paper
  • Dip each pinecone 2-4 times
  • If the wax on your pinecone looks dull, it means it was dipped in cool wax
  • To get a shiny look on your last coat, use hotter wax