Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire - Pine Cone Fire Starters

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire,
Jack Frost nipping on your nose,
Yuletide carols being sung by a choir,
And folks dressed up like Eskimos.

Tis the season for making fires in the fireplace. I just love the sound of cracking wood in the fireplace and the smell that fills the house. My heart was warmed seeing my kids & husband snuggled up on the floor in front of the fire watching Rudolph last night. However, I hate the struggle of staring the fire. Especially when the wood is a bit damp like it was last night after all the rain we've had lately. We've purchased a huge box of fire starters in the past but after the kids hauled in about a million pine cones off the golf course over the weekend, I decided we'd make our own!

I won't do a tutorial here because there are MANY ways to do this all over the internet. You can soak your cones, dip your cones, add chemicals. All sorts of things. We opted for dipping ours in colored wax and giving some a sprinkle of glitter and some a sprinkle of borax or salt to make colored flames in the fire.

I think we will make a few more to give to our other fire loving friends for Christmas. Here are some links to check out if you want to make your own.

Pretty Pine Cone Fire Starters @ Suzy's Artsy Crafts Sitcom
Pine Cone Fire Starters @ About.com
Pine Cone & Other Fire Starters @ ehow.com
Info about making Colored Flames @ Spazztic Crafts
Muffin Tin Style Pine Cone Fire Starters

This was our dipping station. Check out my fancy double boiler. One empty tin can & a crappy old sauce pan. Those containers contain salt, borax & glitter. And I added a TON more foil after that. This made a bit waxy mess.

Yeah for glitter!!

Pine Cones and babies with bedhead.

See the one with "snow" that's borax. Makes the flames yellow-green.

Yes, these really do work. We tried one out last night. Have fun trying this one & stay warm!!