Seasonal Crafts: Make Your Own Fire Starters

Make your own decorative fire starters with these simple instructions.

All you need are some dry twigs or pinecones, a little candle wax, and glitter!

• Find about 12 skinny, straight twigs, all about the same thickness and about six inches long.
• Bundle the twigs together by tying them in the middle of the bunch with cotton string.
• Melt some old candle stubs or wax in a wide tin can set in a saucepan of simmering water.
• When the wax has melted, use tongs to dip the bundle of twigs carefully into the wax.
• Lift the twigs out onto newspaper, and sprinkle them with gold, silver, or colored glitter before the wax hardens.
• When the wax is cold, tie the bundle with raffia or colored string.
• Instead of twigs, you can use pinecones (the size of eggs).
• Dip the cones into the hot wax and then sprinkle them with glitter.
• For a nice gift, put 12 glittery cones in an empty paper egg carton or small wicker basket, and decorate with a pretty ribbon.

Illustrated by Margo Letourneau