Come On Baby, Light My Fire

If you’ve read my story, you’ll know that I went from desert rat to mountain woman in about six hours flat (the time it took to U-Haul ourselves up here). Needless to say it took some adjusting.

One of the many educations I got was in wood burning stoves.

The first time I ever lit a fire in our stove Travis was away on a work detail when a cold snap hit, and I had literally had to have a friend draw me a diagram of how to set up newspaper, kindling, and wood to start and maintain a fire. I had to learn that a damper has nothing to do with being or making anything damp. I became very familiar with the smell of smoke, and got lots of splinters. I also learned that newspaper was messy, stinky, and an enemy I didn’t know I had.

After paying $10 for twenty packets of the commercially sold stuff for a while, and trying to make friends with newspaper when I got sick of paying that (it didn’t work out between us), I figured hey, lots of stuff is flammable, there must be something that’s safe to use in a stove right? Of course Ana White came to the rescue with this post about making fire starters from sawdust. I do it a little differently, but the basic concept is the same.

You can make these in a big log, like Ana did, but I like to make mine in cupcake tins! It makes them the perfect size to place under some kindling and get you going. It starts a good, hot fire quickly with no mess and no smoke!

I accumulated the cupcake tins I use at yard sales and flea markets to be used specifically for this purpose. The first time I made them, I chose to line them with a little square of newspaper because I didn’t know how easily they would come out of the tin. It turns out this was accidentally brilliant, but more on that in a bit.

You'll Need:

Paraffin wax 

I use GulfWax 16 oz. bars

Saw chips or saw dust 

Shop dust even works if it’s untreated wood. I’ve used pine and hardwood dust when in a pinch

Newspaper

Cut into roughly 4”x4” squares

Cupcake tin(s)

Something to melt your wax in

I use a flea market found beauty shop wax warmer, but you could also use a double boiler. Remember that paraffin is flammable, so no direct heat!

Mixing bowl and spoon

Here we go!

Melt your wax.

I usually make several “batches” at a time, so I use at least two 16 oz. boxes of Gulfwax.  The brand is great because there are actually four bars that come apart, making it quicker to melt. It takes about an hour.

Mix it up

Once your wax is melted, add about one and a half red Solo cups (very technical here, guys) of this beautiful stuff to your mixing bowl.

I like using a coffee can because 1. Lord knows we have an abundance, and 2. Because you can store extra newspaper and your cups in it when it’s not in use. Pour or scoop enough wax into the saw chips to make the mixture moist. There’s really no science here, but you're going for just a bit more wood than wax.

Line your cupcake tin with the newspaper.

I initially did this to make sure I could get them out of the tins easily. I planned on removing the fire starters from the paper and using them naked, so to speak. They work great like that as well, but I found they can take a little while to light. If you leave them wrapped in newspaper, all you have to do is light a few corners of the paper. The paper lights immediately and it does the work of lighting the cupcake for you.

Scoop some of your saw chip mixture into the paper, and pack it down. I level mine out just below the rim of the tin. 

This is what they look like "naked".

It's best to store them wrapped up so they don't come apart on you.

Repeat this a few dozen times and you have yourself some firecakes! On average, two pounds of wax makes us about four and a half to five dozen cupcakes.

Here are a couple pictures of them in action...

Better fire-builders can make a great fire with a tee-pee. I'm loyal to the lean-to.

Still in there working hard

Three minutes flat. I timed myself.

Give them a try! If you heat your home with a wood stove, I promise these will make your life easier.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Cassie