Pinecone Bonefire Starter

Pick good-looking pinecones

I went to the woods and picked a few good looking pinecones. Some were extra dry, and some were not - it does not matter.

Broken crayons and candles

Then, I went to my "leftover" box. It has a mix of potentially DIY materials that are not good enough to be used in their first purpose. I had there a few boxes of candles that came broken, or their colours are not appealing to me. I also took my box of broken crayon. Yes, I know that you can melt the crayons together using a fan, but I never got to do it... So it all sits in a shameful box. Additionally, I took food can that I have in my box, that I usually use to melt wax/candles/paraffin. It was a canned corn container, a few lifetimes ago. 

Melting the candles

First, I melted the candles. The same way I melt chocolate, using a bain-marie. I melted the broken and disfavour candles. 

Making the candlewick

In the meantime, I wrapped a piece of waxed cotton string around the pinecone and left a bit of string hanging outside; this would be the candlewick. As I aim to use it as a fire-starter, I only wrapped half of the pinecone. If I wanted to make a candle, I would add a string down to the bottom. 

Stop. Checking to see that the candles are melting alright...

Picking a colour

Whilst the candles were still melting away, I went through the crayon box and picked a colour. As it was broken already, and I didn't have the entire crayon, I knew that the colour would be lighter than it is as a crayon. Plus, some of my candles were not white, therefore, their colour would affect the outcome.

Removing the candles wicks

Once the candles melted completely, I removed their wicks using chopsticks.

Adding the crayon

Then, I added half a crayon to the melted candles, and stir it (using the chopsticks) until it dissolved completely.

I noticed that the wax was not height enough for the cone to be dipped inside, so I added a few more white and off-white candles and repeated the last few steps.

Dipping the cone inside the wax

Once I was pleased with the colour (bearing in mind that the colour would be lighter once it is set), I dipped the cone inside until it was all covered in a thin semi-transparent layer of wax. I left the cone to dry on the counter for a few minutes, before dipping it again. Then, I noticed that the temperature of the wax is too hot; It did not layer up; each dipping was removing the last layer. So I removed the can from the stove and placed a plastic container with water next to it.

Dipping in cold water

After each dip in wax, I let the wax drop for a couple of seconds, before dipping it in cold water. The first few layers (about 4-5) were not noticeable, until all of a sudden... 

It was covered entirely in wax! Wow! 

Then, I decided that it was covered with enough wax for one pine cone.

I let it rest for 2 hours before touching it with my hands.

I loved it so much that the same night I invited my parents over to make a bonfire.

I placed it under a log and lit it on fire. Goodbye pretty cone, it was fun to make and so easy to start a fire with you.