DIY Pinecone Firestarters

Super simple and AWESOME neighbor/friend holiday gift
DIY Project: Pinecone fire starters

Materials:
1. pinecones
2. twine (candle wick would work too)
3. double broiler (or a saucepan and large glass measuring cup)
4. cooking oil
5. essential oils (of your choice)
6. candle wax, about ¾ cup per pinecone (we used white beeswax which worked well but have read that paraffin is more flammable)
7. various bowls/containers for setting the pinecone in wax

Instructions:
1.boil water in your double boiler, or in your pot and place the glass measuring cup in the boiling water. pour wax beads into the glass measuring cup (each pinecone took about ¾ of a cup) and a few drops of Spark Naturals Essential Oil.
2. wrap the twine around and through the base of the pinecone. stay farther down on the pinecone but don’t be afraid to wrap it many times around. do not cut the twine.
3. find a bowl, jar or cup that the pinecone fits into well. you want the base of the bowl to be close to the sides of the pinecone. we used about 6 various vessels from the kitchen.
4. using a dish cloth, rub oil all around the inside of the bowl (oil well, as it will be much easier to both pull the pinecone out as well as clean when you are done). place the pinecone with the twine “wick” inside the bowl. let the twine sit outside the bowl.
5. when the wax has fully melted, slowly poor the wax into the bowl with the pinecone. if the bowl is not clear it is a bit harder to tell how much you should poor but ours all had about ¾ inch of wax once they were removed. don’t worry too much about this because they dry fast and once you pull them out you can always put them back in (re-oil your bowl!) and add more wax.
6. after about five minutes, pull the pinecone out slowly with a twisting motion.
7. cut the wick. you’re finished!

For full details and descriptions click on this link!
http://www.designsponge.com/2010/03/diy-project-pinecone-fire-starter.html