DIY Fire Starters for Camping

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These DIY fire starters for camping make it SUPER easy to start a campfire! Not only that, they’re made with materials that you probably already have in the house.

In the video below, you’ll learn step-by-step how to make your own fire starters. Watch the video, grab your materials, and let’s get crafty!

How to Make Fire Starters for Camping: (video tutorial)

Supplies You’ll Need:

• 1 empty egg carton
• parchment paper
• scissors
• yarn
• plain unscented candle wax (in the video I used a 3×3 candle, but I recommend using a few smaller ones so they melt easier)
• an empty tin can (I reused an empty bean can)
• dryer lint (or newspaper if you don’t have dryer lint)

How to Make Fire Starters: (written instructions)

1. Cut the top and side flap off of the egg carton. Then, cut the egg carton into 12 ‘pods’ trying to maintain the shape as much as you can.
2. Stuff each of the egg carton pods with a ball of dryer lint. If using the newspaper, crumble a small piece into a ball and place into the pod. Fold over the corners of the egg carton pod.
3. Once you’re done stuffing all 12 of the egg carton pieces, it’s time to tie them shut using the yarn. If you don’t have yarn, you can even use dental floss! The purpose of tying each piece is to keep them shut, and give you something to hold onto when you dip them in wax.
4. Tie each cube like you would a present, and use double knots so it doesn’t come undone. This is the most time consuming part of the process, so it’s a great time to put on an audiobook or a podcast, and just relax!
5. Melt the wax. In the video above, I have a single big candle. I actually recommend that you get smaller pieces of unscented candle wax because it’s a lot easier to melt!
6. To melt the wax, I use the double broiler method over the stove. Fill a small pot with water about half way, and heat over medium heat. Add your candle wax to the tin can and place the tin can inside the water in the pot. Do not leave this unattended. The wax will slowly begin to melt.
7. Line you craft table with parchment paper. CAREFULLY transfer the tin with the melted wax to a towel on your craft table. It will be HOT!
8. Now we’re ready to dip the fire starters into the wax. Grab one of the fire starters by the extra yarn and dip it into the wax. You can use a spoon to gently press the pod down into the wax. It will start to bubble a little bit as the wax fills the pod.
9. Lift the pod out of the wax, let any excess drip off, and then place it onto the parchment paper to cool. Repeat for all 12 fire starters.
10. Once the wax has cooled, you can cut off some of the excess string to make them look a little neater.

These DIY fire starters can be used on all your car camping trips!

They made a great addition to any camp kitchen gear kit.

Once lit, they’ll burn for about 10 minutes while you build your fire around it. I bring these on all my car camping trips and friends and family are always impressed by how well they work.

I hope you have fun making these. If you have any questions, ask me in the comments below.