Google+ House Revivals: Pretty Fire Starter Gifts From Recycled Scentsy Wax

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Pretty Fire Starter Gifts From Recycled Scentsy Wax

A year or two ago, my sister-in-law, Carinae, turned me on to Scentsy products. I was explaining to her that sometimes our beach house gets a slight musty, closed-in smell when we haven't been there in a while. While we do keep it heated and dried out all winter, and keep the air circulating all summer, it's hard to shake that hint of  Pacific Northwest mustiness.

Carinae explained that Scentsy wax pots are heated by those tiny little nightlight bulbs. Well, I leave nightlights on all the time, especially when we have guests, so I ordered several. Carinae recommended some scents that she thought would be a great counter to the musty smell.

The Scentsy does its job well. When we walk into the beach house, we now smell something refreshing and citrusy, or something cozy and piney, or something Christmasy!
Now most of you know that House Revivals loves to Recycle and Upcycle, right?  Well, it seemed such a waste to discard all that used up wax, without getting a second use out of it.


Enter: Dryer lint! And paper towel tubing! And rescued and recycled book pages! Turns out, you can make the loveliest firestarters with a few found and rescued items. I began by cutting the cardboard tubes into approximate two-inch lengths. I placed some pieces of rescued book paper into the bottoms of the tubes, to hold everything in. Next, I added a wad of dryer lint, and a few organics, such as a few pine needles, chamomile flowers, etc. Experiment with what you have on hand.


Over everything, pour your melted, used up, Scentsy wax. While the wax is still soft, add small pine cones and a pine sprig or two, using the wax as your 'glue'.


Now, grab a few more of your rescued vintage book pages, and wrap it around the base of your firestarter. It will have the look of a beautiful nursery gift plant -- only better, because it will have handmade charm.


Finish them off by giving them several wraps of natural jute, and tying a simple knot. You may hang a gift tag, or an instruction tag, if desired.

These are so quick and easy to make! You can easily make several on a Sunday afternoon. If you have the type of Scentsy pot that is not removable, you can always use a paper towel to soak it up, and substitute the towel for the lint in your cardboard tube. Experiment with techniques to find the one that works best for you.


To use, simply lay your wood for your fire, and lay the fire starter among your kindling or smaller sticks. Light the paper, and be mesmerized as the pine cone, wax and pine sprigs ignite and burn hot -- catching the surrounding wood on fire.  Fill a basket with these beautiful fire starters, and walk around the neighborhood sharing holiday greetings. Wouldn't you adore getting a lovely, useful, calorie free hostess gift or neighbor gift?  Fill a large crock with these starters at your holiday craft show!


To see some of the amazing Scentsy candle products available these days, check out Carinae's Scentsy website. or her Facebook page.  In the interest of full disclosure, this is not a sponsored post. I just had a fun idea for using old Scentsy wax, and wanted to share with my readers. Now days, we don't have to attend a physical Scentsy party to purchase product -- we can just go on-line and purchase!
......................................

If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to House Revivals in the sidebar, so you won't miss the fun projects we have planned. Find us on Facebook, too, so you can catch all the "in between" stuff, and see what I'm working on throughout the week on Instagram. Feel free to link today's project to all your favorite social media sites.

For another project using vintage bookpages, check out these honeycombed, glittery ornaments!
Or try this traditional Swedish Advent Star technique, adapted for use with vintage paper.

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Amanda