Who can resist gathering beautiful pine cones from the forest ground and taking them home? Crafters are one group that definitely can’t resist them. Although serious crafters often make a variety of crafts and home decor projects with pine cones, like wreaths and centerpieces, others toss the pine cones in a basket and forget about them. There’s other things you can do with pine cones, though.
This year don’t throw all your pine cones in one basket – as a matter of fact, forget the pinecone basket this year – there’s another way to use them that has nothing to do with crafting. Crafts and pine cones do have something in common, though. They can both make your home glow with warmth and add interest to certain seasons.
Instead of crafting with pine cones this year try something different and special. Treat the pine cones and use them as kindling in your fireplace. When pine cones are dry, they make a great fire starter, and if you treat them first, you can get many different colors from ordinary pine cones.
Gather the pine cones then treat them with your choice of several chemicals or household items. For example, treating the pine cones with table salt will give you a beautiful yellow flame when you burn them. Treat them with Epsom salts and the flame will burn white.
To treat the cones, fill a bucket with hot water. Add one cup of the chemical or household product per half gallon of water. Soak the pine cones for eight hours then remove them with tongs. Let dry on paper towels or newspaper. Do not place them directly on surfaces since they can cause stains on many different surfaces.
Allow the cones to dry for at least three days before burning them. You can mix them with other kindling pieces or just line the grate with pine cones before adding the logs. When you burn them, don’t mix pine cones dipped in one chemical with cones dipped in another chemical. Some chemicals, when mixed, can cause a severe and dangerous reaction.
Use a salt substitute (potassium) to achieve a purple flame. Want a bright green flame? Use Allum (thallium), found in the canning aisle at most stores that sell home canning supplies. The chemical is usually used to preserve pickles.
Rather have a brilliant red flame? Dip the cones in strontium chloride, found at a store that sells aquarium supplies. Boric acid will also give you a red flame, but it’s a totally different shade of red than the strontium chloride gives.
Not only do the pine cones make great fire starters, they also make a great gift. After they’ve been treated and dried, fill a basket full and give to a friend.
A couple notes of caution: keep the pine cones out of the reach of children and animals. And, don’t burn many of the pine cones at once – two or three is all you should use at one time. When they’ve burned away, add one or two more to your fire. Enjoy!
Reference:
- Purchase craft pine cones: www.joann.com
