DIY PINE CONE FIRELIGHTERS

It’s definitely cold enough in our house now to start lighting fires in the evenings. To get our logs roaring, I make these easy firelighters every autumn using pine cones, cheap tea lights (such as GLIMMA, £1.75 for 100 from IKEA) and paper cupcake cases. Lift the wax tealight candles out of their metal holders, place them in paper cupcake cases (on a baking tray) and put them in a very low oven to gently melt. Once the wax is liquid, carefully move the wicks to the edges of the cases and remove the metal discs that are at the base of the wicks using a wooden skewer or a cocktail stick (so you don’t burn your finger!) Lastly, pop a pine cone into each case, let the wax cool and set hard, remove the cases – and voila. You can buy these in some shops at £12.75 (plus P&P) for 12! Pah!