Available at PlowHearth.com
While browsing the Plow & Hearth website the other day, I came across these Color-Changing Fireplace Pinecones. When you toss one of these into your open fire, the flames will change color (the website says blues and greens) for a few minutes while the pinecone burns. While I thought it was a pretty cool idea, I was a little surprised by the price – nearly $40. I wondered if it was possible to make your own. A little web searching turned up a whole bunch of DIY versions of this project, which would make great holiday gifts for those on your list with fireplaces.
Prep Your Pinecones: (If you use pinecones you purchase at a craft store, you can skip this step.) If you’ve gathered pinecones from the great outdoors, you’ll need to bake them in a 200 degree oven for one hour to remove bugs and open up closed cones. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil first, as sap will drain from the cones. Allow them to cool.
Materials:
- Large bucket
- Tongs or slotted spoon
- Flame colorant – choose one of the following, depending on the color flame you prefer (though most are common household chemicals, remember to keep out of the reach of children and pets):
- Yellow – Table Salt
- Yellow-Green – Borax
- White – Epsom Salts
- Green – Boric Acid
- Red – Strontium Chloride (found with aquarium supplies in pet stores)
- Pour 1/2 gallon of hot water into the bucket.
- Add 1 cup of the colorant of your choice, and stir until dissolved.
- Add pinecones to the mix. Be sure to add only as many as can be completely covered by the solution. Soak for 8 hours or overnight.
- Remove the pinecones and set on newspapers to dry completely – at least 3 days.
Now your pinecones are ready to burn! Simply add them (one at a time) to your fireplace and watch the colors appear.
- You can make several batches of different colors, but don’t mix the colors in a single batch. Burn only one color of pinecone at a time.
- Do not use colored pinecones on cooking fires or BBQ grills.
- Always use common sense and caution with open flames.
Have you ever made your own color-changing pine cones? What tips would you offer to others who attempt this project? Tell us in the comments below!
{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
Are all of these compounds safe to inhale the byproducts when burned? What about in combination? I know that in their crystalized form, in relatively small quantities they are, but not once they are heated/burned.
Cool trick! I haven’t it tried yet, would this work with normal wood blocks, or some other product?
I would have trouble getting hold of pinecones, not common to my area and not easily available in my country
I can ship you as many as you need they are plenty in my area.My name is janet you can give me a call 352-512-1823
Chemicals to color Fire
Powdered Boric Acid……..Bright Green
Copper Sulphate…………Green
Copper Chloride………….Blue
Strontium Chloride……….Red
Lithium Chloride…………Crimson
Potassium Chloride………Purple
Calcium Chloride…………Orange
Baking Soda……………..Yellow/Orange
Table Salt………………..Yellow
Epsom Salt……………….White
Use hot water to dissolve whichever chemical you want to use. Mix in as much as will dissolve.
If you add one teaspoon of dish soap to the water, the chemical will bind with the pine cones.
Soak the pine-cones for 24 hours before letting them dry.
You should be able to toss in a few different colored pine-cones in the fire but don’t burn a bunch at once.
Some more tips can be found on the Mother Earth News website with these two links.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Modern-Homesteading/1977-11-01/Colorful-Christmas-Flames.aspx
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Modern-Homesteading/2000-12-01/Pinecones-that-Flare-Brightly.aspx
do you have a suggestion on where to buy these chemicals? Thanks! I totally want to try this!
What about purple? I totally want to make these for my mother for Mother’s Day! What a great idea!
What is wrong with burning multiple colors at the same time?
What is wrong?
Any idea what to use for blue flames?
No what?
For blue, use calcium chloride (bleaching powder).
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You don’t mix the different colors together because — they each release amounts of their chemical compounds — and — some of the chemical compounds don’t mix well together. Probably not enough exudes to hurt — much.
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Super idea. I just need to wait until Christmas to try it … or when we dip below 40 degrees.
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I made pinecone starters from Martha Stewarts website. You coat pinecones with melted beeswax then sprinkle with Epson Salts, use raffia paper to string together for decorating. It was a christmas decoration. Then cut apart and light the paper to start a fire. Epsons salt is magnesium which has a low flash point. these start a fire quick and easy.I great project and awesome gift to the fire bug I will have to watch more closely to see if the fire is white.
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