I kept getting these ads on Instagram for a “portable bonfire.” There were about $20 a pop and looked really simple. One even said that it used recycled paper and soy wax. I had a metal container from one of my favorite candles that had burned out, so that got me to thinking, “I bet I could make something similar for no extra money.” And then I did. 

I will note that my end product is not as well put together and neat as the ones that you can purchase. I probably wouldn’t roast marshmallows over this one either because of the wax that I used. My goal was not s’mores though in this particular experiment. It was merely to see what was possible. 

First, I needed to figure out how to make briquettes with paper scraps so that the fire would have something to light onto. I watched a couple of YouTube videos and figured out my method. 

I gathered paper that I was planning to shred eventually and shredded it up by hand, just ripping into strips. If you have an actual paper shredder, this will be an incredibly faster process for you. Making these briquettes requires a lot more paper than you would think, so shred a lot. 

Put all of the shredded paper in a bucket and cover over with water. I think I poured hot water over it. If you don’t have hot water, it’s not a big deal. I took a stick and stirred the paper around a good bit to help it all soak and start breaking down a bit. 

Then I let the paper soak for a day or two. When I came back to it, it was a lot mushier, which was how I wanted it. I needed to compact the paper mush and get the water squeezed out, so I used a mini hamburger press that worked decently enough. I experimented with other shapes and even make a cube-ish shape with just my hands. Then I set the briquettes out to dry. This took roughly a week. 

Once my briquettes dried, it was time to figure out the wax. I had a few candles with wicks that had met their end, so I collected all of the leftover wax into a glass jar.

I remembered that I had an indoor s’more kit that heats the marshmallows using Sterno cans. Perfect for heating wax! So I set the jar on top of the kit and let it melt the wax cocktail down. I used oven mitts to move the jar around and to keep it from getting too hot. 

My waxes were from various candles with various scents, but that wasn’t a big deal for this experiment. I also didn’t bother straining out any debris because, again, perfection was not my goal. 

I placed a few briquettes in the can and poured my wax over them. I didn’t have quite enough wax to fill the can entirely, but I made sure to pour wax over the tops of the briquettes and let it soak in a bit. 

Once the wax hardened, I gave it a test by lighting up where the briquettes were. Success! Then to put out the fire, I just put the lid back on the tin.

While my version is not as clean as the $20+ portable fire that you can buy online, it did create a portable fire and I was able to use all materials that would have gone in the trash otherwise.