My Love for Matchsticks Began with Charles Ingalls

I think I was destined to be a blogger(and a Realtor) after growing up with Little House on the Prairie. Seriously I attribute my obsession with fireplaces to the little house on the prairie with the dual-sided fireplace. That little house on the prairie introduced an open concept floorplan + a loft. I believe LHOP is responsible for our love of candles and the first night of a snowstorm. Maybe it was LHOP that made future generations love candles.

Matchstick Memories

And, I think my love for old school matches came from Pa Ingalls. He always struck his match across the hearth to light his pipe.

Can you imagine if Pa Ingalls had lit his pipe with a Bic lighter? Totally different show.

So I guess it was Charles Ingall’s smoking habit that drew me to matchsticks. And, it was my dad’s wood-burning fireplace frustrations that fueled my love for fireplaces here. Skip to the 2nd or 3rd paragraph for that memory.

To be fair, I was not always a fan of matchsticks. What was not to love about the 4 pack of Bic extended arm lighters from Costco?

Except, these lighters are made of plastic.

And, then guess who made matchsticks cool again?

And, then one early evening at Pottery Barn, as I lingered around the fall tablescapes, I spotted a square little box. Pottery Barn introduced boxed matchsticks. They came in cute little square and/ore rectangular boxes with seasonal greetings. And, guess what I bought in addition to the boxes of matchsticks? The more expensive candles on the same display table.

Well played Pottery Barn. Well played.

And, I went crazy for matchsticks. I was a part of the movement to bring back these cute little wood sticks paired with phosphorous. And suddenly boxed matches started to show up in gift shops and craft booths.

I was not alone. And, isn’t that the greatest feeling?

My family rebelled; what was wrong with the Bic lighter with the convenient extended arm to light candles?

Seriously?

Matchsticks and Mason Jars

I bought a few boxes of matches at Kroger (in the seasonal aisle) and stored them in a mason jar.

I added striking paper from the original boxes to the bottom of the mason jars and made a cute set of mason jar sized stickers. You can print on labels or a sheet of paper.

You can download the matches labels for free here.

Thank you Pottery Barn and Pa Ingalls for reigniting my love for matches.

Thank you for visiting today.

Here are a few places to reignite your love for matchsticks and make new memories.

Sources for Matchsticks:

1. Costco size order of matches here.
2. These matches are made in the USA.
3. I found these plain white boxes with matches here.
4. These custom matchboxes would be fun for a wedding.