DIY Fire and Ice Fire Bowl

The first time I saw fire stone was in a gas burning fireplace on HGTV. When they lit the fireplace it looked like the cheery orange flame danced above a field of clear ice shards.

It was just the thing I wanted to replace the ceramic fake logs in my gas fireplace.

I put the fire stone idea aside when my research told me I'd have to replace the entire gas fireplace insert to a specific insert that works with fire stone. I put the fire and ice desire on the back burner since it wasn't the quick fix I thought it would be.

Until I read Kim's tabletop fire bowl idea on her blog Today’s Creative Life. She made a fire stone fire bowl for her deck in less than 30 minutes.

Just look at that blue! It looks like ice from the Caribbean ocean is on fire.

Which is a pretty good trick since the only ice I ever saw in the Caribbean has been in my drink from the hotel ice maker.

I can totally do this!

So can you. Read Kim's tutorial

DIY Tabletop Fire Bowl

on Today's Creative Life!



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15 Non Alcoholic Cocktails for Summer

After the gray winter days, I dance with joy when the sun shines bright in summer.

Except  this summer. We had 19 straight days of rain in June.

We are following that trend this July. We're lucky if we get one day a week that it isn't raining. When that happens, it is more likely to be overcast rather than sunny.


As a treat, I mix up a pitcher of liquid sunshine - a fancy pants juice drink that's alcohol free. A mocktail! It's the perfect refreshing drink when you want something a little more than water and not as sweet as pop.

 

I'm sharing 15 of my favorite mocktail recipes on my food blog Lazy Budget Chef. Click here to read:

15 Summer Mocktail Recipes That Will Make You the Queen of the Cookout on Lazy Budget Chef!

What is your favorite summer drink?

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How to Repair a Quad Camp Chair

One of Husband’s coworkers has a HUGE Fourth of July parade party and cookout.

Food was made. Watermelon cut and cubed. Coolers were washed and ready. The one thing we didn’t double check were our first generation armless folding quad lawn (camp) chairs. (aff link)

We discovered one of rivets holding the chair legs to the seat broke after we set up the chairs at our parade viewing encampment. Whoops!

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Replacing a broken rivet on a folding quad lawn chair is a super simple fix. It takes barely any time at all. If you have a jar of odd nuts and bolts laying around, it could be a zero dollar repair. What’s not to love about that?

How to Fix a Folding Lawn Chair

12 Favorite Summer Craft Projects

Summer is in full swing. I am loving it! Warm summer days are excellent DIY and craft project weather. Here are a few of my favorite summer craft projects that are not only clever but useful too!

 

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DIY Personalized Insulated Wine Glass Tumblers –  Fun and reusable!

How to get Rid of Ants in a Pet and Kid Safe Natural Way

After nine days of consecutive rain my yard is waterlogged. A bunch of ants decided to seek higher ground and wanted to use my kitchen as a summer vacation spot.

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I wanted to kill the ants but I am leery of using borax, conventional ant bait traps, and sprays because I don’t want to kill my dog along with the ants. Death by shoe is more natural and personally satisfying but it not a good long term solution.

Five Things You Absolutely Must Do to Get Rid of Ants

CREATE: Vintage Jewelry and Burlap Letters

I have a big, fat, crazy love for vintage jewelry. I always surf the jewelry section when I’m in a consignment or thrift store just to drool over what I call Grandma Jewelry- the glitz rhinestone stuff.


When Husband and I played nobles at our local renaissance fictional I finally had a reason to buy some. Renaissance rich people love to wear their jewels but as two real life people acting in a 10 acre field, I didn’t want to spend much on it. Why? The pile of orphan earrings in our costume jewelry box from losing them while performing is the answer to that question.

I hung onto them to either make over into a prop or for crafting. From time to time, I cleaned out my everyday costume jewelry box and added pieces to the Some Day My Project Will Come Pile.

How to Replace a Rain Barrel Spigot

My rain barrel has been harvesting water for the last three years. I couldn’t be happier with it. Even better my rain barrel keeps a soggy side of my house dry.

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The only downside to my 40 gallon bundle of joy is after three years of faithful service the shut off valve on the attached hose broke. I can’t unscrew it and use a regular garden hose with my rain barrel rock because it has a hose instead of a spigot.