Whiskey Fire Pit Tutorial

Hello all! Wow, two weeks in a row! Thank you to everyone who voted for my Whiskey Fire Pit. I can tell you the more I worked on it the more I smiled. I also must thank my handsome guy for doing all the lifting! My simple hernia repair has not been so simple!

Alright let's do this!

Supplies:
Whiskey barrel halved
10" aluminum flashing (I believe mine was 10' with some leftover)
2 High heat spray paint cans
Fire Bowl
Charcoal or fire wood
Drill
Lava rocks
3 anchor bolts


I hunted Craigslist to find the fire bowl, which came with the tile surround. I hadn't original had the tile portion in my dreaming, so if you can't find one like that it may still be cool. I had to take apart the stand it came on to get just the parts I wanted.

Play around with your pieces and decide how you want it to sit on the barrel. In the end I chose to put the bowl in first and then the tile surround so it had more support.

Clean the bowl if its used. I used BBQ tools to scrub it. Once dry, spray the bowl and lid, top and bottom with high heat spray paint. It'll look brand new!! {I also think copper paint would be awesome, but alas that wasn't a choice at my Home Depot.} Also scrub the barrel if you want.

There's a plug in the bottom of the barrel. I drilled it out for more airflow. There is also a significant amount of air through the slits in the barrel.

Take your aluminum flashing and mark a line along the top about 2 in down. This will be the guide along the edge of the barrel.

FYI: To make certain the bowl insert wouldn't tip off the barrel I secured it in place using anchor bolts in 3 places around the barrel. This also gave the option for the tile to go on first and sit on the bolts then add the bowl. {This route would make it easier to clean out the bowl, but it isn't quite as pretty so like I said I did the opposite.}

Choose your 3 places for bolts and drill pilot holes. They should be equally spaced around the barrel 1in from the top. Make sure you choose parts in the barrel that look sturdy, so it'll end up being approximately equal.

I used the bolts to secure my flashing. The drill easily cuts the hole for you to match up to the bolt hole. I recommend starting at one bolt and going around instead of pre-drilling. You want your bolt to stick out of the barrel not inside. Now move to the next one, attempt to stay at the 2in line but since its round that's tricky. Cut your aluminum off after the second bolt. Now start again with a second sheet at the same bolt and repeat until all the way around. Using a sharp pair of scissors and GLOVES cut slits in the top that's sticking up all the way around about every 4 in. Fold these down on the barrel edge and tack in place with finishing nails. Trim any excess aluminum or fold it down. BEWARE of the metal it's SHARP once cut!

 

Drink some water that part makes you tired!!

Spray the inside of the barrel with high heat paint- 2 layers.

Assemble your whiskey fire pit where you want it.

Lastly, I wired my anchor bolts to the tile surround.

Choose whether you want to use charcoal or wood. If charcoal put down lava rock for more heat protection.

Light it up!

Disclaimers:

Keep a hose or bucket of water nearby.
Watch your children.
Never leave the fire unattended.
S'mores are quite addictive.

<3 Melissa Delight @Delighted

Squirt Gun Tutorial

Hey Friends here is my tutorial for SQUIRT GUN CURTAINS for kid's week! This was so fun and really pretty easy. 

Supplies:

        Squirt Guns--your choice. I used the 8 pack from Wal-Mart

        Acrylic Paint--Pick out as many as you like for your theme

        1 Sheet--Size is Dependent on Window size

        Curtain Rod

        Coordinating Thread

A few tips: put them in some old clothes and SHOES! Unless you live somewhere where being naked is an option. Also, having more guns than colors of paint is a great idea, they clog up pretty fast. The boys favorite colors to use were the glow in the dark, which they sell in a multitude of colors and also the shimmer-metallic paint.

Step 1: Decide your necessary sheet size. We need the 3 or so inch section that is doubled at the head of the bed for the top of the curtain where the rod will be inserted, so really only pay attention to the width compared to your window.  If you never plan to close the curtains than being slightly smaller is no big deal. I will attach a photo at the bottom of this post of the curtains I made for my living room with 2 twin sheets-not recommended for this project. Although there is ZERO sewing required when you do 2 twin sheets!

For your reference here are the standard flat sheet dimensions.
      Flat Sheet Sizes

• Twin--66 x 96 inches (or 167 x 243 cm)
• X-Long Twin--66 x 102 inches (or 167 x 259 cm)
• Full--81 x 96 inches (or 205 x 243 cm)
• Queen--90 x 102 inches (or 228 x 259 cm)
• King/California King--108 x 102 inches (or 274 x 259 cm)

Step 2: Hang your sheet outside in an area that is cool with being painted :)

Step 3: Fill your squirt guns 2/3 the way with paint and add a splash of water. Have the kids shake them up. Experiment with thickness for your specific squirt guns. The less water the better the color.

Step 4: When you're all done squirting, leave it out to dry while you get cleaned off with the hose.

Step 5:  Turn the sheet into two curtain panels with fun double zigzag stitching on the edges in coordinating thread.

How did I do this you wonder... Once the sheet is painted and dry, throw it in the dryer on high heat to seal in the color (Disclaimer: I did not wash them to test this). Now you're going to cut the sheet down the middle, like you're dividing the bed in half foot to head. The key to cutting is you want the top of the sheet where you put your head to be where the rod goes through so it will be at the ceiling when hung. Choose your stitch for the top and sides. I used a twin needle zigzag in two colors: red and blue. First I stitched the top along the existing stitches in the sheet. Then I stitched the already hemmed edge just for the color effect, again right along the existing stitches. Lastly hem the raw edge, I folded mine over about half an inch. Repeat with the other panel! DONE--Easy right. You can do this with any sheet you find. I have striped ones in my living room :) Pending on your window you'll need to decide on the size sheet to buy. My living room has a wider window so I used 2 twin sheets, for the kids' room I used the queen size.

Step 6: Decide if you need to hem your panels. You could also do this when the sheet is still in one piece... I think the easiest way is to use iron hem tape :)

Step 7: Insert Rod--To allow the rod to go through the top portion of the curtain, cut a little slit next to the hem on either edge. Make sure you only cut it as wide as the rod and ONLY CUT THROUGH THE BACK OF THE FABRIC!!!! You don't want to be able to see your slit in the front. I suppose you could hand stitch reinforce the slits, but I haven't and they work great!

Step 8: Bring in the munchkins for their smiles!

When you hear, "Wow, that's great! I love all the colors!" from a 4 year old you know you've done something right for kids week. I said, "You made that!!" Little man said, "I know!" with a giant smile! The curtains are so fun for their room and the glow paint adds the "stars" element! They kept saying, "Turn off the lights!!"

 

The total cost for this project was $10 for the flat sheet, $1.57 per paint color, $2.99 for squirt guns and then a rod if you don't already have one. I'd suspect most of you have all the supplies on hand already.

Now go gather up the supplies and release the kiddos to make their own room decor. Pillow cases to match would be super fun too! That's next on our list for the boys :)

Thank you to my friend Cassie for letting me borrow her cute kids! And a big THANKS to her parents for letting us paint their yard and still feeding me! Oh, and her dad for getting the rod hung up. {Normally I would do that myself, but I had surgery 10 days before this and am being a good girl and following the doc's instructions, much to my dismay!}

If you make some link up, because I want to see your creativity!! Oh and here's my living room ones. Aren't these awesome sheets and it was even more fantastic that they were on clearance!! SCORE! Confession: I iron tape hemmed them while they were on the rod...lazy or ingenious, you decide!

<3 Melissa Delight

Update: We indeed bought more chickens

Well February just flew by! We had a fun visit with my parents here. Tried out lots of new restaurants, my tummy was ready for them to leave, but I was in no other way ready! We also jumped into chicken raising again in January, so my projecting has been pretty focused on building them the best home possible...for the least amount of dolla bills! {Read: Pallet hoarding has paid off}

Some Photos....

Goal: Keep Chickens Safe. Keep garden in one location protected from dogs, weather and new chickens. Do it all inexpensively!

Still working on the aesthetics of the whole situation, but we rent so we had to do with the situation what we could. Stay tuned as this all develops!! :) Have plans for some cute signs, hanging flower pots and a fabric top!

--ZZB

In "LOVE" with this Hanging Shelf

I absolutely fell in love with this pin on pinterest. This adorable "love" shelf awesome. The caption read "Found this on Etsy, but it looks easy to DIY" - I'll repin that! So there it went to my ginormous board of DIY. Then the other day Kurt went to Home Depot and SCORED in the scraps pile! He came home with a ton of actually useable items. So as I sat on the couch pondering what I was going to create for the day I remembered "his" wood and the LOVE shelf. YES! I popped right on to pinterest found the shelf and low and behold it did not take me to Etsy... it took me to a HOTTUB WEBSITE! WHAT?!, such disappointment.... I was eager to look at the other angles of the shelf before I set to work. I even searched all over etsy to find it. Nope this one was on me.... I drew it out...I crossed that out. Who am I kidding I don't follow directions anyway!!

So I set to work! I had a general idea that I wanted my shelf to stand taller than my tv to add some height differences to our living room. I followed the cuts that the picture appeared to do, making my height of letters 14inches, but I only have a miter saw, which means the largest angle I can cut is a little over 45 degrees. Since I had made mine taller I needed a larger angle. I attempted to hold my piece right in the correct spot I wanted it and CUT--only to send wood flying and me to the ground oops--ok note to self I won't do that again!! I used some scrap wood and created the angle I needed and it worked. Not beautifully, but eh!

What do you need?

Everything in that above picture + a miter saw + a sander + drywall hook + 2 yards fabric

Notes on putting it together.

1. 2 people would have been great!

2. Sand all your pieces before you attach them.

3. Predrill your holes and wood glue couldn't hurt

4. Drill your L together.

5. Drill your V together.

6. Drill your E together.

7. Make the bottom left side of the O.

8. Drill your V to the appropriate side of the O. 

9. Attach the L to the one side of the O you already made (it looks like 2 L's now)

10. Drill in the final right side into the O.

I did not do it this way and wish I would have! I also attached and reattached "better" multiple times.

Bam! DONE! AWESOME...... nope, not awesome it did not "stand" I could not put anything on it....

...now what...?!

FABRIC! Yep I covered it in a super fun fabric that I also fell in love with and had a coupon for--bonus! I simply wrapped it around my letters and used a staple gun to attach it. I used the fabric to "reinforce" where my letters met and staple gunned the heck out of those spots....

Still didn't "stand", so I hung it up. At first Kurt helped me hold it up against the wall... it looked nice....

Then we held it suspended in the air and it was PERFECT!!

 

I used some thick wire and a drywall ceiling hook to hang it in the corner of our room. Added my tin herbs, a photo, a candle and since the pics a little round globe in the "V"-- I could not be more happy with this project!!!

 
TOTAL COST: Wood $1.51+tax, 2 yards of fabric $6

.....So Miss Beth that's how it went down :)

--ZZB

P.S. One of these days Kurt will stop leaving his wood unattended!! Finders Keepers ;)

Cheap DIY Wall Art

What can you do with all those boxes you get on your monthly {weekly} trip to Costco?!

Cheap wall art!

Check it out. I took 3 matching boxes from the giant cart of boxes at Costco...

Decide where you want them on your wall--they are so light you just need a little nail to keep them up, use two a few inches away so they don't get crooked on you. 

Get some burlap or really any textured fabric and wrap it around the box. Use hot glue or super glue to attach it. I used duct tape in there too to hold while my glue dried. I also used a spray adhesive on the front of the box and sides to stick the burlap to my box before wrapping it around.

Paint on your desired design! I chose fruit because I hung these in my kitchen. I used quick big brush strokes and wanted the strokey not solid style. I also picked fruit of similar colors so I could save $ on buying paint. 

I really love my probably $6 wall art--Hope you do too :)

--ZZB

Simple Layered Lace Skirt-Upcycle

The inspiration Pinterest provides me on a daily basis, whether for this year's Halloween Costume or just an every day project, fuels passion and creative juices like none other! Well antique stores help too!

I LOVED this lace skirt tutorial I found on pinterest. For months I hunted the aisles of lace at JoAnn's whenever I went for a "visit." They never had the *perfect* lace. Then a friend from work introduced me to SAS a discount fabric store here in Phoenix!! They had a whole wall of lace in every possible color and in tons of different widths. Pending on the width the price went up. The lady who rang me up measured extra nice so my lace was half off. I just rolled with it ;) Until I needed more and that guy measured correctly and in no way cared that I had previously gotten it for $0.25 a yard! Boohoo--ok $1.50 more I can do that lol

So I initially bought 10 yards of lace, bought 5 more and used maybe 3 of it. 

What you need:

Lace-- pending on your chosen width-mine was 2.25" 

Fabric to sew on to which becomes your skirt base-I used one of my guy's old white t-shirts {It had pit stains so repurposing it was a wonderful idea}

Thread

Step 1: Use a pencil skirt that fits you. Lay it on top of your desired base fabric and cut around it. Now, I cut it slightly larger than the skirt to have room for a seam allowance, but thought the t shirt would stretch a little like this skirt does, but once I added the lace it no longer stretched...just food for thought. 

The other bonus of using the t-shirt is its already double layered which saves you time. 

I left room at the top to have the ability to fold it down and have a soft waist band. 

^This was me just testing out how much lace I might use. ^

 Step 2: On a cutting mat lay one layer of base fabric out. Begin pinning your lace at the bottom edge. And then pin each strip every one inch-adjust this pending on your lace-I cut as I went along over hanging it a little bit in case when sewn I used more than I thought given the t-shirt can stretch. Do this all the way to where you want the top to be + a quarter inch for folding over -you don't want the base fabric to show so you will be folding the lace over a quarter inch.

Step 3: Repeat with second layer.

^This shows you the 1 inch overlap^

^My shirt was extra long so I cut off what I didn't want leaving about an inch for the fold over^

Step 4: Sew the strips on. I used a zigzag stitch to ensure I caught the edge. This will also help avoid the stitch breaking if your skirt is tight when you put it on. Zigzags do not break while a straight stitch will! I started my sewing at the bottom moving on up just as I had pinned the lace on.

^Your stitches don't have to be perfectly straight just close!^

Step 5: Roll your top over on each piece and sew it down so that only a quarter inch of lace shows on the back side. You could sew down the bottom part of the waist band, but I did not. If you do this make sure you move your front lace out of the way.

 Step 6: Lay your lace sides together- if you measured 1 in apart the lines should match up almost if not exactly perfect. At this point I trimmed my edges, so I had a straight line to work with when sewing the two pieces together.

Step 7: Sew them together- I again used the zigzag stitch. IF you want a zipper in one side you need to do that now. Zippers are still scary to me, so my advice would not be helpful. Take a deep breath, watch a youtube video or two and Go for it!! You can do it--you can only get better!

TOTAL Cost $6.50 and about 2 hours :)

I love this skirt!! It's a wee-bit tight making it not appropriate for every setting, but for the right event its great!! I think I may wear it to my cousin's engagement party this weekend-now to figure out what to pair it with, maybe a blazer!?!

Send me a pic of your new skirt!

<3 ZZB