Sunday, July 29, 2018

Fire Starter Kits

We have so many pine trees on our property that naturally we have tons of pine cones.  I was trying to come up with ideas as to what I could do with all of those pine cones.  Come Christmas, I plan on making cinnamon scented pine cones, wreaths and other fun pine cone arrangements.  
For summer, I decided to make Fire Starter Kits.  I went about gathering my supplies, some from my yard and some from other places. 
Dried pine needles make the perfect tinder.  Pine cones work great as kindling.  I baked them to make sure there were no bugs in them.  I bought mini packs of matches from the dollar store and a co-worker just happened to have a bunch of sage in her yard and she brought be a big bag of that.  I put everything into a mason jar that I got at the thrift store. 
I love this project because it uses up some of the many, many pine cones and pine needles in my yard.  It's also a great way to use up lids that have already been sealed that you can't re-use for canning.   
I tied some twine around the matches and the sage to make it a bit more special.  Plus you can use the twine to start your fire.  
Everything fit perfectly into my jars, including the sage which will make your fire smell extra nice and it will help keep the bugs away! 
I made a nice little label for the top of the jar that tells you what this is and a tag that I tied around the lid of the jar that tells you what's inside. 
These are perfect little summer gifts for the camper or s'mores lover in your life.  They would also make a fun favor at a wedding or other get together.  And of course they aren't just for summer, these would be perfect for winter time too...which by the way, I am really looking forward to!

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Sunday, July 8, 2018

Only a few things I like about summer...

The 4th of July.  
Summer is my least favorite season.  I hate being hot, I hate sweating, I hate temperatures above 75 degrees. This week we hit 100 degrees for the first time and I am already done with summer now. But I love celebrating Independence Day and decorating for it.  My home sweet home sign outside got a new arrangement in the jar and I love it!
And my chalkboard inside got some new chalk art too.  I had more decor for the 4th of July, but you've seen it before so I thought I would just show you the new stuff! 
Yard Sales.
I love yard sales and sometimes I find some great stuff!  This ladder is adorable.  It's not too tall and not too small.  It's a little wobbly so it will work perfect as a garden decor piece. 
I don't even know what these wooden box things are but I liked the look of them and will hopefully come up with something to do with them soon. 
This heavy duty iron candle holder was only $3.  I can decorate it up or leave it plain like it is now.  I just thought it was too cute to pass up! 
This vintage gate/fence thing matches the gate I already have.  Who knows what we will do with it but I couldn't pass this up either! 
This window only has one pane of glass but I don't care.  I will use it anyway and love it!
These chairs aren't from a yard sale, they are from my work.  Someone was getting rid of a bunch of extra chairs and these came home with me.  I just love old wood chairs!
The other thing I like about summer, camping.  But we have no plans to do any of that this summer.  Maybe next year!

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Amaze Me Monday