DIY Wine Bottle Tiki Torch

Hey guys! I don't know about you, but I have always wanted to transform a wine bottle into something useful. I have seen so many tutorials on Pinterest about wine bottle candle holders, how to cut wine bottles to make glasses, etc.  The other day I came across a picture that really intrigued me.  It turned a wine bottle into a tiki torch.  Well, when I went to see how it was done, there was no website associated with the link! A quick Google search and a hardware store visit later I am happy to be able to show you how to make this unique tiki torch.

Items you will need:
- Empty wine bottle
- Adhesive Remover
- Decorative pebbles/marbles

- 3/8 washer
- Refill tiki torch wicks
- Tiki fuel

First, I took some wine bottles we had laying around and cleaned off the labels with some hot, soapy water and some adhesive remover.

Next, I found some extra glass marbles I had laying around and put then in the wine bottles.  I filled the wine bottle up about 1/4 of the way with them so the bottle would be nice and heavy to prevent blowing over in the wind.

Then, I took a 3/8 washer and thread an inch of a refill ticki wick through it.

After that, fill up your wine bottle 3/4 of the way with torch fuel.  I used OFF! Tiki Bitefighter Fuel which has citronella and cedar to keep mosquitos at bay!

And there you have it! Now you are ready to throw an outdoor party to show off your cute tiki torches!

I hope you guys enjoyed this tutorial! Our weather here in Cincinnati is just a tad too humid and hot to enjoy my tiki torches outside so I'm waiting for it to cool down just a tad! I hope you all have a great weekend! 

My first big cake!

Hey everyone! Hope you all are having a great summer! I've been super busy with traveling and baking so far and have neglected this little blog! So let me share what I've been working on lately!


About a year ago, a dear friend from college asked if I would be interested in making a grooms cake for her upcoming wedding! Of course I said yes and was so honored she thought of me! We brainstormed and came up with a football themed cake we thought he would love! I even made it a chocolate fudge cake with peanut butter filling to be modeled after a Reese's cup (his favorite candy)! 

Why football? Well that's because football is a large part of Patrick's life! He is currently an assistant coach at a high school and worked with UC football before that. 

 

Here is a look at my cake with the wedding cake that one of her bridesmaids made! 

Here is a closer shot of my cake! 

There were some ups and downs of making such a large cake as my first cake! I wanted it to be perfect for Bri and Patrick on their big day! 

It was a proud moment to say "I made that!" when people at my table were saying it was delicious and that they loved it! 

Here is the happy couple for their first dance!

Their wedding was beautiful and I wish them all the best!

Happy Crafting!

Hey everyone!

This weekend I'm at a crafting retreat with the best bunch of ladies! All sorts of projects and creative techniques are being made and used this weekend! It's always great to be inspired by your friends and get together with them twice a year! We usually all keep in contact online and having facetime is just the best!

You can get an idea of how crazy we are with the next few photos... notice there is just crafting stuff everywhere and very few people are organized lol!








As the hours go on, we tend to get a bit giggly with the free drinks and Britta ended up being very serious about never seeing The Rescuers Down Under so she swore on her Simon Says Stamp monthly card box to show me how serious she was!

This year is our biggest retreat and I'm enjoying meeting new friends that I have talked to online and seeing old friends!

Hope you all are having a great weekend!

Exciting News!

Hey everyone! So sorry I have just dissapeared! Between the holidays, studying for the GMAT, and much more it has been pretty busy!

So I have told a few of you that a month ago I started a new journey! I am adopting a healthier lifestyle and slowly in the progress of making a lifestyle change.  I choose these words over the dreaded "diet" word becuase this is truly something I want to maintain and continue doing for the rest of my life. I am someone who has failed at diets before and think I have finally found what methods work for me. It is all trial and error for everyone.

This time around I jumped into the deep end and started a really intense program.  For me, it was the extra push I needed to realize how out of shape I was. Not being able to finish the first workout really motivated me to push as hard as I could ever day! Now, I can complete all the workouts and it may not be pretty but I get them done! I still can't do all the plyometrics full out but that motivates me to keep going until I can do all those jumps!

What program am I doing? Turbofire!



I have officially completed the first month of this program and am really pleased with myself at how well I am doing! I have lost 11 pounds and 13.25 inches off my body! :)

I am so proud of myself for how well I am doing so far! Only 1 cheat meal this past month! :)

With my birthday on Sunday (Superbowl) I am allowing myself to induldge because I only turn 25 once! I will hop right back on the band wagon the next day and work my butt off this week so that the cheat day doesn't derail me too much!