How to Add Glow in Outdoor Gathering with Outdoor Tiki Torches

This is the backyard barbeque time again and you want to throw a party in style! What are the perfect ingredients that would spice up your celebration? Let’s talk first about tiki torches. No evening garden party is complete without those lovely pieces of lighting arrangement. You would find your guests go gaga over the charming tiki torches that space out on either side to line the pathway.

Your beautiful garden and tiki torches make an awesome barbeque day. Other than illuminating the walkway, tiki torches can be placed near the patios for light or decorated around your swimming pool for a poolside party. Whatever it might be, you want to create a fun-filled ambience and make sure that your guests had a gala time.

If you are planning to line your pathway with tiki torches for your backyard barbeque party, then go for the ones that can be easily inserted into the ground. And, if you have a stone pathway, you can decorate it with magnificent tiki troches which would create a tropical feel and give an aesthetic ambience to the party. Though you can keep it on the tabletop; for patios, you can place it a little far as the odor of the mosquito repellants would be overwhelming for the guests.

As you are aware, in a garden party, the guests are carefree and like to freely move around. Therefore, there is always a chance of your guests stumble over the torches or run into it. So arrange it in a manner which they will not wobble if slightly bumped.

Cobalt Blue Glass Outdoor Garden Tiki Torch

You can avail a variety of torches that satisfies your needs and tastes. You can even make a bamboo tiki torch if you have enough time and patience. Or otherwise, if you cannot spare time and wish to get hold of a durable item, go and get it from a reliable retail store that sells sturdy tiki torches. Most of these mosaic-designed torches have either conical or tulip shapes which give an elegant look.  The snuffer caps and powder coated garden poles assures the durability. It features easy-fill containers with standard lamp oil and fiberglass wick.

Shiny Black Tulip Outdoor Tiki Torch

Though the torches adorn your backyard with their sober ambience, let’s be little bit careful about installing a tiki torch as none of us want any fire hazards in our festivity. Only a bit of attention is enough to avoid such mayhem. Keep your tiki torches a safe distance from combustible materials, tree branches, and buildings. Don’t leave your tiki unattended. Once the party is over, extinguish the flame right away.

Terracotta Mosaic Conical Outdoor Garden Tiki Torch

So finally, I do not need to explain how it is important for you to engage each guest individually and make them feel special. You know how to arrange a perfect tiki torch party with tiki menus, well, don’t just forget to serve those umbrella drinks and fresh fruit skewers! and tiki-themed music to entertain your guests to the hilt.

Super Bowl Season: A Hot Time in the Cold with Fire Pit

Want to put one through the goal posts for this year’s Super Bowl party? It’s easy: have an outdoor party! Yes - ask your friends over and light up your fire pit to stay warm.
What you’ll need:

Fire pit

Any fire pit will do - all you need are flames and warmth for this party. But you’ll do best with a portable pit to move to the ideal location in your yard - you know, like close to an electrical outlet for the TV. There are many styles available so you can get one that will fit well into your outdoor space.

Outdoor Fire Pit

Most local stores put their fire pits away for the winter, so if you’re shopping for one look online. Check out sites like BackyardBargains.com or FirePitBargains.com - they have great selections, and you’ll even find shipping deals (like free shipping for some things).

TV

You can transport a TV out to the deck just for the game. Before the big day select your party location. Find a spot close to an electrical outlet, that’s level and you can place your TV stand (that may be a bench, table, chest, etc.)… and not too close to the fire pit!

This is an important step - don’t wait till the morning of the Bowl to scope out your options because then it may be too late to solve any problems you run into.


Chairs

Go ahead, pull out the summer deck chairs. Set them around the fire pit and in front of the TV. Everyone will have 50-yard-line seating with no big columns in the way!

If you live in a cold climate and your chairs don’t have seat padding, you may want to put cushions in the seats for a little extra warmth. Heated cushions are an even better idea and available in sporting goods stores.

Drinks

Live way north? You can have the usual game brews and keep them cold in the snow banks. Whatever you serve in glasses, have a couple coffee pots for coffee, hot water, hot chocolate, hot spiced rum, etc.

Food

With your guests seated around your fire pit you’ve got some great food options. You can do the usual hot dogs, or put a grill rack over the flames and cook up burgers, wings or steaks. Or make up kabobs for guests to grill whenever they want during the game.

Here’s another idea: grab those grilling sticks from the garage and give one or two to each guest. Set out a bowl full of individual grillers: cubed seasoned steak, quartered marinated onions, buttered/seasoned bread, marshmallows (of course!), and whatever else you can skewer.

There you have it, the basics for your outdoor Super Bowl party around the fire pit. Now you’re ready to call your buddies and let ‘em know they’re watching the Big Game this year at your place!

Curtain Rod Rings: Useful Helpful Delightful Things You Need to Know About

Curtain rod rings… you know, there are many things in life you can go a long time, maybe forever, knowing nothing about. They’re usually the littlest things, the awful-est things, or the most mundane things. But then there are those things you wish you’d known about years ago because they’re so useful-helpful-delightful. And that’s the category for curtain rod rings.

Now, don’t be mistaken - even though some of you will think so, curtain rings really don’t fall into the I-don’t-need-to-know-about-this-ever category. They’re actually amazing, and for more reasons than you can hang a curtain on.

Why, you say, should I be interested in these, uh, ringy-thingys? Because, we say, your life will totally improve in useful-helpful-delightful little ways. Yes, curtain rod rings. Want proof? We’ve compiled a short list of uses for curtain rod rings, just enough to feed your own inspiration.

Gold Curtain Rings

In the kitchen.

Recipe holder. Yes, you read that right. Clip that recipe card or magazine page to the curtain rod ring and hang the ring on a cabinet door knob… Pretty cool, huh?

How about hanging a hand towel the same way? You can have it right where you need it while cooking or baking, and remove it when guests arrive!

For fun, use a curtain rod ring to hold cloth napkins for diners – you can clip them to the tablecloth, chair, glass or whatever makes you smile!

In the bath.

Shower: on the curtain rod to hold extras: loofas, wash cloths, sponges, razors, etc.

How about a Don’t-Knock-I’m-Busy sign on the door?

Of course there are always those little affirmation notecards - now you have an easier way to keep them in view: clip one to a curtain rod ring and hang it on anything around the mirror.

Bronze Curtain Rings

In the bedroom.

In the closet: curtain rings are perfect to hold scarves, necklaces - why, you can hang them right next to the outfits you love pairing them with!

In the closet: let’s take that first tip a little farther: some people actually have matching lingerie for outfits - really, we’re not joking - and a curtain ring would be a perfect way to keep them together. Easy to grab and no searching required.

Again in the closet: how about those trouser socks? Since they’re so easy to lose in the sock drawer, why not hang them from a curtain ring in the closet?

Still in the closet (yes, we know it’s not funny…): have an item that you just can’t fit anywhere, like that belt with the gigantic buckle?

Nickel Curtain Rings

In the hallway.

Kids’ mittens, hats, scarves - even the kids if they’re light enough! (Just kidding, of course!)

What about that collection of green save-the-earth shopping bags you’re always forgetting to take along? Need a place to keep them where you’ll actually remember to grab them?

And, of course, those fab designer handbags - now you can hang them in the hallway closet on a curtain ring so they’re at your fingertips when you’re ready to switch bags.

In the car.

The great thing about curtain rod rings is they hang easily on small knobs – and most cars have an abundance of those.

Things you can hang from a curtain rod ring in the car: phone cords, travel tissue boxes, maps (almost things of the past), notes, grocery lists…

Other ideas.

Hang your curtain rings on chairs and clip balloons to them for birthday parties.

Don’t forget the obvious: to hang curtains! 

So now you know all about the double life of curtain rod rings - one of the true useful-helpful-delightful things you need to know about!

Simply Beautiful: Wall Sconces Add Interest and Beauty

Wall sconces are coming back - they’re on the verge of being one of the hottest accessories in today’s home decorating arena. And you don’t have to wait until wall sconces are at their peak of popularity to add them to your home décor.

You also don’t have to hire an electrician to hang a wall sconce in your home - just use sconces made to hold candles instead of light bulbs. The flexibility this non-electric sconce offers is unparalleled: you can hang a candle wall sconce anywhere you have a stable vertical surface!

Wall sconces are popular for several reasons.

They add immediate interest to a wall.

They offer an alternative lighting source.

They can be found in any style to match your decor: traditional, contemporary, Victorian, country, European…

The interesting variety available today gives you the opportunity to create a whole decorating scheme around the great wall sconces you’ll discover!

They’re a safer alternative to candle holders set on tables.

Crystal Glass Wall Sconce

The safety features a candle wall sconce offers are incomparable to a candle holder if you have children or pets. Attached firmly to a wall out of reach, you never have to worry about curious fingers or wagging tails reaching your candles - and that means no spills, no breaks, no worries!

Wall sconces are an easy way to add that final touch, the element of interest to your rooms. One great place for a wall sconce is up the stairway walls. If you have photos and frames hanging in your stairway, that’s even better – mix the wall sconces right in for added depth and interest.

Another great location for a wall sconce is around your bathtub. It’s the perfect alternative to candle holders set on the tub’s edge: no worries about knocking it into the water. Oh-h-h, you can feel the bubbles and smell the fragrances as you begin melting into the soft lighting already!

Candle Wall Sconce

Wall sconces are so easy to use anyone can add them to their home decor with success, and anyone with decorating genius is hanging theirs right now. Go ahead; get in on the excitement of adding interest and beauty to your home today with your own selection of wall sconces!

Wall Sconces - Back in Style!

I once rented an apartment that had electric light wall sconces. It was an ancient building, a real architectural antique. I loved those wall sconces; they were beautiful and really lit the room well. I miss them.

I miss them because they were my “first”. Today I have sconces on my walls - but in a twist of fate I decided to go non-electric! It started out innocently enough…

Crystal Glass Wall Sconce

I’d decided to go all-out for an anniversary with my Significant Other, and wanted to try my hand at romance. Now, romance isn’t something that comes naturally to me so I did a little research and turned first to candles.

Obvious and easy choice, but I was concerned about the safety factor. After all, I planned to have those candles burning at a time I wouldn’t be paying any attention to them. And you guessed it: that’s when I discovered wall sconces for candles! Not only are they a safe alternative to candles sitting on flat surfaces but they’re also permanent - you can be romantic any time. (Did you know you can get silk rose petals to scatter for those special anniversaries?)

So that’s what started it. The next set of sconces was premeditated: when I was looking for sconces to match our bedroom décor I found these really crazy, really cool sconces and couldn’t forget them. I started looking around the house for a place they’d look great - so of course they’re hanging right there in the downstairs bath. (Did you know burning candles eliminates unpleasant bathroom odors?)

Then we had this great Mystery Party - you know, everyone comes in costume, plays out a mystery and guests have to guess who the villain is. We wanted “mysterious” candle lighting at the front entry, but without the danger of lighting a guest’s costume on fire. Enter more wall candle sconces! We love the lighting so much we use them all the time when we’re expecting guests.

Multi Colored Candle Wall Sconce

Of course the dogs were responsible for the next wall sconce purchase. They love spending evenings with us on the deck, but those tails are dangerous! We were having so much fun with our other new wall sconces we decided to put them on the deck too, and now enjoy lit candles well out of the reach of those wagging tails.

Our neighbors caught the wall sconce craze and they’ve even attached some to trees in their yard - well below any branches of course!

We’re not sure where the next wall sconce location will be, but we’re keeping our options open. I just saw some candle sconces done in a mosaic that would look great somewhere…