back patio | Beneath My Heart

Our New TIKI Fire Sculpture {Eli’s birthday party}

May 16, 2013 AT 5:59 pm 2 Comments

May 16, 2013 By traci 2 Comments

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of TIKI Brand® for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Aaaaaah, summertime! Don’t ya love it?!

One of my favorite things about summer is spending time outside. We love to grill and eat dinner on our back patio. When we have company over, we spend all of our time outside.

I also like to create an ambiance outdoors when we have company over. I love to have candles lit, or twinkle lights in the landscaping.

Now I am very excited that I have one more thing to add to the ambiance…a new TIKI Brand Fire Sculpture.

TIKI® Alumina™ Fire Sculptures - Antigua

TIKI^® Alumina^™ Fire Sculptures – Antigua

They are bigger than a candle, but less messy than a fire pit. Perfect!

On Tuesday night, we celebrated Eli’s birthday at our house.

(This picture was taken before our trip to the ER that night for Eli’s busted lip.) Sad smile

It’s really the first time the weather has been good enough to enjoy our back patio this Spring. So I was excited to set up my new TIKI fire sculpture on our back patio.

My brother in law, Wayne, and my dad enjoyed sitting beside my new fire sculpture.

My dad especially loved it. He said, “How much does that cost and where can I get one of those!” {not kidding}

Well, Dad, they are $79.00, and you can get them at The Home Depot. Smile

{Sounds like a great Father’s Day gift to me!}

These fire sculptures will burn for up to 4 hrs before you need to refill them. And I also found out that they can be used with OFF! ®/BiteFighter® Torch Fuel to help repel mosquitos. Cool!

Here are Janet and my niece, Kinsey, eating some birthday cake by the fire sculpture.

Doesn’t it look pretty! I really love the brown weather resistant woven base.

Here is a quick little nighttime video that Jonathan, Eli, and I shot the day after the birthday party.

Things I like about TIKI Brand Fire Sculptures are:

* woven weather resistant base

* light weight

* easy to assemble and use

* fits nicely with my outdoor décor

* adds ambience to outdoor spaces

You can follow TIKI on facebook here…

TIKI Brand on Facebook

What do YOU love about the TIKI® Brand sculptures?

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An Inspiring Outdoor Space by Rhoda from Southern Hospitality!

April 26, 2011 AT 7:00 am 13 Comments

April 26, 2011 By traci 13 Comments

Hopefully the weather is finally starting to warm up in your neck of the woods.

We are warming up a bit here in Kentucky, but soaking wet! I cannot believe all the spring storms we have had this year.

Well, rain or shine, it’s Spring! It’s time to start pretty-ing up your outdoor spaces.

Need some inspiration? Well, here it is!

I am so excited to share with you a great Outdoor Space Makeover today!

Provided by the fabulous Rhoda, from Southern Hospitality.

I met Rhoda two years ago at Blissdom. She is my angel. (You’ll have to read my post at Rhoda’s today to find out why.)

She is the most caring and considerate blogger ever! She is always thinking of others more than herself. I love that about her.

She was my mom’s favorite blog, and I know why. She is super talented, super creative, and oooozing with southern graciousness. I am so excited to share some of her talent with you today.

Rhoda turned her deck from “drab to fab” last year, and you have to see it to believe it!

Rhoda had a deck, I’m sure, like many of yours. It was not an extremely large space, but it was enough of a space to spruce up and make more inviting.

Here is the before picture of her deck…

This wasn’t a space that beckoned Rhoda to come outside, relax, and sip on sweet tea.

She found that great umbrella at a yard sale, and it got her juices flowing to create a more beautiful outdoor space.

Look at it now!

Wow! Isn’t it amazing?! It’s hard to believe it is the same place!

I would want to sit out on this deck every night.

One of the best additions to the deck, was the DIY shutters that Rhoda made.

Yep. She made them. She is truly amazing!

You can find her tutorial of how to make them, HERE.

Rhoda did purchase her wicker furniture (at a great price), but the rest of her accessories are mostly from garage sales or from around her home. I love that!

She proves my theory that it doesn’t have to be expensive to be beautiful!

She got a great deal on this gorgeous rug too. I love the way it defines the space. The colors are perfect.

The little table between the two chairs got a fresh coat of spray paint to make it look like brand new.

Rhoda also tried her hand at sewing and did a great job on these pillows. Don’t you love those colors?!

Let’s take one more look at this beautiful outdoor space.

If you want to see even more photos of this transformation, click HERE, to read Rhoda’s full post.

She also shares the Top 5 Ways to Create a Cozy Porch.

While you are there, be sure to browse around. Rhoda’s blog is full of inspiration!

I am sharing my Back Patio Makeover over at Rhoda’s today too, so come see me!

Have a blessed day!

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My Willow House Party

September 6, 2010 AT 9:36 pm 22 Comments

September 6, 2010 By traci 22 Comments

Ladies, I am so sorry for not posting sooner!

Besides being unbelievably busy, my laptop went ka-put! I have not been able to access my blog for about a week. I have only been able to check my gmail on my phone. Man…I feel so out of it.

So, I finally twisted my husband’s arm until it completely fell off, and he broke down and bought me a new desktop computer for my office.

I had a desktop computer that I purchased in 1999, which is a trillion years old in computer years. It was soooooo slow. Literally.

It would take over 15 minutes for a page to load on the internet. Not kiddin.

I would click for a page to open, go downstairs and fold the laundry, come back upstairs, and the page still hadn’t loaded.

So when my laptop is down, I am basically computerless.

Maybe it’s a good thing. But it sure didn’t feel like it.

But since I am teaching now and will be bringing home a paycheck in a few weeks, my loving (one-armed) husband gave me the green light to purchase a mini-mac for my office.

One word….LOVE. (and I love my husband too.) :)

Mac’s rock!

I am so excited about what I am going to be able to do with my pictures and videos for my blog now. The possibilities are limitless!

So now that I have a computer working in my office, I am finally able to post pictures of my Willow House Party.

Let’s start with the most important pictures first…THE FOOD!

My sister and niece helped me out with the snacks, and believe me…they were delish!

My niece, Courtney, brought these delicious “cake truffles”. She told me on the phone earlier, “Aunt Traci, these are better than those Oreo Truffles.”

What? How can that be? Have you tried those Oreo Truffles? They are heaven on earth. (recipe HERE)

But when I took a bit of the “cake truffles”, I will have to admit that I agree. They are soooo good!

CAKE TRUFFLES

Ingredients:

1 (18.25 oz) package of cake mix (Courtney used yellow cake mix)

1 (16 oz) container of prepared cake frosting

2 bags semi-sweet chocolate chips

sprinkles

Directions:

1. Bake the cake according to box instructions.

2. Remove cake from oven when done and let cool 30 minutes.

3. Crumble up warm cake mix in a large bowl and add frosting. Mix together with a stand mixer or hand mixer.

4. Cover and chill in refrigerator for 3 hours or overnight.

5. Line your cookie tray with wax paper.

6. Use a melon scraper to scoop out the mixture into balls and place on cookie sheet.

7. Set in freezer for one hour.

8. Melt chocolate chips in microwave or on the stove top (double broiler).

8. Using toothpicks, dip the cake balls into the chocolate and place on cookie tray to harden. Place in refrigerator until time to serve.

9. YUM!

(This is a Paula Deen recipe. Click HERE to view her recipe.)

I made some delicious cheese truffles from a recipe found in my “Best of Philadelphia Cream Cheese” cookboook. I loved having individual bite size cheese balls versus one large one that everyone has to cut into.

Holiday Cheese Truffles

Ingredients:

2 pkg. (8 oz each) of Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened

1 pkg. (8 0z.) Shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 tsp. garlic powder

dash ground red pepper, cayenne (I did not use this.)

1/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers

2 green onions, sliced

1 2/3 cups chopped pecans

Crackers of choice ( I used wheat thins.)

Directions:

1. Beat cream cheese, cheddar cheese, garlic powder and ground red pepper with electric mixer until blended. Divide in half. Add roasted red peppers to half and onions to the other half; mix each well until blended.

2. Refrigerate several hours until chilled.

3. Shape into 24 (1-inch) balls. Roll in pecans. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Cyndi made Mom’s “Ooey, Gooey Marshmallow Bars” that she had posted about on her blog. You can find that recipe HERE.

To serve the spinach dip and bread cubes, I just flipped my (former) Southern Living at Home cake stand over. It usually looks like this:

We had the party demonstration outside. My friend Lori, the Willow House consultant, had decorated the display table beautifully for us to enjoy…

See the gorgeous green Berry Bowl in the above picture? I got that with my bonus points! It is a strainer, so I can just wash off my grapes or cherries and stick in right in the fridge. I cannot wait to get it!

So many pretty things…

The weather was absolutely gorgeous that night, mid 70′s!

My beautiful sister, Cyndi, enjoyed sipping her coffee while relaxing in the swing…

And two of my Mom’s sisters were there, Aunt Tassy and Aunt Pat. I don’t know what I would do without these ladies in my life right now.

I hosted a party two years ago, and Mom was there. I really missed not having her with us this time. She would have loved the food and the fellowship. As I cleaned the house and got ready for the party, I reminded myself of Mom in so many ways.

Having my precious aunts there made me feel like Mom was nearby. They look and act just like her! We sat around the patio table and talked about precious memories of Mom as we ate our food.

I was so touched afterwards by the words my friend Lori shared with me. She said she was amazed at the closeness I have with my aunts. She informed me that that was rare and special and that she felt honored to be a part of our family that night.

She’s right. Not many people are as close to their aunts as Cyndi and I are. I am so unbelievably blessed with a family that loves me so much. Mom’s sisters have “stepped in” to Mom’s shoes many times this past year when I was feeling her absence the most.

I am so grateful for the blessing of family!

Cyndi, and my precious niece, Courtney. When the three of us get together, you can guarantee it’s gonna be fun!!!

My beautiful friend, Lori, ready to demonstrate some of the gorgeous Willow House products…

As it began to get dark, Lori demonstrated how you could use one of the bowls for a centerpiece with candles. It was beautiful!

She also created an adorable fall display using the 3-tier stand. I absolutely love decorating for fall, don’t you!!?

A couple pictures of the patio all lit up at night…

It was such a great evening! I wish it didn’t have to end.

I should be getting my products in the mail soon. I will share them with you when I do. Can’t wait!

Hope you had a long, restful Labor Day weekend!

Blessings.

This post is brought to you by…

Julian & Co.

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My Patio was featured on One Project Closer!

August 23, 2010 AT 10:36 pm 15 Comments

August 23, 2010 By traci 15 Comments

I want to thank Rhoda from Southern Hospitality for posting about a “Before and After” contest at One Project Closer!

I entered my Patio Concrete Floor Makeover last week, and I won!

This week, my patio makeover was featured on their site, and I won a $50.00 gift card to Lowe’s. Holla!

It’s a GREAT contest because they also donate $100.00 in each winner’s name to Habitat for Humanity.

At the end of the summer, readers will be able to vote on their favorite makeover of the summer, and the final winner will win a $150.00 gift certificate!

If you want to check out my post, or if you want to enter your own DIY Before and After Project, click HERE.

There’s only a little time left in the contest.

Have a blessed day!

Traci

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Back Patio Reveal (And 5 Giveaway Winners!)

August 16, 2010 AT 6:00 am 69 Comments

August 16, 2010 By traci 69 Comments

Happy Monday, Ladies!

I hope you had a nice, restful weekend. I would like to say that I did…but I would be lying…and that’s not nice.

I came down with a cold at the end of last week that zapped me of any energy whatsoever, so I apologize for not getting to share my “big” patio reveal with you on Friday. You must have been terribly disappointed. I know you were waiting on pins and needles! (wink)

I have mentioned several times that this patio has kicked my tail this summer. Well, it’s true.

I cannot tell you how many pillows and cushions I have purchased and returned because I didn’t like the way they looked with my patio furniture! If I had kept count, you would have thought I was verging on physco.

The problem began with our patio floor.

Do you remember our project at the beginning of the summer?

We turned our plain, ugly concrete patio floor into a beautiful (faux) tile patio floor by staining the concrete. Click HERE for the tutorial.

stained concrete tile

It really turned out pretty, so why was it a problem?

Because it ended up being a little darker than I had expected, and my black patio furniture tended to “sink” into the dark brown tile floor.

So after about 87 pillow purchases (and returns), and 2 rugs later, it finally started coming together.

Here is what my patio looks like now….

patio re-do

The rug from Lowe’s and the off-white pillows from Pottery Barn really made my black table and chairs “pop”. I love the way it looks now.

To add a touch of off-white to the other side of the patio, I added the coffee table from my guest house that I got at Goodwill for $6.50. If you want to see what it looked like before I painted it, click HERE.

The planter on the table was my mom’s, the red plate ($1.00) and the basket/tray ($4.50) on the bottom of the table were both from Goodwill, and the candle used to be my sister’s. She had it for sale at a yard sale, and when it didn’t sale, I took it home. :)

This coffee table has the same paint treatment as the buffet table that I painted last weekend. I think both pieces help to lighten up the patio even more.

If you want to see my buffet table re-do, click HERE. To accessorize this table, I just pulled things out of my house. The tall “wish” jar used to be on my piano and was purchased on clearance at Gordman’s last year. The pewter salt and pepper shakers were a wedding gift, the lantern I got last year at Gordman’s for about 5 bucks, the white bowl was a purchase from a flea market, and the faux green apples I got from Marshall’s last year.

I struggled with how to decorate the table. I wanted to make a beautiful tablescape to share with you, but I just haven’t had the time or money to put it together. So instead, I just got these beautiful mums from Lowe’s and put them in this adorable double galvanized planter that I got from JoAnn’s. It was regularly $19.99, and it was on sale for $6.50! Score!

The galvanized planters bring a little bit of a rustic feel, and I love it.

I call it my “touch of Layla” (The Lettered Cottage). :)

I am still looking for ways to create a beautiful tablescape, but for now I am enjoying the look of my mums.

My favorite addition to the patio was my hanging lanterns! I have had these lanterns a couple of years, so adding these cost me almost nothing!

I just got this idea this week, and I cannot tell you how much it added to this space.

They are so darn cute hanging there!

I hung them from some iron hooks that I got at a yard sale two summers ago. They were gray and rusty and only 50 cents a piece. I took them home and painted them black knowing that I would use them somewhere someday.

The hooks were originally a little longer…

But I didn’t want the lanterns to hang too far out from the post, so my sweet hubby cut the end loop off with his hack saw, and it was perfect!

It rained this evening as I was trying to finish taking pictures for this post. Here are some pictures of the candles lit in the lanterns…

I love looking at my little lanterns from my kitchen window.

The pillows and cushions in my wicker chairs and on the swing are from Garden Ridge…

In the late afternoon to evening, the sun beams down on the table area. It makes it absolutely miserable to eat dinner!

That’s why I need my drop cloth curtains to block the sun! If you missed my post about how I hung these curtains, click HERE.

It works perfectly and makes eating so much more enjoyable!

Some of you have asked me if the drop cloths will mildew when the get wet. The answer…idunno.

It has rained the past two days, and when the curtains get wet, I just pull them all the way out to dry. So far so good.

I think they will hold up just fine, but if they don’t, I will be sure to let you know. :)

(At least they wouldn’t cost much to replace!)

Just for fun, I wanted to share with you the “before” pictures from last summer and compare them to the “after” pictures now!

I really do love the way it has all come together!

My hubster even said that it is the prettiest room in the house! :)

I am so glad I was able to get it finished before a little get together I am having at my house next week. (BTW, if you live nearby, you are invited! I’ll tell you about it later this week.)

I have more pictures to share, but I will save them for another post. It is getting late, and I need my sleep!

Thanks for stopping by!

Click HERE to see the five winners of the My Design Guide giveaway!

I am linking this patio renovation to:

Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Make it 4 Monday at Cottage Instincts

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Furniture Re-do for the Patio

August 9, 2010 AT 11:57 pm 43 Comments

August 9, 2010 By traci 43 Comments

I am linking this project to…

I wanted to show you a table that I painted for my back patio.

It used to be my mom’s, and she gave it to me several years ago to use in my home. Originally, it was cherry, but Mom suggested that I paint it black. Mom was the Queen of painting furniture!

So I painted it black and put silver drawer pulls on it. (The original pulls used to be brass.)

It was in my kitchen for several years.

After re-doing my kitchen, I didn’t have the space for it anymore, so I moved it outside to our patio.

I also painted the mirror above the table to put on the brick wall. I was hoping to reflect the beautiful scenery in our back yard. I’m not crazy about the black mirror. It’s not exactly what I was looking for, but it is good enough for now.

I decided that the table would show up better on the wall if it were painted white. I thought it might look a little like this table from my favorite inspiration spot, Ballard Designs catalog…(which costs over $300.00 by the way)….

So I grabbed some cans of white Krylon spray paint and went to town on the table.

Now, you need to know that I skipped many steps that should have been followed at this point.

I probably should have sanded the table with a sponge or liquid sandpaper, but I didn’t.

I should have also painted a base coat of KILZ primer to help the new coat of paint to adhere correctly, but I didn’t.

Why, you ask?

Two reasons: exhaustion and lack of time

I’ve been so busy working this summer, that I haven’t had time for many projects. So when I finally had a few minutes to work on a project, I skipped a few steps and went right to the final coat of paint.

I wasn’t really worried if it didn’t turn out perfectly because I like the “old” look and because I know that it is a piece of furniture that I will probably replace down the road.

The table had previously been painted black with a latex paint. The white spray paint I used was oil-based. Not a good combo.

A weird reaction occurred and the paint did not go on smoothly.

But frankly girls, I just didn’t care.

I did grab one of my sanding sponges and sanded over the rougher patches, and then I added another coat of spray paint.

After all the pieces were dry, I used a medium coarse sanding sponge to sand down the edges.

You might be able to see in the next picture how the white paint did not adhere to the black paint and left sort of a “crackle” finish. I just figured I would use my mistake to my advantage. I knew that when I added the glaze, the “crackle” patches would give the furniture an aged look.

Next, I added a layer of my very favorite glaze, Valspar Mocha, to the top of the furniture. You can get this at Lowe’s. I bought it last year, and I believe it was around 15 dollars. It has definitely been worth every penny! I have used it on a ton of projects and I still have a lot left!

I just apply the glaze with a dry paper towel. You have several minutes to “play” with the glaze to get it to look like you want it to. I put it on a little thicker than I did on previous projects because I thought the brown would go well with the brown stain on our concrete.

You can make the glaze as dark or light as you want. I usually use a wet paper towel to wipe down the glaze even more, but I didn’t with this project.

I know it is hard to tell by this picture, but the table now definitely has an “aged” look.

I tried to find new handles that would fit the drawers, but they didn’t have the size I needed at Lowe’s. It’s hard to tell by the picture below, but the holes on the handle are wider than the holes on the drawer. (That is my sweet Luke helping hold the handle up for the picture.) ;)

I didn’t have any wood putty to fill in the old holes, so my hubby gave me this weird “fix-it stick” to fill in the holes. I had to pinch off a piece of the “playdough-like” putty and kneed it in my fingers for a few minutes. Then I filled up the holes in the drawers and let them dry for about 15 minutes. After it was dry, I painted over the putty with white paint, and then I used a drill to make new holes in the drawer.

I added the new handles to the drawers, and I think it looks great!

By the time I finished this project, it was about 9:00 p.m., so I had to turn on the lights on the patio to take these pictures. Sorry for the poor quality.

I love the way the table “pops” off the brick wall. It shows up so much better.

Now I need to accessorize the table, but I am stuck right there.

I’ll worry about that tomorrow! :)

Just to keep it real, I wanted to show you how I “butchered” the drawers with the drill bit and messed up the holes. The handle does not cover the old holes, but I don’t think anyone will ever notice it. I may fix the holes later, but I doubt it.

It’s good enough for me!

I will be working on accessorizing the table by Thursday. That is the day I am hoping to show you some more accessories I have added to the patio as well.

But for now, I am just enjoying the look of my “new” table!

UPDATED: AUGUST 18, 2010

Here’s a picture of my table accessorized…

outdoor furniture

Have a blessed day!

P.S. I would love to hear from you! Please leave a comment. It makes my day! :)

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Drop Cloth Curtains for my Patio

August 9, 2010 AT 12:39 am 55 Comments

August 9, 2010 By traci 55 Comments

Ladies, I am very pleased that I have finally made some progress on my back patio!

Are you tired of hearing about it yet?

I am so laughing that it has taken me all summer to work on my back patio. Back in the “before working full time” days, I would have knocked this patio out in a couple of weeks!

But noooooo…it’s only taken me about 10 weeks to finally get ‘er done!

I have affectionately labeled this projects as, “The patio that has kicked my tail!”

I was close to raising the white flag, but I didn’t give in.

Thankfully, I am finally lovin’ the almost-finished project.

I am hoping to share the final “reveal” on Friday.

Today I am going to show you the curtains I made for my patio from drop cloths.

No, big surprise there! If you have read my blog for any time at all, you know my love affair with drop cloths. I even wrote a post about me being a “drop cloth connoisseur”.

Why do I like drop cloths? They are cheap, durable, already hemmed, and pretty!

I have drop cloth curtains in my kitchen….

drop cloth curtains

Drop cloth curtains in my den…

A chair with a drop cloth slipcover…

And now drop cloth curtains on my back patio!…

Somebody stop me! :)

To hang my curtains, I purchased 1/2 inch metal poles from Lowe’s. A five foot pole cost only about $1.37 or so. I had to buy two 10 foot poles that were less than two dollars a piece. I cut the 10 foot pieces into two 7 foot pieces for both sides of the patio.

I think it was less than 10 dollars for all 6 of these poles…

I spray painted the poles with KILZ spray primer (which is already white) and then put a final coat of white spray paint on top.

I also bought some little hooks to hold up the poles. They were .67 cents a piece. I bought 8.

My hubby helped me screw the hooks in the wood and put the poles up. I spray painted the hooks white so they wouldn’t show up as much. (Please pay no attention to the dirty spider webs.) :)

I washed and ironed the curtains before hanging them with black ring clips from Lowe’s…

I have a total of 5 of these curtains on my patio! The drop cloths were less than 10 dollars a piece at Home Depot. (Remember, Home Depot drop cloths do NOT have seams down the middle, Lowe’s drop cloths do.)

Here’s a run down of the price of my patio curtains:

5 drop cloths -$50.00

5 sets of ring clips – $25.00

metal poles – $10.00

hooks – $6.00

primer and paint $6.00

Grand Total: $97.00

That sounds like a LOT of money to me, and if I wasn’t working full time, I may not have been able to afford these.

But compared to the Ballard Designs curtains that I love…