Showing posts with label campfire. Show all posts
Showing posts with label campfire. Show all posts

Our First Camp Fire At The Blog Cabin With Duraflame Logs

This post is sponsored by Duraflame. 
It's been a busy summer and I've really been missing The Blog Cabin. This week, I decided to pack up the Design Studio and my youngest son and take them with me to the Northern Woods. During the day, I've been working away on some really exciting online design projects, and in the evening, Max and I have been crossing projects off the Cabin Makeover To-Do List. Last night, we decided to take a break and have my sister and my nephews up for a campfire.  





It was the first campfire since the Fire Pit Makeover my boys and I completed a few weeks ago. If you missed that post, we created a beautiful brand new fire pit in one day for less than $100. You can read about it HERE. I decided that Christening the new fire pit was a pretty exciting moment and should be celebrated. I ran into town and grabbed everything we needed for a perfect summer evening around the fire...

S'mores, Sparklers, Citronella Candles, Mason Jar Cocktails, and Sorry!







When my sister and the boys arrived, I quickly snapped a picture of them before they inevitably became covered in dirt, marshmallows and chocolate. I wanted to have a picture to commemorate this special day. This is the start of many years of campfires around the new fire pit and I wanted to remember the moment. 




(My son Max and Nephews Jax and Jet).




After the photo shoot, we headed to the back yard to get the fire started. But first, the boys had to extract the frogs that recently made our fire pit their digs. 










Once the frogs were set free, I started the fire using Duraflame Roasting Logs. This was my first experience with Duraflame logs and I couldn't believe how simple they were to use. Sometimes having a big fire with real wood can be a daunting task, but these logs seriously made it so easy. All I had to do was place them in the fire pit and light the packaging on fire with a lighter. Within a few minutes we had a roaring fire. The logs were lightweight and compact which made them very easy to travel with. 












When I first saw how light and compact they were, I was skeptical that they would produce a fire large and hot enough to cook over. However, after the fire was lit, I could see that using a stack of four logs gave out plenty of heat and enough intensity to roast marshmallows and s'mores over a warm, crackling, glowing fire. One thing I really appreciated about the Duraflame log fire was the lack of a bellowing smoke cloud that can make a traditional wood log fire less enjoyable.








My Mom suggested we try a new S'more recipe using Reese Peanut Butter Cups instead of Hershey Bars...
Five sticky thumbs up, Mom!














According to My Sister, Max and Jax, the first fire at The Blog Cabin Fire Pit was a huge success. According to Jet, a third S'more would have made it perfect...









Thanks for letting me share our first campfire adventure with you. Thank you to Duraflame for sponsoring our Fire Pit Makeover and for providing a supply of Duraflame supplies to last through our first summer at The Blog Cabin. 







To see more projects featured in The Blog Cabin Makeover Series, Please Click on the links below:






We currently have openings for new Online Design Projects (E-Design). If you're interested in getting started on a room makeover in your home, please click here to make your reservation.

*This post is sponsored by Duraflame. I received compensation and product to facilitate this post. All opinions are completely honest and 100% my own. 


DIY Fire Pit Makeover in One Day For Less Than $100

This post is sponsored by Duraflame.

On my most recent visit to The Blog Cabin, I took the kids along to help me with some yard work. When we got there, they asked if we could have a camp fire at night like we used to when they were little and we spent our summers at the cabin. I checked out the old fire pit and decided it needed some work before we could safely have a fire. (Click here if you're wondering what The Blog Cabin Project is all about). 

It hadn't been used in years and wasn't in good condition...


(Before)

(Before)



The sad look on their faces prompted me to move the "Fireplace Makeover" to the top of the "Cabin Makeover Project To-Do List". If we're going to be there working on the weekends, we may as well have a little fun at night around the fire. My goal for the fire pit makeover was to keep it simple and budget friendly. I wanted to use what was already there and just improve upon it. The new fire pit had to be easy to put together. Time is of the essence with every project at the cabin due to the travel time back and forth and my busy day job. I allowed myself one day to get the job done. And, it was just me and my boys (ages thirteen and ten) there to do the work. 


Are you ready to see what we came up with?
Here is what me and the boys created in one day with less than $100...


(After)






















Here's a look behind the scenes look at how this simple fire pit makeover came together ...
My little guy Max started us out by cleaning out the ashes and debris from the old fire ring. After it was clean, we decided to continue digging to make the hole for the logs a little deeper. At this point in the process, we decided the best part of working on projects at The Blog Cabin, is that we can do them in our PJ's! The squirrels up there don't seem to mind.  






Once the hole was prepped, I grabbed a can of high heat grill spray paint and applied two coats to the old metal ring for a fresh new look.  






 I ordered one ton of rocks to be delivered by the local landscape supply company. They were waiting for us when we arrived, however they, were waiting for us at the end of the driveway. Luckily, we had an old wheel barrow up there and we used it to move the rocks, three at time down the driveway and into the back yard. This was the most time consuming part of the process, but it gave myself and my boys (both wrestlers) a good workout. We placed the largest rocks around the ring first. Once we had a pleasing shape we layered on the small rocks. 




After all the rocks were in place, I filled in the ring with pea rock to create a nice, new base for firewood. I also surrounded the base of the new fire pit with a ring of pea rock to create a safe transition between the fire pit and the grass. 





It was tempting to run into town and buy new chairs for our new fire pit. Instead, I decided to stay true to my goal of keeping this project budget friendly using what we had. The old rusty chairs that were there had definitely seen better days, but they weren't completely gone. We gave them a second lease on life by scrubbing away the rust with a wire brush and spray painting them in a pretty green color with rust protection paint. 






The new green chairs blend into the scenery nicely, letting the new fire pit be the star of the show. We decided our first fire at The Blog Cabin will be a special event. We'll be heading back to the cabin in July and will celebrate the resurrection of the old fire pit with friends and family!





Here's the breakdown on the project cost...

One Ton of Rocks $65
Spray Paint $10
Pea Rock $20




My friends at Duraflame offered to sponsor this project and also sent me a box of goodies for our
very first fire pit party! Stay tuned, I'll be sharing the event right here on the blog!






We currently have openings for new Online Design Projects (E-Design). If you're interested in getting started on a room makeover in your home, please click here to make your reservation.

*Duraflame provided me with compensation to facilitate this post. 

Hosting A Laid Back Girls Night Under The Stars


Today, over at Houzz,  I'm sharing the details of a recent girls night out...hosted in my very own backyard.  Instead of a night on the town, it was a night under the stars.  C'mon over to Houzz to see how I brought things from my living room outside to create a chic campfire setting in the woods.  Paper lanterns led the way to sophisticated, but cozy fire pit retreat for a bare-foot night of chocolate and wine under the stars…










I hope you have a wonderful 4th of July holiday!  The Yellow Cape Cod blog will be closed next week.   The design studio will still be open for our clients,  however the blog will be closed.  During this time,  I've scheduled a week of look backs at some of our favorite posts from the past.


  




For information on my affordable online design service please click here. 


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