While entertaining alfresco this season, these simple floating jar votives suspended from garden hooks make for that perfect final patio touch, offering an inviting, soft glow that keeps the gathering going long into the evening.

For this project we picked from a handful of mismatched empty mason jars that have stacked up around the house. The varied sizes lend to that overall rustic appeal. We love how they can easily be transferred indoors or out, depending on where you’re entertaining. Use them for a summer party, upcoming wedding or a respite with the family over a glass of wine.

1. Separate the bands from the lids and drill equidistant holes near the base of each band (we used a 7/64-inch bit).

2. Using wire cutters, snip 8-inch long strips from clock chain and attach through the holes in the jar bands using pliers, to create hanging handles. We used #5 sized clock chain, because it’s sturdy for holding the weight of the jars while still giving off a delicate feel. We found it at our local hardware store in the same aisle as regular chain and jack chain, which could just as easily be used for this project.

3. Twist bands around the jar mouths to secure, creating a hanging mason jar.

4. Fill jars about halfway with water, drop tea lights inside to float and light to create an instantly glowing group of mason jar votives. Cluster and use them just like this for an inviting indoor or outdoor centerpiece.

5. Suspend jars from garden hooks secured along a fence as hanging lanterns.

What you will Need

SKU: 001280052

SKU: 070040168

SKU: 014047001

SKU: 093140502

We all have gooey messes that we want to get rid of, why not naturally and safe!? I personally like to make any cleaners I can to keep it green and safe for my family and I. There is always a mess that regular cleaners will not work on so I found an alternative! You can use this to clean sticky greasy messes your that require a little extra attention.

First you will need all of your ingredients:

1/3 cup Baking Soda

1/3 cup Coconut Oil

A small jar to store your new goo gone

      

Step 1:

Measure out the 1/3 cup of Coconut Oil into a glass measuring cup. Put into the microwave and set for only a few seconds. You want the coconut oil to become liquid but NOT hot.

Step 2:

You will now add the 1/3 cup of Baking Soda to the measuring cup of Coconut Oil. Stir this until it is combined and all of the clumps are gone.

Step 3:

Now you can pour this into your jar to store for later use. When it is cooled to room temperature it will become a paste!

To use your new Goo Gone you can spread it onto the sticky mess, paper towels work well, and let it set for a few moments to let it soak in good. From there you can just wipe away the GOO!

 This is a safe and easy way to care for the sticky messes that everyday cleaners may not work on. Have fun and get your kids involved in making this with you!!

If you prefer to use the ready made we have that for you too!

   

Today you can choose from a new generation of pellet-burning appliances, like a pellet stove, that are cleaner burning, more efficient, and powerful enough to heat many average-sized, modern homes. Pellet fuel appliances burn small pellets that measure 3/8 to 1 inch in length.

CHOOSING AND INSTALLING PELLET-BURNING APPLIANCES

When choosing a pellet-burning appliance, it’s important to select one that’s properly sized for the space to be heated. When an appliance is too big, residents tend to burn fires at a low smolder to avoid overheating, which wastes fuel and is one of the biggest causes of air pollution. An under-sized unit will not provide sufficient heat. You should discuss your heating needs with a reputable dealer. A good rule-of-thumb is that a stove rated at 60,000 British Thermal Units (BTU) can heat a 2,000-square-foot home, while a stove rated at 42,000 BTU can heat a 1,300-square-foot space.

 

Pellets may be an economical and environmentally sound heating fuel choice.

Pellet fuel appliances are more convenient to operate than ordinary wood stoves or fireplaces, and some have much higher combustion and heating efficiencies. As a consequence of this, they produce very little air pollution. In fact, pellet stoves are the cleanest solid fuel, residential heating appliance. Pellet stoves that are certified by the EPA are likely to be in the 70% to 83% efficiency range. Pellet stoves have heating capacities that range between 8,000 and 90,000 BTU per hour. They are suitable for homes as well as apartments or condominiums.

Pellet appliances usually require refueling only once a day. However, because the fuel is compressed, the bagged pellets can be difficult to lift.  Some models use bulk-filled storage systems and are fully automatic.

Most pellet appliance exteriors (except glass doors) stay relatively cool while operating, reducing the risk of accidental burns. Pellet stoves burn fuel so completely that very little creosote builds up in the flue, posing less of a fire hazard.

MAINTENANCE

To keep your pellet-burning system operating efficiently and safely, you’ll need to maintain it on a regular basis.

Every year, preferably before each heating season, have a chimney sweep certified by the Chimney Safety Institute of America inspect your pellet-burning system. In addition to cleaning the chimney, a certified chimney sweep should have the knowledge to help make sure your appliance, hearth, connecting pipe, air inlets, chimney, and all other components are functioning efficiently and safely.

Benefits of Pellet Stoves

Clean burning, cost-efficient heating for your home

No hassle: Among the many wood-burning stoves available, pellet stoves are the easiest to operate. You’ll typically need to load these stoves with wood pellets just once every day or two—and loading the pellets is a simple matter of pulling out the hopper and pouring the pellets in.

Smoke free: Pellet stoves don’t produce smoke. This means you’ll never have to worry about “smoking out” a room, or dealing with the subsequent dry air and unpleasant smells.

Heat safe: With a pellet stove, there’s virtually no external heat while it’s operating. You can place a pellet stove as close as one inch away from a wall, and it will pose no fire hazard. It’s the ideal heating choice for households with children and pets.

Environmental and cost advantages

Wood pellets used in pellet stoves are tightly condensed, which makes burning them a low-moisture, highly efficient process. There are less harmful gases released into the air through wood pellet burning than with regular wood-burning stoves.

In addition, wood pellets are not a primary product of the forestry industry. Rather, they are a byproduct made with recycled wood from sawmills—usually formed from compacted sawdust and wood shavings, or the unused tops of trees that are cut down for logging.

But the biggest advantage of pellet stoves is the fuel cost. You can purchase 40 pounds of wood pellets for around $3, which provides enough heat for two days or more. The typical home heating bill for fuel-heated homes is around $250 for the winter months. With a pellet stove, you’ll spend $50 a month or less to heat your home all winter.

Disadvantages of pellet stoves

There are only a few disadvantages to using pellet stoves that you should be aware of, if you’re considering investing in one for your home.

• Wood pellets are primarily manufactured in the Pacific Northwest and a few other colder areas of the country. They can often be found in other areas and online.
• While pellet stoves primarily burn fuel, they have internal components that need electricity to operate—though some models come with battery packs. You’ll have around 100 KWH of monthly electricity use with a pellet stove.
• The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has banned the installation of pellet stoves in manufactured homes.
• The initial cost of purchasing a pellet stove is a significant investment, typically $1,400 to $3,000. However, regular use of a pellet stove pays for itself, often in just a few months.

On a personal note…I used a Pellet Stove last year in a Tri-Level home and it saved us $500 month in our heating cost.  I spent $25 a week on pellets to keep our house warm. My son wore t-shirts and shorts and we were all very comfortable every day.

If you’re bored with the basic jack-o-lantern with a scary face, you can carve awesome designs in pumpkins using nothing more than a power drill. Read on for tips and tricks for pumpkin carving with a drill and some patterns you can follow to make the best Fall / Halloween decorations this year.

It’s that time of year again!  Fall is approaching and all the beautiful colors will be coming out.  Our stores are stocking up on mums and pumpkins.  You can use them alone to decorate the house or you can spice things up and create some fun in your family.  

All you need are some pumpkins and some paint for these candy colored pumpkins!

Get the kids to gather up some leaves and let them dry.  Then spray paint the leaves and paint the pumpkin a different color then glue on the leaves. You can also use the pumpkins as planters for your mums!

It’s going to be a fun and beautiful fall season with these decorations!

Are small paperclips, screws, and other small items constantly in the way? Need a better organizational system but can’t seem to find one? You don’t have to suffer from discord in your home when you could create a special organizational system that involves storing your items in small jars that can be housed underneath your cabinets.