Makely School for Girls - Lessons in Making Your Home Awesome

Flameless TIKI Brand Torches – Outdoor Kitsch at Its Best!

by Lindsay Ballard on May 17, 2013 2 Comments

This post brought to you by TIKI Brand®. All opinions are 100% mine.

We’ve reached that season here in Austin that falls in between being slightly chilly and hotter than Hades. Before the temps soar to 100+ degrees, my family and I have been enjoying spending some time outside. The kids have been playing like crazy on our backyard playscape and Tom and I have been enjoying an adult beverage in the evenings sitting next to our old BBQ grill turned diy planter. It’s been very nice!

This year, I wanted to add a little more fun to the backyard. I’ve always been a big fan of kitschy tiki torches, but Tom has never agreed to let me get some since an open flame doesn’t mix well with kids and dogs. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

But y’all, we finally found a compromise.

TIKI Brand has introduced some good alternatives to an open flame. My favorite is this flameless TIKI Brand Glowing Table Torch. By day, it looks like a blue, hand blown glass object d’art. By night, you can either light the torch flame or simply turn on the LED light. It has a fun glow, with either a solid white light or a rotating red/green/blue light. It comes in a TIKI Brand Glowing Torch, too.

The other option we’ve been enjoying is the TIKI Brand Flame & Solar Torch. Like the Glowing Table Torch, you can light this one like you do a traditional tiki. Or, you can use the solar cell on the top of it to charge the battery during the day and a flickering flame-like light automatically turns on at night. It’s the ambiance of a tiki torch without the fear of someone burning themselves. Win-win!

I shot a little time lapse video of nightfall in my backyard so that you can see the transition of both of these fun accessories from day to night. Love it!

Both are available at Wal-mart or Target – or you can hop on TikiBrand.com and order some to be delivered to you. If you are looking to use them with a traditional torch light, the new Off/BiteFighter torch fuel might be a good way to fight off those pesky summertime mosquitos – I swear they grow as big as birds here in Texas!

What do you think? Do you enjoy the kitschy fun of a tiki torch as much as I do?

Looking for more inspiration photos? Visit TIKI Brand on Facebook.

From Nursery to an {Almost} Big Girl Room

by Lindsay Ballard on May 15, 2013 5 Comments

My Emma is getting to be such a big girl. It seems like just yesterday that I showed you this.

And then this.

Believe it or not, it’s been nearly 3 years since then. That darling, squishy baby has turned into a vibrant, curly headed, blue-eyed girl that I can’t remember my life without.

As she’s grown, her pretty little nursery has transitioned, too. And while I’m not quite ready to let go of the sweet serenity of this room in favor of my more brightly colored style, I needed to make a few changes so that we can use and enjoy the space. Plus, it was feeling kind to stale to me.

Bolt Cutting Made Easy

by Lindsay Ballard on May 13, 2013 5 Comments

Since I’m working on redoing my kids’ bathroom, I’ve been in the market for some really fun knobs for their shared vanity cabinet doors. I considered painting the vanity, but it is in fabulous shape and is stained a gorgeous, deep color so I decided to leave it as is. So, the pulls needed to bring some much needed character to the doors.

Shared Kids Bathroom Ideas and a Mother’s Day Family Project

by Lindsay Ballard on May 10, 2013 2 Comments

Over Mother’s Day weekend, I’m going to be doing what any DIY-lovin’ mama will be doing – getting the entire family to help with a room redo. This time, we’ll be working on de-beige-ing my kids’ shared bathroom.

So far, I’ve only updated one of the light fixtures. I’ve purchased a few more to install and we’ll get the ceiling and walls painted for the largest change. It’s not a very big bathroom, so any small change will end up having a huge impact.

I’ve put together an inspiration board with my kids bathroom ideas, and the style I’m going for is quirky, eclectic and fun. Well, duh! That’s the look of every room I’ve put together in my home.

Ten Tips for Better Growing Grass + a $50 AmEx Gift Card Giveaway

by Lindsay Ballard on May 8, 2013 39 Comments

This is a sponsored post from Pennington Seed about using better growing grass seed to create a drought tolerant lawn.

As I tell you in just about every post, I live in Austin, Texas. I know I’ve described it as the hottest place on Earth and hotter than the surface of the sun. Those things are both true. And when you combine our summers of 100+ degree days and little to no rain, you have a recipe for big time drought.