July 2011

Beer Bottle Torches

July 25, 2011, 9:00 am
Filed under: How to | Tags: backyard, beer, craft beer, diy, how to, landscaping, torches, tutorial

I saw this post on Design*Sponge a while ago and knew it was something I’d have to try. Mike recently got a new fence put up, and I thought these would be a perfect addition to the new backyard. Since we’re beer people, we went with 22oz. beer bottles instead of wine bottles. A few craft breweries (namely Rogue and Stone) make this size bottle with very cool labels printed right on the bottles, instead of the traditional paper label.

The hardest thing about this project was finding the materials. I visited no fewer than 3 Home Depot’s, plus a Lowe’s and a few local mom and pop hardware shops, and there were a few pieces I needed that none of the employees could even name. I ended up having to order two of the pieces (the plate connector and the split ring hanger) online (the hangers I had to order twice because the size they suggest in the original tutorial didn’t work for my bottles). But once we had all of our supplies, the assembly was really easy and quick. I think these are going to make our backyard cook-outs even better! You know, assuming the temperature ever drops below 100 degrees here in Memphis.

No full tutorial here, since the original one is really, really good, but here are a few process pics and the finished product:

The assembled wicks

Cutting the threaded rod. Note the look of determination. And the crazy hair.

Hanging the hangers.

Filling the bottles.

Five of the six finished bottles, about to be hung.

Torches hung…

…and lit!

5 comments

New Project Fail

July 22, 2011, 8:33 am
Filed under: Art in Memphis, How to

So, I thought I was going to have this great “How to” post to share with you guys today. I got the project 90% done, took it outside to do my first coat of spray paint, then left it there to dry before doing my second coat. Ten minutes later, COMPLETE AND UTTER APOCALYPIC DOWNPOUR. Completely ruined. Such a bummer.

So instead, here’s another “bored at work” doodle. This time with lyrics from “Waiting for My Real Life to Begin” by Colin Hay (possibly my very favorite song in the history of ever).

So, I’m considering making screenprints of these (or something like them) and selling them on Etsy. What do you think?

2 comments

Bored at Work

July 19, 2011, 8:45 am
Filed under: Design on a Budget, Memphis Artist Spotlight

Made this while I was bored at work yesterday. Lyric by Mumford and Sons.

I have a feeling this is going to be a slow week, so there may be several “Bored at Work” posts coming!!

2 comments

Beer Labels

July 18, 2011, 9:00 am
Filed under: How to

It’s been a while since I posted a Fuzzy Brew craft. Actually, now that I think about it, it’s been a while since I DID a Fuzzy Brew craft. These were actually finished back in May, but we just now got around to putting them on the bottles.

Back in May, when Memphis was under a serious flood threat, and we were regularly having severe storms, Mike and his Fuzzy Brew cohorts got together to brew some beer. (See a recap of the brew day here.) The results were three different pale ale’s: the Levee Breaker, the Stage 48 and the Twister. Bored one night, I decided to design a label for the Levee Breaker Pale Ale. Here is what I came up with:

The image is a real sign, but I can’t recall what the text originally said. After editing the image in photoshop, I made it look old by putting it through one of the Instagram filters on my iPhone. I then printed it out on sticker paper that I found at Office Depot (at $2 a sheet, certainly not a perfect answer to the label question, but it will do for this very limited edition).

This has been my favorite home brew to date, and I’m very sad that we’re almost out of it. But at least we’ll always have commemorative bottles to remind us of the deliciousness!