How to build a personal fire pit

Karen Bertlesen is a true Renaissance woman. On her blog, The Art of Doing Stuff, she explains how to make a delicious curried chicken salad, how to raise a Monarch butterfly, how to paint a lampshade, and even how to “kill a centipede and make a fashion statement.” (Now there’s a promise that gets my attention.) It seems that there is no topic that will go undiscovered for this writer, tv host, and cottager. She’s also, bless her, a woman who isn’t afraid of power tools, and her blog has a list of awesome DIY projects to prove it. (She has even built herself an amazing backyard chicken coop that you must click on over to when you’ve finished here. It’s Awe. Some.) But I think my favourite Karen project is this, a deck-top personal fire pit, built with few supplies, including dollar-store picture frames, a metal planter, and some marine silicone:

Picture frame glass! How brilliant!

This project reminds me of those mini-chimneys that were all the rage about ten years ago, but is far more handsome, and far less intrusive space-wise, especially if you are using it on your deck. It’s exactly what you want at your cottage on these chilly September nights, no?

Visit The Art of Doing Stuff for full instructions on how to make your own. Thanks, Karen!