We have this deck in our backyard that was probably previously used for a hot tub. I’ve been dreaming up ways to spiff it up ever since we moved to this house. Right before Ellie’s birthday party, with the help of my husband and father-in-law, we turned the space into a lovely summer time gathering area.

What really makes it fun though are the tin can lights. I wanted them as soon as I saw the inspiration on this blog. We did our’s a little differently but they turned out adorable and are so much fun when it’s dark out. I decided to put LED tea lights inside of them so I didn’t have to worry about the fire aspect and they work just as well, even flickering like the real thing.

I took a sharpie and drew designs on each can (Jeff got fancy and looked up constellations for some of them and copied the design). After each can was sharpied-up, Jeff took a nail and a hammer and hammered holes where the sharpie dots were. My father-in-law helped get them all hung up on the bamboo rods and twine and we were all set.

A cozy space to sip wine, watch the baby play in the grass and chat with friends into the night-time hours was created. I’m liking it so far!