Tabletop Fire Bowl
Supplies:
Concrete bowl
or
Quick-set concrete
Plastic bowl
Plastic bin
Heavy, canned object
Stirring stick
Non-stick cooking spray
Rocks and canned gel fuel
If the weather has turned a bit chilly, and you need just a little heat – indoors or outside – you’ll cherish a portable heat source, such as a tabletop fire bowl. You can go through the steps of actually making a concrete bowl for the fire, or you can just purchase the bowl, and make the project go along much quicker. Either way, you’ll be able to set up the tabletop fire on a patio, a porch, or a room in your house.
If you shop at a home and garden center, or a home improvement store, you can often find a concrete bowl. If you want to make your own, it’s a tad messy, but not at all difficult. Purchase a quick-set-type of concrete and follow the instructions on the bag. Pour the dry mix into a plastic bin and stir in the specified amount of water, according to the size of bowl you’re making.
Spray a bowl, to use as the mold, with non-stick cooking spray. Fill the bowl halfway with the concrete and then set a heavy, canned item in it, like peaches. Spray the peaches can with the non-stick cooking spray and set it down in the middle of the bowl. Continue pouring concrete around the canned goods until the bowl is full.
When the concrete begins to get stiff remove the can from the center of the bowl. If needed, quickly smooth that area, wearing a glove as you do so. When the concrete has set up completely turn it out of the mold.
Set a can of chafing dish gel fuel in the bowl so that the top of it is level with the top of the bowl. Depending on the size of bowl you made, it might be necessary to put some rocks in the bottom of the bowl, and set the fuel on it. Stack more rocks around it so that you cover the entire can, except for the area where the flame will be.
The tabletop fire bowl can be used indoors or outside. Set it on the patio, in your bedroom, on a deck, or elsewhere. You can find the gel fuel at a place where cooking and catering items are sold. Or, shop at your local camping equipment store to buy it. Light the fuel with a long match for safety.
