This year why not trying something new! If you find yourself making the same meals every week, check out these great new meals and projects for the new year. There is everyone from making your own cheese or cider. There's nothing better than a good project to get you through the post-holiday dog days of winter. One of these projects from the past year is bound to spark your interest. What about making a batch of fizzy sparkling cider? Or finally trying your hand at homemade pasta? Or mozzarella? Lots to do, lots to try, lots to discover!
It has been about a week since the start of the year. This is the time that New Year's Resolutions start to be put on the back burner. Do not lose your New Year's Resolution this year! If your resolution was to clean out your house and closet here are some great tips on how to get started. Make sure to start at a good time, and you should have a plan before you start the project.
1. Choose your time wisely. I tend to come alive around 8pm and want to do all of my home projects right at that moment. That's a bad idea — especially if you live in an apartment building with a 9pm noise curfew. I tend to start a project and then have to stop, leaving an even messier issue to deal with the next day. Start at a reasonable time to complete the project on a day where you have lots of time to work.
2. Use a hanger system to identify which clothes you wear the most. After sorting KEEP, DONATE and THROW AWAY piles, hang all of your "keep" clothing on the hanger rod with the hanger hooks pointing toward you. As you wear the clothes, hang them the regular way: pointing towards the back of the closet. In three months, donate or sell any clothing that is still pointing towards you. Do this for each season of clothing.
3. On that note, store different seasons of clothing. Divide your "keep" clothing into two sections: warm weather and cold weather. Whichever season you're not wearing at the moment, store in airtight bins or garment bags to free up more room for the clothes you're wearing right now.
4. If there are things that you love that have holes or tears, fix them. Make it a priority to either take clothing in to a tailor for repair, or sit down with your own needle and thread and do it yourself. You'll be relieved after you do, and you'll have more clothing to wear! That goes for that pile of dry cleaning you have waiting too!
5. Don't be a shoe collector unless it's your passion. If you're anything like me, you like to buy cheap shoes, wear them for a bit and then hide them in the back of your closet to be forgotten. Have you ever had this moment when rummaging through your shoes: "what the...oh YEAHHHH!" If you're forgetting about certain pairs of shoes because you never wear them, it's time to donate.
Do you ever wonder what the most important moments of the past year
are? Google Video makes a highlight video every year detailing how the
world has changed. Check it out below, and tell us how have you changed
in 2012?
Do you need a great holiday gift that is from the heart? You can make
your loved ones their own personalized Christmas Wreath. Here is a
great step by step guide to creating a great homemade gift for your
friends and family.
Supplies:• An assortment of evergreen clippings (ask for scraps at a tree lot or use clippings from the bottom of your own tree) • Staple gun • Garden clippers • Wire • Round or octagonal wood frame • Berry branches, pinecones, ribbon, ornaments or other decorations
Prep Work: You can purchase basic round frames
or build your own. To create your own, miter wood slats to form on
octagon. The wood frame is relatively light, yet sturdy enough to hold
staples and be reused each year. At the end of the season, simply remove
the staples and save the frame for next year.
Cut evergreen
branches that are 8"-18" in length. Depending on the size and fullness
you're looking for, gather larger or smaller pieces.
Making Your Wreath: Use
the staple gun to attach each branch to the wood frame. For some of the
thicker branches, staple from an offshoot instead of the main branch.
One staple per branch is usually sufficient. Overlap the branches as you add them and take a step back to look at
your progress every few staples. The wreath will look a little wild and
full at first, but that's okay, you will trim it later. As you near the
starting point you'll have to slide the branches beneath those you
already stapled in order to create a full circle of greenery all the way
around.
Manicuring Your Wreath: For the trimming it's best to hang your wreath first. Wrap a thick piece of wire around the frame and form a loop at the top.
Trim around the edges. Don't trim a perfect edge, but rather trim
within an inch or two of the adjacent branch. You want the wreath to
appear circular, yet natural. Trim the center so that you can see a
hole, but not so much that you reveal the frame. Step back every so
often to check your work and adjust.
Decorating Your Wreath: Use
found objects to keep costs down and create a natural looking wreath.
Borrow ornaments from your tree or get creative with gift wrapping
supplies.
In this part of the country it is warm throughout the year. Experiencing snow is very unlikely. However, you can create a winter wonderland right in your home. Keep reading to learn how to create snow right in your own home.
With my husband's office Christmas party just around the corner, I have already begun decorating. It takes a while to get all of our Christmas items up and set in stone.
Last year, the main focus of our house for the party was the Florida Room, which I turned into a Santa's Toyland. This year, the focus is once again on that room but this time, I'm turning it into a snow land.
Turning any room in your house into a snow land can be fun and it offers a slightly different twist to the more traditional Christmas theme. I chose the Florida Room because it is the room in which my guests most like to congregate. Additionally, the green curtains and blue carpet lend themselves automatically to the theme.
You can do something similar for your house by using some or all of the following ideas:
Idea #1. Start the theme with the Christmas Tree. This year I scaled back my 8' tree to allow more room for seating. Instead, I chose a smaller, thinner 6' tree, which I decorated in keeping with the snow land theme.
Think about placing cotton batting inside the tree to simulate snow. To make it glisten more, accent it with aurora borealis tinsel. Glittering snowball tinsel round around the branches works well too.
Choose ornaments that fit in with the overall theme. I used old world Santas, snowmen, angels and Christmas bulbs in clear, white and silver. Then, I popped it with color by placing red glitter poinsettias and snowflakes inside the branches as well.
Use a bow made of snowmen or a similar theme as a tree topper or pick out a glistening snowflake or star topper instead. Even an angel will work if you stick to clear or aurora borealis glass or plastic or choose something done in corresponding colors.
Idea #2. Temporarily cover furniture cushions and pillows with snow themed fabric.
The floral cushions in my wicker chairs were inappropriate for my snow land theme. So I used inexpensive ($1 yard) fabric in a snow theme to temporarily cover them. A simple running whip stitch allowed me to complete the job quickly. It will also make for easy removal once Christmas is over.
To pull the fabric together with the curtains, I replaced the curtain on my door to match the cushions. I left the other green curtains in place and simply dangled snowflakes from the tops of each. I also covered throw pillows in white felt and glued matching snowflakes to the front.
You can also replace throw pillows with store bought ones if you prefer. I added a couple that fit in with the theme but also popped in a bit more color.
Idea #3. Cover surfaces with a blanket of snow.
I used several different kinds of materials to achieve the look I wanted. For the large round wicker table in the center of the room I had to use white felt. It was the only fabric I could find that was large enough to cover the circumference. The fabric was around $5 a yard but one yard was all I needed.
Snow blankets can be purchased for smaller surfaces almost anywhere that Christmas decorations are sold. I used that material for my large rectangular table. These blankets retail for anywhere from $4 to $10, depending upon their size the features (e.g., glitter, glisten, etc.)
You can also use cotton pull-apart stuffing to make snow banks on large surfaces to cover really small areas. That material is inexpensive and can be found at any arts & crafts store, at Wal-Mart or fabric stores for around $4 a bag.
Increase the glitter factor with white glitter netting from Michael's Arts & Crafts. It can be draped or round a surface. The cost is about $7 per 84" by 15" piece.
Add snow flakes made from foam, fabric, or tinsel to accent the surfaces. Also think about using glittered white poinsettias.
Don't forget the snowmen. The ones I used happened to be wine bottle covers that will house Christmas gifts for some of our party guests.
Idea #4. Decorate surfaces.
I found cute little cardboard houses at Dollar Tree that doubled as gift boxes for party guests. They were perfect for decorating the top of one of the room's tables.
Add a bouquet of flowers or a plant to bring extra pizzazz to any surface.
Idea #5. Add some stockings on the fireplace.
Even a small fireplace in the room is still perfect for stocking accents. The top or mantel also provides another surface upon which you can place plants or other decorations.
Idea #6. Sit snowmen around the room.
I picked up the giant snowman pictured at a yard sale for $5. He sits inside the door to greet guests as they arrive.
Sit other woodland creatures around on the floor, between chairs, etc. Although they are not pictured, I have the perimeters of the room strewn with snowmen, old word Santas, reindeer and more. They cover up extension cords, trash cans and other things I don't want attention called to. They also add warmth and charm to the space.
Idea #7. Pipe in music with a snow theme like "Winter Wonderland," "Frosty the Snowman," or anything else appropriate. It will help set the mood and help calm the guests and remove the stress of their day.
Have fun with the theme. Get a bit wild and crazy with ideas if you want. The whole idea is to make a fantasy room that you and your guests will enjoy.
There's nothing better than a good project to get you through the post-holiday dog days of winter. One of these projects from the past year is bound to spark your interest. What about making a batch of fizzy sparkling cider? Or finally trying your hand at homemade pasta? Or mozzarella? Lots to do, lots to try, lots to discover!
