Gifts & Holidays Articles

Article / Updated 10-10-2023

Pumpkin-carving kits are convenient, but if you don't have one, then use household tools. Carving Halloween pumpkins with tools you have at home is budget-smart. It's just as fun, and you'll get the same great results. If you don't have something on the list of equipment below, then borrow it. When you return the tools, include a small jack o' lantern as a thank you! Punching tool: Use a nail or an ice pick to punch out your design. Boning knife: Carefully use this long, thin-bladed knife to cut the opening and any large pieces out of the pumpkin Paring knife: Sharpen up a small paring knife to carve detail work. Small serrated knife: You'll want to use a serrated knife in a sawing motion to chunk out pieces requiring a little elbow grease. For smaller areas, try using a serrated steak knife. Craft knife: A craft knife works well for carving out intricate pattern work. Gutting tools: Use a large ice cream scoop or spoon to scrape out the insides of the pumpkin. Large bowl: Use a bowl to scoop seeds and pumpkin slime into. You can separate the seeds for toasting later. Candles, candle holders, and lighters: Fireplace matches or candle lighters, prevent you from burning your fingers when trying to light the candles inside the pumpkin. Battery-operated votive candles are a great alternative to regular candles. Newspaper: Use newspaper to protect your work surface areas and to absorb pumpkin juice or any spills you may have. Tape: You'll want to tape your patterns to the surface of the pumpkin and will need more than you think as you go along. Petroleum jelly: To make your carved pumpkin last longer, smooth a bit of this magical jelly on the cut edges (even the inside of the pumpkin!) to seal in the moisture and prevent rapid deterioration or mold. Patterns: Picking a pattern for your pumpkin is one of the hardest decisions to make. Here are a few ways you can design your own pattern: Drawing: You can draw your pattern with a nonpermanent black magic marker and directly on the face of your pumpkin or draw your design on a clean sheet of paper and tape it to the face of the pumpkin. Painting: If you've previously painted your pumpkin, simply carve out elements of your design. Stenciling: If you like a very tailored, precise look, use stencils. Cookie cutters: Metal cookie cutters and other vegetable garnishing tools can come in handy for making patterns. Place your cutter on the pumpkin and gently tap it with a mallet until the cutter scores the flesh. Then you can carve the design out using your regular carving tools. Computer art: Design and print your pattern using your computer. If you have a graphics program, you can have a lot of fun turning photos into black and white patterns, or simply search online for pumpkin carving patterns. There are many free, downloadable designs to choose from!

Article / Updated 04-27-2023

Whether you want to change items that you already own or desperately need some budget-conscious ways to begin defining your holiday style, you can start by repurposing, reusing, recycling, and restyling what you already have. Give your things a new purpose Repurposing means to use an item that’s normally used for one thing (like a throw or painter’s drop cloth made of cotton canvas) and change it into something else for another function, like turning it into pillows or a slipcover. Repurposing items can mean simply looking at new retail items in a different light. A copper kettle can become a fireplace accent by holding mounds of scented pinecones that are ready to be tossed into the fire. Think about transforming items from their usual purpose into something else. Repurposing is one of the more creative ways of turning new and previously owned items into works of art. Reusing items can save you big bucks when decorating for the holidays. Items that are reusable for decorating, such as menorahs, wreaths, bows, and twinkle lights, can save you money. The idea here is to invest once and then use many times for many holidays. White lights, for example, are heavily used at Christmas. But couldn’t you warm up a romantic Valentine’s Day night by stringing some up on a balcony or porch for a chilly, snuggly nightcap? Use your lights on fences, rope off festivity parameters that may be hard to see in the dark, or wind them around tree limbs for lighting your evening from above. You can take individual items from one holiday into the next in many ways if you just plan in advance. Recycling for creative decoration Recycling means taking an item that’s meant for the trash and turning it into a decorative item. For example, connect clean, empty jars (vintage or hodgepodge) together with aluminum wire, making them into sparkling tealight holders. A roadside chair, with the caning busted out of the seat, turns into a Thanksgiving decorating treasure by placing a large potted mum inside the opening for a welcoming autumnal feel at Thanksgiving. Yes, you have to be somewhat crafty, and you can’t be afraid of cleaning things. Most of all, you have to be daring enough to dive into a pile of rubble to get to that section of picket fencing in order to recycle it into a Halloween vignette. Freshen up items for restyled décor Restyling makes ready-made items better. Take a slipcover and embellish it! Have an old wreath? Take out faded flowers or ornaments and add new items or a fresh bow. What about old ornaments? Embellish your heart out. Restyling takes items to a new, personalized level. You can breathe new life into an item by updating it or giving it a whole new look. Restyling is perfect for you if you’re the type of person who never accepts things as they are and says, “But wait till I get my hands on it!”

Article / Updated 12-14-2022

Tablescapes are arrangements of items gathered in a grouping on top of a table. They're sometimes called tabletop arrangements. Typically, you can use anything as a prop for a great mini-arrangement — for example: Accent pillows, throw blankets Baskets, books, candles Fabrics and other linens, ribbons Flowers and foliage Fresh fruit or quality faux fruit Mirrors, photo frames Trays, vases, or bowls A tablescape can include a centerpiece, or it can simply contain an arrangement of your favorite items. Tablescapes refer to the way things are laid out, like in a landscape painting. And they're not just for dinner anymore. They're wonderful to arrange on coffee tables, end tables, or any other occasional piece that lends itself to holiday decorating — even mantels or shelves. Normally, you might have a simple tablescape already arranged on an occasional table. You may have arranged a tall candle set aside a small floral arrangement and a stack of thick coffee-table books. To adapt your everyday décor for the holidays, you can Add a small holiday-themed collection on top of the stacked books. Replace the stack of books with a stack of holiday-specific ones. Be sure that you don't place anything on top of them, so guests are encouraged to leaf through them leisurely. Replace your normal floral arrangement with a seasonal one. Change out the color of your candles. Add a holiday-themed item at the base of your candles, such as an ornament, some greenery, or another token representing the holiday. Remove your regular tablescape items and replace them entirely with snow villages or other holiday collections you may have. Don't forget to take the opportunity at the holidays to dress up other tabletops that you don't normally spruce up. Simple holiday items grouped together are an easy way to add holiday sparkle to any surface. If you want to make your own tablescape, here's a quick formula: Simply gather and arrange the following items, or a combination of them, on no more than one-third of your table surface space to make an instant tablescape: Light source (lamp or candles — sometimes both) Hard line accent (photo frame, book, a collectible item) Botanical element (flower, bowl of fruit, plant or other item) Fabric item (a table topper, runner, ribbon, a tapestry remnant, a napkin) For the holidays: Add only one holiday item to a premade tablescape Making your own tablescapes is easy if you keep these few pointers in mind: Gather interesting items of different textures together. Good items to have are books, decorative plates displayed on stands, bowls filled with fruit or other decorative items, vases, flowers, candles, decorative orbs, and other home décor accessories. Arrange items in staggering heights. Stack a few books and use them underneath items to raise them if needed. If you have a lamp on a table, use that as your tallest height, and work with other smaller items to fill in your tablescape. Take up no more than one-third of your table with a tablescape unless you don't intend to use the table for anything else but display. You want your tablescape to stay intact, so leave room for people to set down drinks or the TV remote without bumping into your lovely arrangement. Use your surfaces wisely. If you set up a gorgeous tablescape on your coffee table but no one has a place to put their dishes, cups, or other items for which that coffee table was intended, you've defeated the purpose of decorating. Decorating is meant to enhance — not to hassle. If you want to place a tablescape on a surface you may need to use unexpectedly, such as an ottoman, try arranging it on a decorative tray so that you can move or shift the display without having to take it down or rearrange it.

Step by Step / Updated 11-09-2021

Making flat, tailored ribbon bows is quick and easy. A tailored ribbon bow lends a clean, modern edge to gift wrapping; and because it's flat, this bow is ideal for gifts that will be shipped or stacked.

Article / Updated 11-02-2020

Folding and cutting out paper snowflakes is a fun and creative holiday craft that anyone can enjoy. Most of the time, people cut up their folded papers pretty randomly, so they end up with random snowflakes. But with a few tools and a few tips, you can design a snowflake that is uniquely yours: Consider the cutting options you have besides plain old scissors. At scrapbooking stores, you can find hole punches in all sorts of shapes, as well as scissors with patterned edges. You can also (carefully!) use a straight pin or sewing needle to poke tiny holes through the paper. Remember that you don't have to make all your cuts with the paper completely folded up. Add some interest by partially unfolding your snowflake and making further cuts. Use the symmetrical properties of your folds to create recognizable shapes that are also symmetrical, from hearts and some letters to Christmas trees and even faces. Credit: ©iStockphoto.com/Steve Debenport 2012 Although snowflakes are white, paper snowflakes don't have to be. In addition to using colored paper, you can add colorful highlights to your snowflake by coloring any cut edges with a marker before you unfold it. When you create a beautiful snowflake worth preserving, use a warm iron and a little spray starch to flatten out and stiffen your snowflake. Make your paper snowflake sparkle like new-fallen snow with a little spray glitter from a craft store.

Step by Step / Updated 04-12-2017

Wrapping presents in gift bags and tissue paper is quick, versatile, and economical. The bags are reusable or recyclable and are perfect for wrapping oddly shaped gifts of all sizes. Gift-bag designs range from plain to over-the-top gorgeous, and tissue paper comes in a rainbow of colors.

Step by Step / Updated 03-07-2017

One of the easiest, most common, and most enjoyable of holiday crafts is cutting snowflakes out of paper. Folding your paper to create a standard eight-pointed paper snowflake is pretty easy, as long as you can keep track of which corner will be the center of the snowflake. Just follow these steps.

Step by Step / Updated 03-27-2016

Carving a pumpkin is a fun and inexpensive Halloween tradition. For your jack-o’-lantern, carve a Halloween image that's funny, scary, or pretty into pumpkins that are green, white, pale orange, or even red-orange. Take your design template with you when buying pumpkins to ensure you buy one with the right size and shape. Look for pumpkins that are clean (dirt could be hiding a rotten spot!), gouge free, and smooth.

Step by Step / Updated 03-27-2016

Make your own floral bows (florist bows) to save money and to add a custom look to Christmas wreaths, garlands, and gifts. Tying floral bows isn’t difficult; if you can make loops, you can make beautiful bows. For a bow that holds its shape, use a sturdy fabric ribbon or a wire-edged fabric ribbon.

Step by Step / Updated 03-27-2016

Make flat, tailored bows to give your holiday decorations a clean, modern look. You can make flat bows with ribbon that’s hard to knot or gather. Use them on packages, floral arrangements, and napkins. Because these tailored bows are already flat, they still look great if they get crushed.