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Don’t forget your table

Nov 082012

November 8, 2012 Posted by Traci 1 Response »

I grew up with a family that always took holiday dinners to the next level. My grandmother, Mimi, used to set the most gorgeous table. She had full service Royal Doulton Royal Albert Old Country Rose patterned china that took decades to collect. We’re talking right down to the vases and salt and pepper shakers and candy dishes — the whole kit and kaboodle. And why would she set such a table? Bluntly, it was all about the guests. It was important for Mimi to make her guests feel like their presence was appreciated, and that they were as special as the event being celebrated. The dinner table was where much of the conversation occurred; she wanted it to be a special place. It was her honor to have you seated, and to demonstrate your importance to her, she always served amazing meals atop her best dishes. Sadly, the whole table-setting [...]

Recipe: Pumpkin butter

Nov 012012

November 1, 2012 Posted by Traci No Responses »

‘Tis the season for squash. Well, BIG squash, anyway, and the pumpkin is sort of the queen of the season. In fact, I’d go so far as to call her the Empress of All the Squashes. She’s big, bold, beautiful and versatile We tend to forget that this fruit — and she is a fruit — has so much nomliciousness to offer BEYOND the simple pie. No too long ago we shared a DIY on making pumpkin pack and thus avoiding all future chemical-laden grossness of canned pumpkin pack. Today, we use that simple stuff to make pumpkin butter. If you’ve not had this delicious jam-like spread before, trust me: I’m introducing you to a little bit of autumnal heaven. What you’ll need: – 4 cups pumpkin pack (roughly 2 16 oz. cans if you go the can route) – 3/4 cup apple sauce – 1 1/2 cups white sugar – 2 tsp. [...]

Pin-tested: Make your own jewelry soak

Oct 142012

October 14, 2012 Posted by Natali 1 Response »

Sometimes you see something pinned on Pinterest over and over and over and you have to wonder: Is it really worth all the attention? In our series Pin-tested we take something you’ve seen a thousand times on Pinterest and put it to the test. It was the weekend, so obviously, it was time to test out pins from my boards. (Duh.) I tried several things actually — 1. Using a pillow case to dust my ceiling fan blades (win!) 2. Trying to remove white spots on my wooden kitchen table using mayonnaise (epic fail) 3. Making my own jewelry soak (win!). Since the jewelry soak trick is a very visual process with a clear before and after result, I thought I’d snap a few pics as I went along, to share with you, if I was successful, and here I am, so you know it worked! The jewelry soak recipe required a [...]

Halloween Top 15 (#3): Nail art

Oct 012012

October 1, 2012 Posted by Traci 1 Response »

I love painting my nails. Never mind the fact that I have total man hands, that I screw up painting them all the time and that I can’t keep a manicure pretty for more than a few hours. The fact is, I like having my nails painted. And seeing that Halloween is at the end of this month (SQUEE!!), I thought I’d give you a little Halloween how-to for your hands. What you’ll need: – Two nail colors (I chose black and orange for obvious reasons: SF GIANTS, baby!) – Wax paper – Tape – Scissors Start tutorial >>

Halloween Top 15 (#2): Dangly doorway

Sep 282012

September 28, 2012 Posted by Traci No Responses »

EVERYTHING can be decorated at Halloween. Seriously, everything. Walls are a no-brainer. Table tops and shelves? Likewise. But let us not forget the simple pass-throughs we take for granted: doorways. Last year there was a proliferation of paper garlands and pennants all over various DIY sites, and I fell in love. They’re easy to make, fast to assemble and inexpensive — all very important aspects of decor. They’re popular for baby and wedding showers, graduations and the like, and a part of me wondered, “Why not Halloween?” An idea was born. HOW TO MAKE A DANGLY DOORWAY: What you’ll need: – 2 or 3 pieces of card stock (I went with all black, but alternating with orange or purple would be cute, too) – yarn – glue stick – double-sided tape To begin: Using the punch, make a gazillion punches. How many is up to you; I made a [...]

Halloween Top 15 (#1): Going batty

Sep 272012

September 27, 2012 Posted by Traci No Responses »

Ermagherd youse guys, the greatest season ever in the history of EVAR is here! (Even if it refuses to fully manifest itself.) And do you know what this means? HALLOWEEN IS AROUND THE CORNER! (Not literally. Don’t be silly.) In celebration of this, my favorite holiday, over the course of the next several weeks I will give you perhaps the greatest gifts I can give anyone this time of year. (No not a car. Not a box of money, either. Stop guessing.) Prepare yourself for The TFM’s Halloween Top 15! It’s where I give you 15 ideas related to Halloween awesomeness to help you prepare your pad and your sassy self for this, the GREATEST of all holidays. (FACT.) We’re talking food, cocktails, costumes and décor, all in time for the big day (or, if you’re me, the big days, plural, because I make this holiday laaaaaast.) Today’s item: Flock of [...]

DIY: Paint chip mobile

Sep 122012

September 12, 2012 Posted by Traci No Responses »

My 9-year-old recently moved into her own room, and has been asking relentlessly for more and more “teenagery” decor items. Naturally, the crafty side of me wants to put this request to good use. I mean, how often do I get to make fun and funky stuff (which is the very definition of “teenagery,” BTW.) Since she loves the color green, and since I recently saw some cool paint chip art, I decided I would aim for the F-Trifecta: fun, funky and FREE. Interested in making one? What you’ll need: – A big stack of paint chips from your local hardware store (I used about 14 cards, which had 3 colors each. Also? FREE!) – A stationery punch (Mine was about 1 1/4 inches large and fluted) – Thread – A glue stick – A coat hanger – Two large beads – Crazy glue Start tutorial here >>

DIY: Spray paint roundup

Sep 062012

September 6, 2012 Posted by Traci No Responses »

I’m a little bit in love lately with all that spray paint can do. As an avid thrifter and self-proclaimed cheapo, I love when I can take something old that needs a weeeeeeee bit of attention, buy it for a song, turn around and make it not ugly. Even better: When I can make said thing USABLE and LOVABLE again. What follows is a roundup of my favorite items that spray paint transformed. Start here >>

DIY: Wine Cork Keychain

Sep 042012

September 4, 2012 Posted by Traci No Responses »

Yes I have a thousand wine corks, give or take. And I don’t know what makes me continue to collect them except maybe the hope that I’ll find ever more fascinating things to make with the things. Maybe I could save enough to make a boat? Or a little cabin? Oooohh — how cool would that be, to make a little cabin out of wine corks?? In the meantime, my interest in architecture will have to hold because LOOK WHAT I MADE OUT OF A WINE CORK! A keychain! How cute is that? And this is actually one of those things I can use right now. Interested in making your own? Of course you are. Because they’re soooo cuuute (and use far fewer corks than a cabin to construct). Start tutorial here >>

DIY: Wine bottle light

Aug 292012

August 29, 2012 Posted by Traci 2 Responses »

Last night my husband pulled an empty wine bottle out of our wine rack and, thoroughly confused, asked me why I was hanging onto the thing. “It’s a clear wine bottle,” I said, leaving the subtext of “duh” hanging in the air. To the uninitiated, his scrunched-up face wordlessly appeared to ask, “So what?” but I could tell what he really meant was, “Why, love of my life, my beautiful, delicate blossom, why have you held onto this amazing, rare, clear-glass wine bottle?” To which I responded, “phhhfftt,” which clearly meant, “We rarely drink white wine, handsome and intelligent husband of mine — wine which, surprisingly, comes in clear-glass bottles. I plan on making something beautiful and unique out of that treasure you hold in your masculine hand.” He nodded sagely and placed the bottle back in the wine rack. So today, when I was looking for something to do, [...]