DIY Life

Wine bottle gift wrap made easy and beautiful. This visual confection of tissue and cellophane wrap is finished off with a key fob (pictured) for decorative flair. So pretty. – All Things G&D

These cookie exchange party invitations are simply inspired. Vintage-style tags are tied to sweet mini cookie spatulas. – Brooklyn Limestone

In a similar holiday vein, tiny muslin baggies make perfect containers for homemade hot cocoa mix. Ideal for gifts or party favors. Decorate the bags with fabric transfers ... or just tie-on labels. – Cathie Filian

Hammer nails without flattening your thumb. Yes, it can be done ... if you master the right technique. A gentle tap, tap, tapping is the secret. Here's how to hammer correctly and painlessly:

1. Grip it right. Hold the hammer near the middle of the handle to start a nail. This gives extra precision that will (hopefully!) protect your fingers.

2. Tap gently, swinging from the wrist. This gets the nail started in a hole. Remove your hand from the nail.

3. Swing firmly from the elbow. This will drive the nail into the hole.

Still banging your fingers ... or missing the mark completely? Frustrating! But here are a couple of tricks to try:

The Thanksgiving feast: It's more of an ordeal than a celebration in some families. Ugly family tensions rearing their heads like clockwork each year. Maybe you have a self-appointed family dictator like Marney of the hilarious "Thanksgiving Letter" fame who sucks the fun out of every get-together?

If you're dreading another unpleasant Thanksgiving dinner, why not try some of the following tension taming tips. Who knows? Perhaps you'll become the family peacemaker this year!

1. Have a seating plan. The atmosphere will be oh-so-much improved if you can match like-minded family members at the table. Here's how to do it without sounding like a bossy boots: have the kids make and decorate cute place name cards. If you emphasize it was the kids' contribution to the big day, you'll boost the odds that everyone will obediently sit where you would like.

Expensive gym membership draining your bank account? Home gym equipment isn't cheap either. But, wait! There is a DIY alternative. Some creative fitness enthusiasts are making their own strength training equipment ... and saving big bucks in the process. Coming up: three examples that demonstrate how easy budget home workouts can be!

1. DIY Ab Bench. A step-by-step guide tells you how to make a simple abdominal strengthening bench. This one requires just a sturdy plank and PVC pipe screwed to the rail of someone's deck. – Fitness Training at Home

2. Bulgarian Training Bag. An inner tube filled with sand makes a versatile – and cheap! – half-moon shaped training bag. It's a fraction of the cost of dumbbells but can be used in just as many different ways. – DIY Strength Gear

3. DIY Medicine Ball. Stab a basketball, fill with sand then glue it up with Liquid Nails and tape with duct tape. It ain't pretty, but it does the job of a real medicine ball ... without the expense. – Washington Post

Aussie-style Christmas wreaths, resplendent with fresh and fragrant blue gum or succulent leaves. Definitely doable in warmer climates. – Absolutely Beautiful Things

Planning a room redo? Shelter Pop predicts next year's hottest home colors. – Shelter Pop

Give little ones a worthy seat at the kids' Thanksgiving dinner table this November. This example in Country Living shows how it's done. –via It's the Little Things That Make a House a Home

Blogger Nicole reveals the yummy and relaxing paint colors used throughout her home. Pretty pinks and "Chocolate Froth" really speak to me. – Making it Lovely

Save your garden from the winter blahs! The further north you live, the more important it is to landscape with winter in mind. When plants go dormant or leafless for months and the lawn turns brown or is covered with snow, you need something else to create visual interest.

Hardscapes are what you need. These are permanent, solid objects that complement the planted landscape. We're talking garden benches, pergolas, stepping stones, boulders and picket fences. All of these things define and beautify your garden through the barren months of winter ... and they are effective in hot, drought-prone zones also.

Click on my slideshow to get hardscape ideas for your own yard!

Facebook: It gobbles up tons of your time ... but you just can't quit it. It's also gotten so complicated in terms of what and how to share info. Phew. Do you even know how private your FB account is anymore? Could personal information be leaking out without your knowledge? Here are three top strategies for safeguarding your privacy:

1. Create Friends lists and use them to customize access to your profile. Go to your Friends page then, under Lists, click on Friends and start sorting. Lists keep co-workers and casual acquaintances from hearing all about your wild spring break party or close-friends-only baby shower -- without hurting anyone's feelings. Good to know, right?

2. Restrict access by other FB users. Your default settings probably allow other users (people you have not "friended") to view parts or all of your profile, photos and status updates. A quick tweak of your privacy settings fixes that, however. Go to Settings, then Privacy Profile, then alter all the drop-down boxes to "Only Friends."

Here's an easy way to live a little greener and save a little money: install low-flow faucet aerators in your home. Now, don't worry. "Low-flow" does not mean you'll be washing your hands under a puny trickle of water. Nope. That's because the aerator is like a tiny sieve that mixes air into the water stream. You won't even notice you're using less!

Was your home built prior to 1989? Do the fixtures date to that era or earlier? Then chances are high your faucets need the addition of aerators. Turn on the cold water and observe: does the water gush out fast and unrestricted as, say, water from your garden hose might? Or does it flow fast, yet feel somewhat lighter and fizzier in your hands?

If it's the former, you probably need aerators. Unscrew the faucet spigot (the nozzle where the water comes out) to double check. The latter means you probably have them already.