DIY Life

OK, I usually don't go for the "household item" craft projects... oftentimes, they look just like what they are. The pasta necklaces? They're nothing but macaroni on a string.

Better Homes and Gardens has changed my mind, though, with their pasta tree centerpiece project. This fancy little number is hip and funky, and doesn't look like old pasta at all.

All you need are a few simple materials; BHG promises that the project will cost less than ten dollars.

Summer is in full swing, as are outdoor picnics, parties and wedding receptions. If you haven't taken your turn at outdoor dining, then it is time to pretty up your patio or picnic table, and sit down to some char-grilled delicacies.

Evening dining is tops; nothing beats watching the sun set on a glorious summer day. Since you probably love to sit outside after dark, and do not relish the thought of having to go in the house right away as twilight comes, you can stay outdoors a little while longer with homemade paper table lanterns.

My daughter loves to watch the cartoon "Lil Bill". Repeat episodes come on every day, so I have the theme "Spring is here, Spring is here, it's the best time of the year" stuck in my head. The episode reminds me that the snow is slowly melting and it's about time to go to the beach.

Maybe it is too early in the year to go to the beach yet, but somewhere in the world it is spring or even summer. That means it is time to think about decorating your home for breezy summer days. What better way to do that than with seashells? Kathy Peterson has excellent suggestions on exactly what and where we can decorate with seashells.

Using seashells as a table centerpiece is a marvelous idea. Decorating with seashells in a roomy bathroom is ingenious, especially is you use seashells to spruce up a mirror. You can use shells to pretty up your fireplace too, as well as your lampshades, pillows and curtain tie-backs, and to decorate a baby mobile.

You can decorate pretty much anything with seashells, but like Kathy recommends, keeping your theme simple is the key to a successfully and tastefully decorated abode.

Taking the concept of home theater to extremes: the gentleman who spent a jaw-dropping $6.8 million on construction of a home theater. Not just any home theater. The ultimate home theater. I mean, this thing has everything. Owner, Jeremy Kipnis, says his creation is "the greatest show on earth."

The theater is a large room, eight feet high at the entrance and sloping up to sixteen feet high. The centerpiece is a massive eighteen foot laboratory grade screen. Equally impressive (or tasteless, depending on your view): a super-powerful audio system with sixteen eighteen-inch subs arrayed around the seating area for totally realistic surround sound.

Naturally, the whole thing can play "ungodly loud," according to Steve from Audio Video Interiors. Yes, it's basically like having your own personal IMAX theater to hang out in.

For more home theater fun and games, check out my earlier post on home theaters, and Jessi's home theater-planning post. Also handy: Anna's post on DIY projection screens.

Dried apples and cinnamon give that cider smell that is so closely associated with the Christmas season. I wanted to add a little spice to the house and try a new craft so I decided to make a dried apple wreath. This was not as easy as I had anticipated. The main reason being that I seriously lacked common sense when reading the directions! The first dried apple recipe that I found suggested baking them at 350 degrees for an hour. I should have been able to predict the outcome, but I didn't realize how dumb that was until my smoke alarm went off! I did eventually find some better instructions (that's what Moms are for) and was able to perfect the dried apple slices, and that's the one I'll share with you here.

How to dry apple slices

1. Core small red apples
2. Slice them 1/4 inch thick
3. Soak the slices in lemon juice
4. Pat them dry with paper towel
5. Brush the apple with cinnamon or other spice (optional)
6. Put them in the over at 150 degrees
7. Flip them every 2 hours
8. They should be ready in 6-8 hours, just keep checking on them

The galleries show how to make the dried apples. I included a couple of disaster shots so you can have a little laugh at my expense! Once you have your dried apple slices, you're ready to get creative. the second gallery shows how to make a wreath and the third, a quick and easy centerpiece. I'll tell you about both of these after the break.

Want to add a whimsical touch to your Thanksgiving table? Enjoy carving jack-o-lanterns? This idea may be just right for you! Yes, folks, it's the Banana Squash Mayflower: a recreation of the famous vessel and its intrepid Pilgrim passengers, constructed entirely from winter squash and an assortment of other vegetable friends.

This centerpiece has it all -- A) a little humor, B) carving with a sharp knife to satisfy your crafting instincts and impress your friends and family, C) winter root vegetables, which evoke the seasonal and agrarian feel of Thanksgiving, all the while D) paying tribute to American history. I know I'm feeling thankful just thinking about it!

Squash Mayflower-assembly instructions and photos can be found on DIY Network's website. Let me boil it down to the essentials for you.

Step 1: Take a large banana squash and carve out a section in the middle. The squash is your Mayflower. The carved out section is the deck.

What table would be complete without handmade Thanksgiving place mats to wow your guests? Since place mats can be very expensive, you can get the kids involved in making place mats that the guests can take home, if they so choose.

The Holiday Spot has five excellent ideas for making handmade Thanksgiving place mats with your kids. The five ideas are:

Cornucopias have been around since the 5th Century BCE. They are often called a "horn of plenty" and represent giving and sharing. The modern cone-shaped basket is filled to overflowing with fruits and vegetables, leaves and straw, and can sit on the table as a centerpiece.

eHow.com has a great article on making a Thanksgiving cornucopia. To make your own cornucopia basket, you can buy a cone shaped basket at a craft store and steam the end to make it bend into the shape of a goat's horn. Gather some colorful Autumn leaves from your yard and place them on a tray. Stuff the basket with straw or other craft filler, place the basket on the tray, and fill the basket with fruits and vegetables such as miniature pumpkins and gourds, small apples and oranges, and Indian corn, allowing these fruits and vegetables to spill out in abundance. In all the cracks and crevices, sprinkle some nuts and hearty berries. Finish your Thanksgiving cornucopia by placing more leaves around your finished item.

I will make a cornucopia this year, following eHow's directions. I have never made one before, so I think it's time to try something new. My table needs a little dressing up, and Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year, I love to decorate for it, and give thanks for all the blessings in my life.

As we gather to give thanks and enjoy time with family and friends, Thanksgiving tables will take center stage. If you haven't decided what to put in the center of your table, this quick, beautiful and all-natural centerpiece idea may give you some inspiration.

Think about fall's unusual fruits and foliage, and let them inspire you. Search your local farmer's market or grocery store for gourds, small pumpkins and colorful fruits, like figs, clementines, and star fruit, and gather oak leaves and branches. When arranged on tiered cake stands, or in bowls, or carved out pumpkins these harvest-time items make a centerpiece that takes only minutes to create, leaving you with plenty of time to concentrate on the meal.

These flower-wrapped candelabras may be a bit tall for use as centerpieces on each table, but depending on your arrangements could work well. Either way, I think they would make extremely elegant centerpieces along the head table.

Floral designer Carolyn Shepard is the designer of this stylish arrangement. She chose deep pinks and reds wrapped around an antique style candelabra. You could follow her instructions and get the same stunning piece, or pull from your own color and style preferences, following her basic how-to, and create centerpieces that are uniquely you. Here's what you'll need to get started.

A few months ago, ReadyMade Magazine issued a challenge to its readers to come up with new uses for old pens. The winning project, Dead Pen Cutlery, is featured in the most recent issue.

I confess, I have a stash of old pens I can't bring myself to toss. Many aren't even dead, I just can't bring myself to use them because, alas, I'm a pen snob. However, although I think using pens as cutlery handles is pretty clever, I really don't need (or frankly want) to.

So I scoured the blogosphere for other ideas for giving old pens a second chance at life. Check out the findings:

My favorite of the ReadyMade runner-ups - turn old pens into garden labels (scroll down to see)

Chrisjob over at Curbly has 2 nifty projects made from old pens - a DIY sprinkler (also a ReadyMade runner-up), and a sewing caddy

From the DIY Network, turn your old pen into a bead holder, Pen Pal Doll, or a (fake) floral centerpiece.

While you're at it, check out this craftster's take on the centerpiece idea - table number holders made from old pens. (I see a pen-themed wedding here)

As autumn approaches, so does decorating with fall fruit. You've seen the mini-pumpkin mantel displays, the gourd centerpieces and the wheat and foliage wreaths.

You have probably also been privy to the expensive "faux" fruit decor being sold: the glittery pears and apples in crystal bowls or stuck to wreaths, sometimes interspersed throughout topiaries.

How about combining all of these wonderful fall fruit decorating ideas with a unique twist?

I love weddings. I love to see the dresses and the flower arrangements and the cake. I have been to enough weddings to know how expensive they can be, and to enough low cost weddings (mine included) to know that you can save money on virtually every aspect of your happy day.

Reception centerpieces can become expensive, so here are a few creative ideas to help save on your special day.