DIY Life

I've got apples on my mind this week, and it's not just because I visited an orchard yesterday. There's something about fall that makes me crave the delicious red fruit in any shape or form, whether it be bobbing for apples, sipping a warm cup of cider or engaging in a few, fun apple-icious crafts! I've rounded up a few of my favorites (for every room in your home!) below for your autumn enjoyment. Let the apples begin!:

In the kitchen:
For a delicious apple recipe, try apple and cheese pancakes. They sound a bit odd, but are both healthy and indulgent at the same time. I love waking up to a Saturday morning batch of these yummy pancakes when the weather turns colder!

In the bathroom:
Try Grandma's Apple Pie lip balm! All you need is a few key ingredients, including apple scented oil, beeswax and jojoba and aloe vera oils. The tutorial is right here and is easy as pie. Grandma's Apple Pie, to be exact.

In the craft room:
Have a spare paperback book? Why not turn it into a statement piece with this easy paperback apple tutorial from Cheeky Magpie. Better yet, surprise your favorite teacher or librarian with this homemade gift. They'll be touched... if not offended you've defaced literary work. But probably just touched.

In the bedroom:
You've closed your windows with the cooler weather, and now your room smells stuffy and stiff. Mix equal parts apple cider vinegar and tap water into a spray bottle and mist your room with the solution. The vinegar will absorb any unwanted stenches and replace the odor with apple cider goodness!

In the backyard:
Of course, there's a use for rotten apples, as well. Ever heard of apple golf? Pretty self-explanatory, so head to your backyard driving range and let the games begin! (Watch out for disgruntled neighbors and play fair. No one wants surprise apple juice on their property...)

In the living room:
Want instant artwork with pizazz? Take a cue from this first grade classroom's recent art project and create apple prints worthy of framing. Put your own spin on the craft by experimenting with colors, textures and frame sizes.

Join me each week as I explore the naturally aromatic side of DIY. Helpful recipes for your "scentual" pleasure: from essential oils, herbs, and other botanicals to soap-making, body care products and other useful blends.

The mint in my yard is running wild just about now, begging to be plucked and used. That sure is handy, since it's hot outside! I could really use some cooling fresh mint in my beverages, to combat this sweltering heat.

I'm sure you must also have some peppermint essential oil around the house, right? You've got to have some left over, after making your chocolate mint lip balm and ant repellent, so pull it out and add some cool to your summer drinks.

After the break, I'll share recipes for simple syrup with mint, which can be used for a number of summery delights, and other refreshing minty recipes to keep your beverages interesting -- as well as hydrating.

Join me each week as I explore the naturally aromatic side of DIY. Helpful recipes for your "scentual" pleasure: from essential oils, herbs, and other botanicals, to soap-making, body care products, and other useful blends.

Making your own bath and body products is good fun on so many levels. Not only do you get to concoct what you like using all-natural ingredients, but you can customize your products for the season.

Here we are, about to embark on the three-month stretch that we call summer. My three favorite products to make for the sweltering days: powder, body spritz, and skin soother (for after sun exposure). After the break, I'll share recipes and scent blends.

The state I live in manufactures one of the tastiest ginger ales ever. I've traveled around the US a lot and I have yet to find it anywhere else. It may have poor distribution elsewhere, but in my state it's a staple. Good thing, too. Every time I have a stomachache, I crave ginger ale over anything else.

It turns out that dispensing ginger ale as a treatment for stomachaches isn't an old wives' tale. Martha Edwards at That's Fit just posted about the many health benefits of ginger. Her post included a link to a recipe for ginger ale -- it's a great way to get that yummy taste without all the unpronounceable ingredients that most sodas have.

All you need is a cup of peeled and finely chopped ginger, water, sugar, club soda, lime juice, and lime wedges. Head on over to Simply Recipes for the details.

Join me each week as I explore the naturally aromatic side of DIY. Helpful recipes for your "scentual" pleasure: from essential oils, herbs, and other botanicals, to soap-making, body care products, and other useful blends.

You have soft, smooth feet from our pedicure of two weeks ago. Your face is aglow with healthy skin after last week's facial. What about the rest of you?

Get ready to pamper yourself (or a loved one) with the gift of relaxation and cared-for skin -- all over!

After the break, I'll share recipes for relaxing bath salts, a detoxifying body scrub, a gentle hand scrub, and body oil, along with packaging ideas to make lovely gifts of these homemade products.

Pamper her this Mother's Day with a luxurious breakfast in bed. Older children can probably manage it on their own, but for most families dad will need to coordinate things. The three most important things to consider are the planning, preparation and presentation.

Planning

Take the time to plan a breakfast that you know she'll enjoy. She won't mind you trying something new, but if you're more comfortable, stick with recipes that you already know how to make. Buy all your ingredients ahead of time, but stash them away carefully so that she doesn't suspect her early morning treat.

Prepare as much as you can ahead of time; set your coffee maker on a timer, cut fruit, and pre-mix any batter that can sit overnight.

After the break I'll cover some suggestions for a delicious breakfast in bed:

My local moms' group is in the middle of a community service project right now -- raising money to buy backpacks and school supplies for students whose families need a little financial help. One of the ways we are doing this is through bake sales.

We have a good, active group of women who have really come together to share ideas, and now you can benefit from what we've learned about how to have a successful bake sale.

Look for events / locations where there are already lots of hungry people.
Some of our ideas are: at T-Ball and soccer games, at the local concerts in the park, and in front of a local grocery market. Always check with your town to see if permits are required for set-up.

The good news is that because I am so far behind in my magazine reading, you benefit with a unique and thoughtful idea for a gift, just in time for Mother's Day. Who wouldn't love a wooden recipe box, blooming with flowers, ready to fill with recipe cards when the flowers are done?

You'll need:

• a beautiful wooden recipe box
• a plastic bag to line it
• floral foam, cut to fit the liner and box
• a dozen roses, tulips or any other flowers uniform in size with sturdy stems
• ribbons or anything else you'd like to adorn the box

Assembling this recipe box blooming with flowers is easy to do. Simply line the box with the plastic bag, fill with floral foam, add some water and arrange your stems. When you give this gift, be sure to include either blank recipes cards, or better still, a stack filled with your favorite recipes.

Lollipops are the only reason that my boys tolerate haircuts. They are the first thing I poach out of their goodie bags and Halloween sacks. I even sneak downstairs at night for the occasional sugar-fix. I love lollipops, and now I can make my own!

Basically, you boil sugar, cream of tartar, and water. Add flavor and coloring, then pour them into molds or drop a serving size spoon-full onto wax-paper. Add the sticks, let them cool, and you've got homemade lollipops. The full instructions at that link explain important mixing techniques and boiling temperatures.

I'll admit that, reading through the recipe, I was slightly repulsed by the amount of sugar and lack of any other substantial ingredients. I'm sure you're wondering what on earth I expected from these solid sugar treats: they are, after-all, lollipops! Still, there is some reassurance in making the homemade version, because if you're looking for something a bit more natural, you can choose good flavorings and avoid the dyes.

Who doesn't love personalized goods? (I'm sure that some people will respond, "Anyone over the age of eleven," but that doesn't explain the appeal of vanity plates on cars.) Customizing an item just for the intended recipient is likely to make them feel special no matter what their age is... particularly if it's their birthday.

Sure, if you have something to say, and you want to eat your words, you can buy sugar letters for birthday cakes at almost any store that sells baking supplies. There are more creative ways to personalize treats, though: Craftster user Jsully03 made cookies that use American Sign Language manual alphabet letters to spell out a message to her young daughter, who was born deaf.

To duplicate her creation, all you need is a sugar cookie recipe (premade cookie dough is just fine), a hand-shaped cookie cutter with relatively well-defined fingers (you'll be shaping them into different positions; try local stores for the Wilton version), knowledge of the ASL manual alphabet, and, of course, an oven and a baking pan.

More impish bakers may be unable to resist using this idea to show the world how they feel about rock 'n roll; I certainly wouldn't blame them for doing so.

Step aside, bears: Craftster user Goosezilla, Katy Hargrove, recently made these fantastic tiny gummi candy replicas of the Venus de Milo.

They're nifty on their own, but also a reference to an old episode of The Simpsons. As you can see in the photo, they're only about an inch tall!

It turns out that you can make candy like this in just about any shape you want: it takes surprisingly little time, and the possibilities are endless. I'll show you how to do it after the break.

We are a sushi-loving family. Even our three-year-old will tell you his favorite food is sushi. He is so enthusiastic about it, in fact, that it comes out more like "suuuuuuushi." The dog has even been known to snatch a piece or two.

Making your own sushi can be a little tricky, we have found. It is easy to find sushi-grade fish these days, and aside from the nori sometimes being a bit tough, the real challenge is getting the rice to be just the right consistency and flavor.

Let's imagine it now, shall we? Sticky, but not mushy. A little salty, a tad sweet, and just a mild tang from the rice vinegar.

Looking for a tutorial or some recipes to help achieve sushi rice perfection? Mahalo has a list of the ingredients and ratios you will need. They don't offer cooking instructions for the rice, but they do link to other recipes that do, from famous chefs like Alton Brown, who is known for his precision and attention to detail.

So what are you waiting for? Start that water boiling, assemble your ingredients, and make some perfect sushi rice.

Welcome back! In yesterday's Let's get "LOST", we discussed ideas for a themed Lost party. One of the best ideas is to create faux DHARMA Initiative ration labels for party food; today, we'll look at ways to do that. We'll also take a gander at some other cool Lost crafts from around the web, including some genius home-brewed t-shirts.

Creating DHARMA food labels

Image editing programs like Adobe's Photoshop are indeed the way to go if you want to create DHARMA labels for your party food (or your office supplies and toiletries, depending on the level of your fandom). The DHARMA logo itself is a modified feng shui ba-gua.

A while back, InsanelyGreatTees offered printable DHARMA food labels for you to download, but Disney, ABC's parent company, asked them to stop. The PDF has been removed, but you can still take a look at the labels themselves, and be amused by the official-looking stamp on them: "Download removed at the request of the Hanso Foundation". This will give you a good idea of what you're trying to create.

You may also take a look at this photo taken on the set of Lost, where you can clearly see plenty of DHARMA rations; there are further photos in that series. Some good home-made rations can be seen in a photo by Flickr's Sahba, "Sheyda's Dharma Initiative food labels" (and a second, close up photo with the same title).

To go about making your own DHARMA labels, you probably don't need exact duplicates of the labels on food on the show: go for reasonable facsimiles. All labels should be black print on a white ground, with a DHARMA logo and sans-serif text. This is an easy task if you use the right fonts. The rest is just the correct label shape (like a hanging tag, with the corners clipped off the top end) and black lines and outlines (which can be done with pens and a straight edge, if you are unable to draw them in an image editor).

To use a dingbat or symbol font as clip art in an image editing program, simply use characters from the font the way you would use any other text, but change the size. A standard size for text is around 10-14; to change a font to clip art, you can start with 200 or 300, which you'll have to type into the "text size" box (it won't be on your drop-down menu, if there is one). Adjust the size from there until you're satisfied with it. (This process was also described back in my Print Gocco Holiday Card tutorial.)

It turns out that a visible number of us on the writing staff here at DIY Life are obsessed with ABC's Lost: if any posts get written on Thursday nights in the next few months, between watching the show and hanging out on spoiler sites for crumbs of information about what might happen next week, it will be entirely coincidental.

OK, I'm joking... a little. The point is that I don't know anyone who feels lukewarm about the show: it's either devoted love, a combative relationship ("They're driving me crazy! Why do they keep introducing more mysteries?!"), or complete disinterest.

It seems like this anecdotal observation also plays out in a few other places, like in the Craftster community. Please join us after the break for a look at plenty of mostly-recent Lost projects from Craftster and a few other places, with spoilers through Season Three. We have fish biscuits and DHARMA Initiative soda -- don't miss out!

Are you ready for February 14th? If not, help is on its way: this year's round-up of Valentine's Day ideas from MarthaStewart.com has nifty crafts in several genres and adorable food ideas, all at several levels of difficulty.

The good people at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia have separated their tutorials into categories, with some overlap between them. A few of these projects might be suitable for last-minute scrambles, but you're going to want to tackle most of them as soon as you can.

Among the categories:

• Numerous Valentine card ideas: hand-stitched cards and envelopes, envelopes made from paper lace doilies, cards with attached flower seeds, heart-shaped string seals, "flowers" made from paper hearts, a small paper packet that both unfolds into a heart and holds other surprises, and more.
• Crafty hand-made Valentine gifts like heart-shaped soap with words stamped into the top, Victorian "Sailors' Valentines" (boxes decorated with a pattern of small sea-shells), and an easy heart bookmark made from two layers of paper. There's also a list of "green" gifts like a recycled wood picture frame and an organic cotton lace nightie. (Excluded from the categories, but still relevant, is this scarf stitched from wool felt hearts. You can make it from purchased wool felt, or recycle some old sweaters. )

Information about Valentine decor, recipes, and projects for children and family follows after the break!