Send your high-school or college student off with these graduation gift ideas that are both beautiful and useful.
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Begin by painting a blank basswood plaque with two coats of semigloss, allowing one hour of drying time between coats (from left: Valspar paint in Schooner, Mystified, and Montpelier Wedgewood, $2.98 for 8 oz.; lowes.com). Let dry overnight.
Step 1: Download our rabbit, horse, or steer template, resizing as necessary to fit your plaque (from left: 12"W x 16"H, $12.99; 9"W x 12"H, $8.99; 13¾"W x 18"H, $15.99; woodcrafter.com). Print and cut out.
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Step 2: Center the shape on your plaque and tape it down. Following the marks indicated on the template, hammer 3/4-inch brass nails 1/4 inch deep into the plaque (you'll need between 50 and 80 nails for each animal); then tear away the paper.
Step 3: Double-knot the loose end of a spool of 0.035-inch waxed cord ($5.97 for 210 feet; mainethread.com) to the bottommost nail. Working clockwise, stretch the cord to the next nail, loop around once, and pull taut; repeat for all nails to form the
Let your kids get their hands dirty! Flip through these recipe ideas that will amp up family fun in the kitchen.
Maple Belgian Waffles
After you've made this sweet recipe, kids can add sprinkles, chocolate chips, fruit, or strawberry jelly to their breakfast.
Recipe: Maple Belgian Waffles
Cranberry Turnovers
Use leftover cranberry sauce to create these special breakfast pastries. Kids can help with piping the icing after they're finished baking.
Recipe: Cranberry Turnovers
Plus: 68 easy brunch recipes »
Homemade Bagels
Morning pleasures this alluring make it easy for kids to throw back the bedcovers and race to the breakfast table, especially when they get to pitch in.
Recipe: Homemade Bagels
Salami & Cheese Panini
Reminiscent of a grilled cheese, a panini is filled with combos of meat, cheese, and vegetables, which means you and your kids can have fun combining several different ingredients.
Recipe: Salami & Cheese Panini
Pilgrim and Clubhouse Sandwiches
Let your kids make their
Celebrate the warm weather with these great craft projects you can tackle in a flash.
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Connecticut contractor Arnold M. Karp devised this dream "shed" by taking full advantage of the wall space in a suburban garage-with shelves, cabinets, and peg rails. A poured concrete floor pleases the eye and provides a practical surface for parking cars.
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Spice things up with tamarind-glazed shrimp tacos, poblano-spikes queso dip, and pineapple-tequila cocktails for Cinco de Mayo.
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Those hardware-store stirrers can do more than just blend semigloss. Instead, use them to ring any cylindrical shade that's up to 14 inches tall.
Step 1: Measure the circumference of your shade to determine how many paint sticks you'll need. Each one is approximately 1"W, so for our 40"-circumference lampshade, we used 40 sticks.
Plus: 24 Creative Sewing Crafts »
Step 2: String up a length of twine with a drop cloth underneath. Dunk the unnotched end of one stick into a can of semigloss paint (we used Benjamin Moore's Cedar Grove). Secure the unpainted end to the twine with a clothespin. Repeat with remaining sticks, varying the heights of the paint lines. Let dry for four hours.
Step 3: Place your lampshade upside down on a flat surface. Apply a line of hot glue along the length of one stick's back side, and adhere it to the lampshade, placing the notched handle end flush against the top edge (the ends of the sticks may extend past your shade's bottom edge). Repeat with
Show Mom how much you care with one of these creative gifts.
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A fresh plotline for a used book: storing a remote!
Unlike Downton Abbey, your clunky clicker isn't exactly a must-see. So stash the eyesore in a book: You'll need one at least two inches longer and 1/4 inch deeper than your remote control.
Step 1: Open the book's back cover. Using a foam brush, coat the inside cover and facing page with school glue. Close the book and press down firmly for 10 seconds.
Plus: 24 Creative Sewing Crafts »
Step 2: Open the book's front cover. Coat the entire stack of pages-all three exposed sides-with school glue, taking care not to get any on the topmost page. Let dry for one hour; repeat. Close the book, weight it with a second book, and let dry overnight.
Step 3: Open the front cover, center your remote on the first page, and trace around it with a pencil, adding 1/4 inch all the way around. Set the remote aside. With an X-Acto knife, cut along the marked line, removing two to three pages at a time. Continue until your remote fits deeply inside.
Plus:
These days, farmers' markets offer more than just nature's finest and freshest produce. These ten markets have devoted local fans-from near and farm-making them a destination in their own right.
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