Rachael Ray

I have read online and in various publications over the years that silver can be polished easily using a few household items, but does it work as well as the ready-made store-bought stuff? Since I had some seriously tarnished silver I figured it was time to find out. I have some silver jewelry and flatware that has been sitting unused for a long, long time. Some of the stuff was completely black. The homemade silver polishing bath is supposed to instantly clear up tarnish simply by immersing the items. This was appealing to me because, unlike the store-bought polish, it supposedly meant no polishing; just soaking. To make the homemade bath, you’ll need: • A glass or ceramic baking dish* • Aluminum foil* *you could [...]...

There’s more than one way to frame a photo, and there’s sort of a right and a wrong way, but that depends on how precious the photo is and how much you’re willing to spend. I bought three different styles of frames so you can determine which works best for you. Cheap, but Good The least expensive frame I bought was front-loading frame for around $3.00. It’s not the best option if you’re looking to preserve your photographs for the next generation, but it’s a great way to display photos inexpensively. This type of frame is ideal for things printed on your inkjet printer. Inkjet ink is usually not lightfast, meaning it fades over time from exposure to light, so it’s not [...]...

Winter is the perfect time for “Spring Cleaning.” When it’s cold, sleeting, windy and you have no desire to go outside, it’s ideal for doing tasks indoors. When my friends moved into their house two and a half years ago they were busy doing renovations and planning their wedding, so they never really took the time to get their kitchen cabinets organized. It only got worse when the wedding gifts arrived and they had to make more space for things. Baking dishes ended up being stacked in weird ways. Pots and pans were stacked so high even boiling some water became a chore. And I’m not really sure what happened here (or how they’re able to find anything). I decided to pull everything out of [...]...

My tiny New York City studio apartment only has one closet in the whole place, and that closet is packed with clothes, bedding and every other little item that needs to be tucked away, so there’s no room for brooms, mops and other cleaning supplies. However, there is an awkward little space in a corner next to the refrigerator, and I thought it would be the perfect spot for a make-shift closet. Normally the space between the fridge and the wall is just under nine inches, but the smallest tension rod I could find was 18″, so I moved the refrigerator over some to accommodate. It actually worked in my favor because it made the “closet” a little bigger. I bought the [...]...

It’s always a tough decision, take down the tree and all the trimmings, or just keep them up just a little bit longer? I always try to milk having my Christmas tree for as long as possible, but at the same time, I always feel the urge to start the New Year clean and clear. This year I opted to leave it all up, until after Epiphany, or Dia De Reyes (Three Kings Day) which is this Friday, January 6th. So what do you do with all the trimmings once you have taken them down? Here are some of the my tips on how to store it all so you can find it again, in no time and on the [...]...

Some ideas are made to be stolen. And this one is just one of those ideas. My friend Corinna Mantlo of Happy Homesteader and my pals Tony and Tiffany both used these for their Vintage Library Themed Wedding. A while back, I went to an art opening in the East Village and Corinna made these awesome paper board mustaches. Her’s were so cool because you didn’t need a stick to hold them up. They just attached to your nose like this:   Nice ‘Stache!! These masks require a skewer but I guarantee that they are TONS of fun! I made mine out of mat board and bamboo skewers, but you could use card stock and drinking straws for a simpler model. The symmetrical masks are [...]...

Sugar cookies are easy to make, fun to decorate, they are GREAT to have the kids decorated, and they are just about the most versatile cookie there is. Plus, almost everybody likes them which makes them such a great gift. Of course, you could give your cookies in a fancy box, tin or jar, but I thought making them into ornaments for a small tree would be much more dramatic, and makes a nice centerpiece as well. Cookie Dough First, you will need to make your cookies. If you have a hand or a stand mixer it only takes a few minutes to make the homemade dough, so it’s worth taking the time to make them from scratch instead of buying a [...]...

Since most of us have been making paper snowflakes since we could use scissors, I thought everyone knew how to make one. However, it has come to my attention that some among us have lost this skill once adulthood sets in. For those of you who need a reminder, here’s a quick tutorial how to make the perfect snowflake. First, start with a square of paper. If your paper is a rectangle, to make a square without a ruler, fold the paper into a triangle and cut off the excess. Fold your square into a triangle (if it’s not already). Fold the triangle into thirds. Once folded into thirds, fold that in half. Cut the widest part off where the corners stick out. This is [...]...

When I was younger, had less in the bank and more free time, I used to make my own handmade Christmas gifts. I would start at the end of September, and personalize everything. I figured I couldn’t afford to buy nice gifts for people, so I might as well make them something. It was very time consuming, but very satisfying knowing I could turn inexpensive materials into something really special. Times have changed, and although I still try to make a few gifts here and there, I never seem to be able to pull it off like I used to. Instead, I turn to other artists and craftspeople to find really beautiful handmade gifts. Knowing I’m supporting local artists makes me [...]...