Rachael Ray

3 Kings Day is traditionally celebrated on January 6th, although it varies from country to country. It commemorates the 3 wise men visiting the Baby Jesus. Children like to celebrate this special day by leaving treats for the camels that carried the Magi. In return, they are rewarded with presents and candy left in their shoes under their beds. Materials: Metal paint bucket Cardstock Glue Glitter Ribbon Shoe box Posterboard Buttons Embroidery thread & tapestry needle Kids’ shoes Water for the Camels Even with it’s storage hump a camel can get pretty thirsty traveling across the desert, so it’s tradition to leave a bucket of water under one’s bed for it to drink. Draw or print camel shapes onto cardstock—I found my camel outlines on Google. Cut out the camels using scissors for the big [...]...

Every year I get on the campaign trail, no I am not running for public office…yet! Instead I try to get my family WHOLE family to downgrade their Christmas celebrations in favor of the fun, traditional and insanely more affordable, Día De Los Reyes Magos, or Three Kings Day. And every year I get SOME family members to jump on the bandwagon. Three Kings Day, or Epiphany, is celebrated 12 days after Christmas (the end of the 12 days of Christmas), this year it is on January 6th and marks when the three wise men, Gaspar, Balthasar & Melchior (great Biblical trivia to know) came on camels to bring baby Jesus gifts of frankincense, myrrh and gold. Three Kings Day [...]...

Last year I hosted a small New Year’s party. Instead of making everyone come up with resolutions I had my guests write postcards to their future selves. Some wrote hopeful notes about the upcoming year, some wrote resolutions, some wrote to their significant others, and some were just silly. The plan was to mail them just before the next New Year’s Eve, so everyone could get a note from themselves one year later. Materials Postcards Bag or box Pens Postcard stamps All you need to set this up for your party is a stack of postcards (preferably from your town or city), some pens, and a container to place the written cards. My container was a simple paper bag with the instructions written on it. I [...]...

Customizing a gift for your favorite hostess is a a nice way to show you appreciate her. Make it easy by taking store-bought items and tweaking them, or start from scratch, and make something handmade. Here are some great ideas that can be done rather quickly, and won’t break your budget. Potted Amaryllis An amaryllis is a great gift even for those who don’t have a green thumb. You can find them everywhere this time of year in a kit that has everything: bulb, soil and plastic container; just add water. All that’s needed is a place near a window. If planted early enough, it may even bloom by Christmas. Materials: Amaryllis kit Water Trowel or spoon Fancy container or flower pot ribbon double-sided tape When giving an amaryllis as [...]...

Now that the holiday season is upon us, weekends will be packed with holiday parties. Throwing a party can involve a lot of time, planning and expense, so it’s nice to show the host or hostess some gratitude with a simple gift. It doesn’t have to be expensive, or elaborate. For the host that loves to cook, here are three budget-friendly, easy gift ideas that anyone can master. Infused Olive Oil Ingredients & materials: Bottle with stopper Funnel Extra virgin olive oil Fresh herbs 2 cloves garlic Tag and cardstock or paper This is such a great gift because it looks beautiful, is so tasty, and it’s so easy to put together. Chances are, you already have the ingredients on hand too. The fancy bottle can be found at [...]...

Creepy Eyeball Drink Toppers This project is so cute and easy you won’t believe your eyes! Materials: Small styrofoam balls Bamboo skewers Puffy Paint Floral foam Craft foam Scissors Hot glue gun Miniature brads Pipe cleaners Wine glasses with stems Directions: Place a styrofoam ball on the end of a bamboo skewer. To make the eyeball look bloodshot, draw some red squiggly lines with red puffy paint. Place the bamboo skewer in some floral foam to allow the paint to dry. For the iris of the eyeball cut small circles of craft foam, and hot glue them onto the styrofoam. While the hot glue is still wet, press a miniature brad into the craft foam and styrofoam ball to make the pupil, and reinforce the craft foam. Repeat this process to make three more eyeballs. Once everything is [...]...

I love to shop at Goodwill; I never know what I’m going to find, I get to reuse something that might have otherwise been thrown away, and the prices can’t be beat. Recently, I went on a little shopping spree in order to create the perfect Halloween candy table. I can’t believe the treasures I found: vintage lamps, a red and black tablecloth, candle sticks, glass cylinders and jar, a gothic mirror and frames. I even found a jack-o-lantern candy bucket, a plastic skull, and four decorative crows! Once I did the shopping, I put this table together in an afternoon, so it doesn’t take a lot of time (or money) to have a Happy Halloween. I even bought this beautiful buffet [...]...

There’s something really soothing about flying a kite. It takes a little effort—and a little wind—to get it flying, but once it’s up there it can be smooth sailing for a while. Materials: This handmade kite is pretty easy to make, and can be made out of anything that can be cut with scissors: paper, plastic, or fabric. For a really durable kite, use rip-stop nylon. I used what I had on hand: a very cheap plastic tablecloth, some patterned brown craft paper and masking tape. The kite frame is made of two 36″ dowels, 5/16″ thick, cotton twine and wood glue. Assembly: Cut a foot off one of the dowels so it’s 24″ long. Reserve the cut end. Cut a 1/4″ notch into the end [...]...

When the bathroom gets really gross, or the kitchen is covered in greasy grime, it can be comforting to use a harsh chemical to get rid of the mess. We’ve been conditioned to think the more toxic the chemical, the better it will clean. However, harsh chemicals can be bad for the air inside the home. Studies have shown links between stay-at-home moms and higher cancer rates due to inhalation of toxic chemicals (http://www.non-toxic.info/Health_Statistics.htm). Also, dumping all those chemicals down the drain is terrible for the water supply. The toxic substances found in many household cleaners are not adequately removed by sewage treatment plants. Once the water leaves the plants, it is returned to the water supply. All good reasons to ditch [...]...