Writer Pastiche

Discover Your Inner Artist with Adult Coloring Books

The secret is out: grownups love coloring books. Adult coloring books are one of the most popular creative arts and crafts hobbies for grownups of all ages and they're favorites of older kids (teens, especially) as well. Adults enjoy  coloring as a creative hobby and as form of art therapy. If you haven't tried out coloring books for adults, you're in for a real treat. 

Silhouette Cameo Craft Cutter

I love designing fancy paper crafts and for most of my life I've spent plenty of time cutting out paper and vinyl designs with scissors and X-acto knives.

Paper Mache Easter Eggs Craft

Paper mache eggs made with tissue paper, diluted glue and balloons are so simple and fun to make. You don't need to paint paper mache made with tissue paper, and your paper mache Easter eggs will be ready to fill with grass and treats as soon as the glue dries.

Cheerful Greetings - Christmas Decorations for Garage Doors

When you decorate your home for the holidays, don't forget to add Christmas decorations for the garage door. 

Make a Romantic Heart Shaped Gift Box

Whether you're giving jewelry, tiny candies, a gift card or love note, if you deliver your Valentine surprise in a romantic heart box it will thrill your sweetheart. The tiniest gift becomes even more memorable when the box or gift wrap is extra special. What better way to delight your Valentine than to give a gift in a heart shaped box you made yourself?

How to Thaw a Frozen Water Pipe

If you live in an area that gets extremely cold weather in the winter, you probably know at least one horror story about frozen water pipes or worse, flooding from a frozen water line. In the past decade, regions in the US and other places that are normally warm all year long have been hit by bouts of unusually cold weather. Homes and RVs in the southern states of the US have been struck by the cursed frozen water pipe problem.

Easy Heart Crafts for Preschoolers

Kids of all ages enjoy making crafts, especially if the craft is a gift for Mom, Dad or a grandparent. When making crafts with preschool children, if the craft project includes a heart, so much the better.  The three heart crafts in this article are simple enough for a toddler to tackle and will entertain crafty preschool and kindergarten age kids, too.

Small Space Gardening: Grow Veggies on a Vegetable Trellis

If your home garden space is small and you're looking for a way to get more produce from a tiny vegetable patch, try growing veggies on a trellis or vertical plant support. Many vegetables produce more fruit in less space grown on a vegetable trellis. Veggies grown vertically are easier to harvest, and they stay clean with less rot, too.

DIY Vegetable Trellis

Want to grow more delicious vegetables in less garden space? Grow your cucumbers and other vine-growing veggie plants on a sturdy home made garden trellis. This spring I built a 3 ft x 5 ft garden trellis to support the cucumbers in our vegetable garden.

I made the DIY cucumber trellis from leftover wire garden fence and two saplings cut from the woods in my back yard. This strong and simple vegetable trellis took me about an hour to build using simple hand tools (saw and hammer).

Fantastic Wedding Photo Booth Props

If you're looking for a unique way to capture photo memories at your wedding or anniversay party, plan a photo booth complete with fun and funky photo booth props.

Your guests will love having their pictures snapped in the photo booth wearing or holding a funny photo prop. Choose  creative themed photo booth props that coordinate with your wedding theme or colors, or just let guests go wild and make the photography sessions lots more fun for everyone with an assortment of photo booth props that will make your wedding and wedding photos unforgettable.

Cute Cat Christmas Cards

I love cats and Christmas. I fell in love with Kliban's whimsical cat art in the 1970s and my passion for tabby cats and humorous cat cartoons grows to a crescendo every year around the holidays when the best hand drawn cat Christmas cards appear in shops or galleries.

I'm a sucker for cute cat photo cards, too. I've created a few of my own cat photo Christmas cards for past holidays  using my cats as (somewhat willing) models.

Make a Chocolate Rose Bouquet

Valentine's Day is the perfect occasion  to say "I Love You" with chocolate and roses.

Celtic Clip Art for Designers and Crafters

I love Celtic art and designs, St. Patrick's Day graphics and Irish calligraphy. If you're planning a St. Patrick's Day party or an Irish themed wedding you'll find inspiration in this nice collection of new and vintage Celtic graphics, Irish borders and traditional graphic design elements for paper crafters, designers and scrapbook artists.

Classic and Comfortable Adirondack Chairs

There's no better way to relax on a summer day than to settle down in a comfortable wooden Adirondack chair with a cool drink and a book. With its wide arms, curved back and sloping wide seat, the Adirondack chair is inviting, comfy and easy to love.

My Favorite Computer Gadget: USB 10-Port Hub with Light

After months of experimenting with basic USB port splitters or plugging and unplugging my USB devices, I found the perfect USB 10 Port Hub  for my laptop computer and life in my studio is simple once again.

Keep It Simple Smoothie Recipes

I've been whipping up delicious simple smoothies for decades. Sometimes I whip my smoothies in my food processor or glass jar blender. Other times I choose to make a smoothie with a stick blender. If I choose a smoothie recipe without fruit chunks or ice, I simply combine ingredients, stir and enjoy a fast, tasty and liquid breakfast.

Smoothies made with frozen or fresh fruit, juice and milk or yogurt are the fastest healthy breakfast I know of to make and take when you're pressed for time or have to eat on the run.

Small Handbags and Little Purses Pack Big Fashion Punch

Small size handbags are my favorite accessory. Some ladies have closets filled with shoes. Not me. I have a closet overflowing with small handbags of all types: clutches, tiny organizer bags, wristlets, belt pouches, little cross body bags and waist packs (aka fanny packs). 

Vegetarian Delight: Stuffed Acorn Squash Recipe

Searching for a hearty and heart-healthy vegetable recipe? Try this delicious stuffed squash as a side dish or vegetarian meal. It's easy to prepare and serve; each acorn squash makes two servings, ready to serve in the squash skin shell. Tastes great right out of the oven or reheated a day or two later.

I like to serve this stuffed acorn squash for Thanksgiving along side twice-baked potatoes. I've also prepared this squash recipe as an easy meal. The cheese, nuts and bread in the stuffing make it a complete vegetarian dish. 

Horse Gifts for Girls

Girls and horses are like peanut butter and jelly. If your teen or tween girl has passion for horses, I can identify. I loved horses as a preteen girl and my older daughter caught horse fever when she was about 9 years old.  Alas, her tween daughter is more into anime and drawing.

Best Vacuum Cleaner for Pet Lovers - Dyson Animal Canister Vacuum

If you have pets and need a good vacuum cleaner to tidy up pet hair and dander along with routine household floor soils, get a Dyson Animal vacuum (DC39 canister model vacuum with ball technology). I've owned and cleaned pet hair and other household soil with many different types of vacuum cleaners and I can say without any reservation that my new Dyson Animal canister vacuum cleaner is the best vacuum I've ever used. It's not the cheapest vacuum cleaner, but it really sucks - and I mean that in a good way.