Hot Hosting & Entertaining Posts
How To: Plan a kid safe, very green baby shower
Julie Auclair introduces authors of a book called "Celebrate Green." This book shows you how to throw a baby shower the "green" way. Guests do not realize that some of the gifts they give can be harmful, toxic, or not recyclable. You start with the three "R's", reduce, reuse and recycle. You use these to determine if a gift falls into one of these categories. They have added the three "G's", which are "good for people," "good for the planet," and "good for the community." They begin with the ...
How To: Celebrate your birthday all by yourself
Whether you've planned it that way or not, sometimes you wind up celebrating your birthday alone. This tutorial will help you feel less lonely and have a great birthday, even if you are the only person at the party.
How To: Throw a cheap block party for the neighborhood
Throwing a block party is a great way to meet your neighbours! Block parties are perfect for hot summer nights when no one wants to be stuck indoors. These parties are fun and easy to throw, even on a budget. Check out this video for information on how to throw a rockin' party for your neighborhood without spending much money.
How To: Plan a traditional baby shower
Baby showers are fun ways to celebrate new mommy-hood. You won't want to forget the traditions though. Check out this video before you start planning and make sure you have an nice balance of etiquette and fun.
How To: Throw a great baby shower
Baby showers are a great time to bond with your girlfriends and help out new mommies. In this tutorial, learn some helpful tips to ensure your baby shower goes smooth and everyone has a fantastic time: especially the guest of honor!
How To: Make zoo animal candy bouquet
Lana Rae Badouin, in this video you will learn how to place candy bouquet stems and other elements to create an overall fan shape and use a stuffed animal to create a focal point. This video illustrates final assembly. Its a jungle out there, but this zoo animals candy bouquet is sure to drive its recipient wild with delight.
How To: Craft a duct tape Halloween bag
You've had pumpkin bags and you've had ghost bags, now you can have a Halloween colored duct tape bag to collect candy in this year. This bag is fun to use and just as much fun to make. Plus, by adding some reflective tape your bag will help keep you safe.
How To: Make a lucky charm shamrock key ring
In this how-to video, you will learn how to create a lucky charm. It is a symbol of good luck among the Irish. You will need a baking sheet, green polymer clay, a paper clip, pencil, and a key ring. Roll three one inch balls from the clay. Shape them into the clover leaves. Next, put them on a baking sheet and stick the pointed ends together. Set a paper clip in the center and flatten a piece of clay to seal the paper clip in. Draw lines in the center of the leaves with the pencil. Bake it ac...
How To: Recycle old gift wrapping to make an origami ornament
Shiho Masuda Teaches you to make 3-D origami star using recycled materials. The materials required are leftover wrapping paper, ribbons, two 3. 25" cardboard squares, ruler, scissors, glue, double sided tape and an X-acto knife. She cuts out 8 6"x6" squares from paper and glues them back to back to make four double sided squares. The four pieces are folded into 3"x 3" squares and stuck together with double sided tape. The 2 cardboard pieces are covered with paper and 12" ribbons are taped to ...
How To: Make a floral Birthday "cake" table centerpiece
This video describes how to make a "no calorie" birthday cake centerpiece with carnations in soft and sweet hues of pink, yellow, white and cantaloupe. first a flower foam was taken. Then the toothpicks were used to join the flower foam together. Then trace out a circle from the foam using a kitchen knife. Add some water to the base of the cake. With equal size flowers decorate the base of the cake. Then the cake is beautifully covered with different types of flowers. decorate with as many fl...
How To: Make your table over for the holidays
This video helps the holiday table settings add a fun and colorful theme to each holiday. Using white plates and table cloths, along with clear glass settings, will help to bring out the colors and details of the decorative additions to the table. Having scented candles or other types of fragrances will highlight and compliment the holiday table theme you have set. The table decorations you will see don't need to match, they only need to flow in with the theme you have arranged. This video wi...
How To: Make Custom Boxes from Cardboard for the Holidays
In this video tutorial, learn how to make a cardboard house with leftover cardboard that you may have sitting around from the holidays. You will need cardboard and plastic box rivets.
How To: Dye and marble Easter eggs
During Easter, everybody stocks up on the eggs because dying eggs is a great Easter activity. But there's something else you can try… dying and marbling. Watch this video recipe to learn how to dye and marble Easter eggs. A new twist to Easter eggs.
How To: Make a Halloween tree & ornaments
In this video you learn to make a spooky tree with decorations for a Halloween lawn ornament. They start you off with getting a branch that has limbs going off to look like a dead tree. Next they spray it with glossy black paint. They found an urn to put the tree in but you can use any pot. Mix some plaster up after you measure how much you will need to fill whatever pot or container you have chosen. Then you fill it with the plaster, stick your branch in it and secure it with tape. While thi...
News: Happy Easter! Celebrate With a Peeps-Show
The Washington Post challenged their readers to create "a three-dimensional essay on the state of the nation's collective consciousness, a sticky finger on the pulse of what's popular"...using Peeps.
How To: Design a floor flower arrangement for a wedding
Following are the steps to describe how-to make floor flower arrangements: 1. The materials required for this flower arrangement are a long flower vase, few red roses, some pine leaves, few lilies and some long grass.
How To: Make Santa suit candle votives for Christmas decor
Debra Hardy provides detailed instructions on how to make darling decorative Santa soy votive candles in this video. She first cuts the red felt into 6 3/4 inch by 2 inch strips for the Santa suit, wraps it around and adheres it to the bottom of the glass votive. Next, she secures a smaller strip of the white faux fur on top of the red felt also towards the bottom of the candle to create the bottom of Santa's jacket. Debra then instructs the viewer to cut a 6 3/4 inch by 1/4 inch black felt s...
How To: Design parallel flower arrangements in a low container
Watch carefully as this florist moves quickly and silently through the process, grabbing a tearing different types of flowers, then putting them together in an ornamental arrangement. He starts first with some somewhat colorless bushy flowers and affixes them low within the container. Thereafter, he takes single stems of purple, yellow, and red flowers arranging them at different heights above the low-lying bushy ones. He keeps the variously colored flowers isolated in their own little area, ...
How To: Cloth gift wrap two bottles using "tenugui" technique
In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to gift wrap two bottles using the chopstick tenugui wrap technique. Tenugui is a thin Japanese hand towel made of cotton. The materials needed for this gift wrap are: a tenugui, chopsticks and two small bottles. Begin by laying the bottles horizontally as the bottom bases touch on the tenugui. Roll the tenugui and fold it up. Tie the ends with a double cross and add the chopsticks in the knot. This video will benefit those viewers who are planning to...
How To: Host an Alice in Wonderland themed tea party
AMICLUBWEAR created a tutorial on how to host a tea party based on "Alice in Wonderland". The video begins with a step by step instructional on how to make tissue paper "flowers" as decorations for your tea party. The tissue papers are layered in opposite colors, after which the tissue paper is accordion folded and tied together using a pipe cleaner. Afterwards, the tissue paper is carefully extended layer bay layer and shaped into a flower. Next, there was a tutorial for making the "EAT ME" ...
How To: Make Halloween tombstones
In this video you learn how to make tombstones for yard decorations for Halloween. You will need two pieces of plywood. In this video the measurements for the wood are 14 by 24 but this can be altered. Also used are, two spikes that resemble the posts in a small picket fence. Using small nails, hammer the two spikes into you board on each side with about 6 inches in between. These will be what you use to stick the tombstone in your lawn. Using another piece of wood with the thickness of the s...
How To: Make a baby diaper cake step by step
This video is a tutorial on how to make a baby diaper cake. To begin, you will need to roll all your baby diapers from the waist down and secure them with rubber bands. Your top tier will have 8 diapers, the middle tier will have 19 diapers, and the bottom tier will have 40 diapers. Use rubber bands to secure all your tiers together. Next, glue thick ribbon around the tiers over your rubber bands. Follow up with decorations such as bows and extra ribbons. Use a cake stick to secure the tiers ...
How To: Make a snowman in warm weather
First the item list is as follows: three wreaths (small, medium, and large), two sticks, gloves, a scarf and a hat. You will also need some wire to hold the wreaths together, and the arms to the body. The first step is to use florist wire to tie the bottom, largest wreath to the medium wreath to form the lower section of the snowman. Then you repeat the same process for the head to the body. You then put a colorful hat, the scarf, and gloves and you have yourself a wreathy snowman.
How To: Create a sweetheart rose wristlet for a wedding
The video shows us how to create a sweetheart rose wristlet for a wedding. The things needed are wrist band, dragon leaves plumosa and some small spray rose. First apply some glue over some rough paper and then slide the elastic wrist band over the wrist. Then the dragon leaf is taken and is given a coat of glue using the rough paper and then the same is pasted on the wrist band upon the plastic backing. Then use some plumosa to add some attraction to the wrist band by pasting it on the drago...
How To: Set the buffet table at your dinner party
Clinton Kelly, the lifestyle expert, shows the right way to ‘Set your Buffet Table’ for a buffet party, in this video. He suggests that all the serving dishes and utensils are laid on the buffet table, the night before the party. This will throw some light and give ideas as to how to place the dishes on the table. You could place the plates on one side of the table, the food at the center and the napkins to the other side. You should also decide the heights of the various serving platters, co...
How To: Design a head table flower centerpiece for a wedding
This is a short, very fast paced (6x normal speed) demonstration of how to arrange a floral and green head table piece. The 54 seconds shows the designer how to complete an arrangement from beginning to end. It is difficult to see what the shape of the base is, but it is fresh flowers going into the design. The designer places long greens into the center of the base, adding some long white stemmed flowers. Red carnation heads are then placed around the base along with some additional greenery...
How To: Make a quick and easy get well gift basket
Gift baskets are a great way to celebrate the holidays and special occasions. They also are a great way for you to cheer a friend up and cure their blues. In this quick guide you will learn how to put together a kind and caring gift basket for someone recovering from illness.
How To: Dye Easter eggs with onion skins and rubber bands
Naturally dyed eggs is the way to go for Easter time. Aside from just using your normal dyes for Easter eggs, add a unique look by just using onion skins. Onion skins will dye your Easter eggs with a cook natural color, great for eating or for decoration.
How To: Arrange a dozen red roses for Valentine's Day
Making a rose arrangement is not difficult, but there is some skill to it. In this video tutorial from Fresh Flower Ideas, learn the tips and tricks of creating an arrangement with a dozen red roses for Valentine's Day. In this tutorial, a dozen red Freedom roses are used, but you can use whatever grade and type you want. You will also need sprigs of babies breath, leather leaf, and tree fern. To begin, clean off the stems and the rest of each rose. Add once piece of leather at an angle in th...
How To: Arrange casual and formal place settings
Lifestyle expert Clinton Kelly shares tips for setting the table for a dinner party, either casual or more formal. For a casual dinner party he recommends using only a water glass and a non-specific wine glass. The plate goes in the center with a napkin in a ring placed on top of the plate. Two knives are placed to the right of the plate and two forks to the left.
How To: Construct a beautiful flower and bow diaper cake
This video is a tutorial on how to make a diaper cake. The cake is not edible. To begin, you will need a pack of diapers and rubber bands. Roll up the diapers from the waist down and secure them with the rubber bands. Put several rubber bands around a bottle of wine and secure the diapers in tiers around the bottle of wine. Cover each tier with tissue paper before adding the next one. Wrap each tier in blankets. Top off the cake with a can of formula wrapped in a decorate blanket. At this poi...
How To: Gift wrap presents
In this video from FusionNW, Paige Walker from The Container Store gives us some gift wrapping tips. A lot of people have trouble wrapping presents with wrapping paper. Here we learn how to make it simple, with your gift-wrapped presents looking like they were professionally wrapped. Remember: A gift that's wrapped in a very special way is just as special as the gift itself! One thing that's important is that you measure the wrapping paper right, and this is demonstrated for us. You'll want t...
How To: Set up a candy buffet at your wedding
Candy is not just for the kiddies. You’re wedding guests will feel like they’re in Candyland when they are presented with the whimsical wonderment of a candy buffet. You can easily match candy to your wedding’s color scheme and theme.
How To: Create a feathery flower anklet for a wedding or luau
This is a sped-up video of the FlowerGod showing how to make a beautiful feather anklet. The video is sped up to four times its normal speed. He begins by putting a basic feather anklet around a girl's ankle. Then he gets a piece of paper, to have a safe place to use some glue. He deposits a small amount of glue from a bottle of glue, and then uses this glue to secure several more decorations onto the anklet. These include some pink and white flowers, as well as a green feather. In the end, t...
How To: Arrange centerpieces with candles and fresh ingre
Lifestyle expert Clinton Kelly takes the hassle out of centerpiece designing.
How To: Arrange a Chinese New Year flower table centerpiece
The Flower god gets us all ready for the Chinese New year with a quick and very simple flower arrangement for a table centerpiece. You'll need some good luck bamboo, some ivy, little pieces of ginger and some passion flowers to accent the green. Take some of the ivy leaves and cover the centerpiece base. Cut them short at a sharp angle to cover everything. Next use the good luck bamboo to add height. Cut these at a sharp angle as well so that they will stay secure. The angles help it work as ...
How To: Craft a rose wire armband for a wedding or luau
The creator of The Flower God demonstrates how to create a flower armband that links around the hand. The very quick video begins by the illustrator wrapping wire around the model’s arm, hand and finger. It is not restrictive, but allows flowers to be added all around the model's arm, including her fingers. The wire is flexible and cut to fit the model exactly, no one size fits all in this design. After the wire is placed and cut, flowers are applied to the wire. While the video is shown at 6...
How To: Make a DIY wedding flower centerpieces
A wedding budget can quickly get out of hand as your planning progresses. Things like centerpieces are a major cause of skyrocketing wedding costs. If you have a little time and want to easily trim down the cost of your wedding, think about making your own floral centerpieces. You'll learn how to with this simple tutorial from EZ Bouquet. You'll soon see how easy it is to make a beautiful floral arrangement in an open container and how to secure the arrangement in the base of the container. A...
How To: Create a sweetheart rose wire anklet for a wedding
The video shows the making of a rose wire anklet for a wedding. The flower guy in the video takes a string a kind of lengthy wire and makes a small round shape in one end of it, then he inserts the other end through the upper front side of the lady's sandal so that the small circle fits exactly in the portion above the toes, then he glues a red rose and a rose leaf and fixes it in the circle with glue, then he puts the other end of the wire around her leg just above the foot, makes about two ...
How To: Design an exotic bride's bouquet for a wedding
TheFlowergod teaches you how to design an exotic bride's bouquet for a wedding. You will first need a stand for the flower bouquet, which you can make out of plastic or wood. Place the longer stem flowers inside so you have a working station. For this bouquet you will be working with a few ferns as the base and then flowers with similar colors, like red, yellow, purple. The whole bouquet should say warmth and pleasant weather. Once you are done with the designing, you simply extract the bouqu...