Posts

What You Need 1×4 whitewood boards1×6 whitewood boards4-inch screwsDrillWood glueNailsNail gunWood fillerWood stainBeam straps, made from pliable metal strips found at home improvement storesSpray paint Step 1: Lay the Groundwork Before adding wood beams to the ceiling, you need to determine their placement. Examine your ceiling to identify joists, lights, and other obstructions you’ll need to work around. Once you’ve decided on the layout, screw 1×4 boards across the length of your ceiling....

How to Make Ravioli You just need four basic ingredients and about an hour to make fresh ravioli from scratch. Use our homemade pasta recipe to get started. No special equipment is needed—a rolling pin and a sharp knife or pizza wheel will do the trick. Though if you have a pasta machine ($30, Walmart), this is the time to put it to good use. Find our best tips for making homemade pasta dough here....

Unlike their fussier cousin, crepes, mastering how to make pancakes from scratch is a cinch. Start with our Classic Buttermilk Pancake recipe, stir in our tips along the way, and you’ll have a reason to boast at the breakfast table. We’re also dishing about flavor variations and mix-in options for the ultimate flapjack. So tie your apron on and learn how to make homemade pancakes. How to Make Pancakes Step-By-Step It doesn’t take more than a few pantry staples to make pancakes....

Catmints are fast-growing plants. When they first begin in spring, they form tidy little mounds of neat new foliage. They quickly grow outward and begin to set their buds for their flower show. Many species of catmint can become weedy in the garden setting. If you are worried about this, look for sterile varieties like ‘Walker’s Low’ that will not seed about and cause any future problems. Catmint plants are a wonderful source of nectar for many pollinators and are known to withstand harsh winters....

Where to Plant Crepe Myrtle Need shade near a petite patio? Or do you garden on a tiny lot? Crape myrtle may be the tree for you. In colder climates where winter injury can be a problem, this plant grows about 6 to 10 feet tall—which suits smaller landscapes. In warmer climates it grows up to 25 feet tall, but you can prune it to limit growth. In addition, plant breeders recently have introduced a host of semidwarf and dwarf cultivars that are especially well-suited for tight planting spots like narrow foundation planting beds, curbside areas, and even large pots....

If you’re afraid of pruning your trees, know that some pruning is better than no pruning–especially when trees are young and benefit from shaping. It’s also worth noting that trees are resilient and most moderate pruning can later be corrected as the trees grow over time, so there’s reason to learn how to prune a plum tree. Fruit Trees vs. Flowering Trees When it comes to plums, there are really two types: those grown for their fruit and those that are grown for their flowers....

Before you panic, we’ve got a few tips and tricks that are sure to get stubborn stripped screws out and your home improvement project back on track. So before you further damage the screw head, take a look at the list below to find a method that works for you. Why Old Screws Always Seem to Strip Why is it that every DIY project seems to involve an untimely battle with a stripped screw that just doesn’t want to loosen?...

Purchasing, Storing, and Washing Peppers No matter what kind of pepper you are purchasing, look for one with glossy, bright skin and a shape that is normal for the variety. If a pepper is bruised, shriveled, or has soft spots, it is past its prime. Store sweet peppers, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Store chile peppers in the refrigerator, unwashed and wrapped in paper towels in a plastic bag, for up to 10 days....

Jenna, who shares her projects on her blog Jenna Sue Design, stenciled a design to mimic Moroccan tile. The 28x28-inch stencil created a single, high-impact medallion. “There was a point a few hours in where I thought, Wow, what was I thinking?” she says. But after getting the hang of it, she cut her time from 25 minutes per medallion to 5 minutes, completing the stenciling in 27 hours over two weeks....

How to Plant a Tomato Step One: Stake Out the Right Spot Whether you want to grow tomato plants in a garden bed or a container, choose a spot that gets at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight per day. Though tomato seeds can be directly sown outdoors, you can gain a head start on the growing season by buying transplants or starting seeds indoors six to eight weeks before your area’s average last frost date....

Finding studs isn’t challenging, but you need a tool called a stud finder. These gadgets work by detecting metal nails or density changes. This step-by-step tutorial shows you how to use a stud finder so you can spend less time prepping and more time decorating. What You Need Stud finderBatteriesPencilMeasuring tape Step 1: Turn It On Insert batteries into stud finder. Place the stud finder on one end of the wall you’re checking for studs, then turn the tool on....

In this guide, you’ll find care instructions for cashmere, including tips for hand- and machine-washing, stain treatment, drying, and storing cashmere garments. The Basics of Caring for Cashmere The best way to wash cashmere is by hand. If you’ve never washed a garment by hand, this might conjure an image of long hours spent hunched over a washboard, but in fact, hand-washing a cashmere item is, at most, a 15-minute job (usually less!...

Seeding is the best way to plant Indian paintbrush because container-grown plants are difficult to transplant. Seed Indian paintbrush in early spring or late summer in full sun and well-drained soil that’s between 55 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Be patient; the seeds may take a few months to germinate. Keep the soil moist—but not soggy—during the first year. (After that any surviving plants will be drought-tolerant and only need occasional watering....

The typical height for wainscoting is 32 to 36 inches up from the floor or about one-third of the height of the wall. A good way to cap the panel is with a chair rail. For a more dramatic look, run the wainscoting two-thirds of the way up the wall and top it with a picture rail. Beaded-board wainscoting is named for the rounded beadlike strips that hide the edges between tongue-and-groove planks....

When you do a load of laundry (with hot water in particular), microfibers shed from synthetic fabrics like polyester and nylon into the water. Research says the average household in the U.S. and Canada releases 533 million microfibers (which is equal to about 135 grams) into the water system per year just by doing laundry. That’s a problem because wastewater treatment systems can’t filter all of these particles out. In fact, microfibers contribute up to 35 percent of all plastic pollution in the oceans, according to Ocean Clean Wash, a campaign initiated by the Plastic Soup Foundation....

Japanese snowbell tree won’t tolerate drought. It requires consistently moist, but not soggy, soil for best growth. Water young trees regularly during their first year. When nature fails to provide at least an inch of rain in a week, supply 10 gallons of water to the plant’s root zone. Spread a 2-inch-thick layer of mulch over the root zone to prevent soil-moisture loss. During the second growing season, you can cut back on watering as much because the tree’s roots will have had a chance to grow enough to find water deeper in the soil....

Judith has appeared on the Food Network, radio, and podcasts around the country. She has also taught cooking classes across the U.S. She is a member of Les Dames d’Escoffier, an international organization of women in the culinary arts. Judith has her B.A. in English, M.A. in American Studies, and she’s done coursework at La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine in Paris and at the Iowa Writers Workshop. She’s been nominated for a James Beard Award and is an IACP Award and Kansas Notable Book Award winner....