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Hanging stockings on your fireplace safely and securely prevents them from falling and protects your mantel and floors from any potential damage. Keep reading to learn about four different ways to hang stockings on a fireplace, including weighted decorative stocking hangers and sleek mantel clips, for the ultimate Christmas cheer. 1. Weighted Stocking Hanger Weighted stocking hangers come in various shapes, materials, and designs. They typically feature a weighted square or rectangular base, a decorative accent such as a tree or a monogram, and a hook suspended from the base from which to hang your stocking....

Purchase the same kit that we used here. Hold the entire window panel up the garage door, aiming to align the screws with the pilot holes. The washers will help prevent the screws from falling out as you get situated. Without overtightening, use the drill to drive the screws into place. Repeat entire process on second panel, if necessary.

This simple white arch is an inexpensive yet elegant option for a wedding backdrop. Full hydrangeas serve as the base, with purple flowers in different sizes and textures to break it up. A silky curtain adds movement and softness to the streamlined arch. Here’s how to make it.

How to Make a Christmas Gnome Food Jar Supplies Needed Free hat and beard pattern (see download below)Faux furMarkerScissorsPinsColored feltQuick-dry tacky glueHot glue gun and glue sticks1 1/4-inch wood beadsWide-mouth jars Step-by-Step Directions Create your own set of gnome food gift jars in under an hour. Customize each Christmas gnome with colorful felt and wood beads. Step 1: Cut Shapes Print hat and beard patterns on paper and cut out. Trace beard pattern on the back of faux fur (from $5, Etsy) and cut out....

This runner requires only basic sewing skills and is so easy you could quickly stitch up a themed runner for each season, holiday, or special occasion. When you’ve decided how big to make the runner, cut a piece of oilcloth that’s one inch longer and wider than your dimensions. Cut a piece of cotton fabric the same size. Pin the right sides of your oilcloth and cotton fabric together. Editor’s Tip: Many sewing projects are constructed with “right sides together,” which means the wrong side, or back, of the fabric is facing out....

Upcycle last year’s greeting cards into colorful orb ornaments in just three simple steps. You’ll need to cut 20 circles out of the cards to make each orb. Use a variety of colors and patterns to add dimension to your finished ornaments. This easy Christmas card craft is perfect for trimming the tree or gifting to friends and family. How to Make a Christmas Card Ornament Supplies Needed Assorted paper cards2-inch circle paper punchSmall cutting matCrafts knifeHot-glue gunThread...

How to Make Disinfectant Wipes with Alcohol The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends alcohol as an effective cleaner to disinfect household surfaces. To make alcohol-based disinfectant wipes, use at least 70% rubbing alcohol (undiluted) for the most effective clean. Grab a roll of paper towels (or small kitchen cloths for reusable wipes) and an airtight container large enough to store them. You can cut the paper towel roll in half to fit if needed....

Get the recipe for Perfect Hash Browns here. Prepare Potatoes Peel potatoes, and coarsely shred them using a handheld shredder, a potato grater, or a food processor with a coarse shredding blade. Place shredded potatoes in a large bowl and add enough cool water cover them. Stir well. Drain in a colander. Repeat rinsing and draining two or three times until water runs clear. Drain again, pressing out as much water as possible with a rubber spatula....

1. Choose the Right Hydrangea Only the flowers of bigleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla) and mountain hydrangea (H. serrata) can change color. Other types like oakleaf hydrangeas (H. quercifolia) or smooth hydrangeas (H. arborescens) such as ‘Annabelle’, cannot change their flower colors, naturally blooming in white, cream, or dusty pink. These plants are just as full and beautiful, but if your goal is deep pink hydrangeas, make sure you’re planting varieties that can turn that color....

How to Make Zucchini Noodles with a Spiralizer The key to making twirly zucchini noodles is an inexpensive kitchen gadget known as a spiralizer. A spiralizer will cut your zucchini into long pasta-like strands. You can find both tabletop spiralizers ($48, OXO) with a hand crank or handheld spiralizers. To use, simply follow the manufacturer’s instructions (no need to peel!). Trim both ends to give an even surface for anchoring the zucchini to the handle and blade, and use even pressure when turning the handle to push the zucchini through the blade....

How to Cut a Pomegranate According to the folks at POM Wonderful (and the pros in our Test Kitchen), this is the best way to cut a pomegranate. Step 1: Cut and Score the Pomegranate Using a sharp knife ($16, Target), cut off the top of the pomegranate approximately ½-inch from the crown. Once you remove the top, you’ll find four to six sections of the pomegranate divided by a white membrane (pith) are visible....

Ask for help: This is the one part of a pantry purge where kids can pitch in. Get them to move everything (and we do mean everything) from the pantry onto a nearby section of countertop or a table. Clean up: The last time you wiped down your pantry shelves was probably when you moved in, so now is a good time to give the shelves, walls, and floor a once-over to remove dust, cobwebs, and wayward Cheerios....

Cut Flower Favorite Stock your bulb cutting garden with elegant lily-flowering tulips and enjoy creating bouquets as soon as the temperatures warm next spring. Other tulips to consider include bold triumph tulips, parrot tulips, all types of daffodils, hyacinths, and summer snowflake (Leucojum spp.). Your bouquets will boast a symphony of welcome color after a long winter, and also add sweet fragrance to a room. Lily-Flowering Tulip Care Must-Knows Like all tulip bulbs, lily-flowering tulips require well-drained soil and at least 6 hours of bright sunlight per day....

Moonflower, devil’s trumpet, jimsonweed, and thorn apple are just a few of the many common names for this self-seeding annual. As the name “moonflower“ suggests, many varieties open at night. Long, white petals slowly unfurl as the evening comes. When morning arrives, the flowers curl up, reverting to their closed form. While the nocturnal blooms of moonflower are certainly breathtaking, the gray-green tropical-looking leaves are another attractive feature of this plant....

Rainbow corn is grown primarily for its colorful kernels, and it exploded in popularity back in 2012 when a photo of the rainbow-colored ears went viral. But rainbow corn is much, much older than that. Carl Barnes, an Oklahoma farmer, started planting ancient varieties of corn as a way of connecting to his Cherokee heritage. A mix of a few different varieties of corn eventually produced a couple of multicolored cobs, which he showcased at a native plant gathering in the mid-1990s....

If the brick has lost its glaze, it’s vulnerable to water migrating into its body. Seal the brick with a clear sealer. Chipped brick is also a tip-off that water has intruded and frozen. Treat a chipped brick as you would a damaged brick—replace it. If you have ivy growing up the wall, its tendrils won’t damage mortar that’s in good repair, but the foliage can hide potential problems. Check the wall in the spring before leaves appear....

How to Roast Pumpkin Seeds Before you begin preparing pumpkin seeds, you’ll need to choose a pumpkin that suits the number of seeds you want to munch on. You can use the seeds from either a carving pumpkin or smaller pie pumpkins. For 1 cup of seeds, purchase a 10- to 14-pound pumpkin. Test Kitchen Tip: You can also use this method to roast seeds from winter squashes, such as butternut squash or acorn squash....

You also need to decide how large your Christmas house display will be. You may just be executing an around-the-gutters-and-eaves operation, or you might want to consider something a little more intricate for your outdoor Christmas decorations. No matter how simple or complex, it helps to have a plan. Our step-by-step guide to DIY Christmas light hanging can help you develop a custom design that will work for every holiday season....

And this season, there are some people who could use a little extra love. So, I found a few extra people to add to my Valentine’s Day card list: Patients at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and seniors living in long-term care facilities. Due to ongoing health risks and COVID-19 protocols, both groups will spend Valentine’s Day inside their respective facilities this year, likely with restricted visitors. Luckily, there are a few easy ways you can send some Valentine’s Day cheer to them....

Learn the best mattress cleaning methods, where to place one, plus what not to do when moving your bed to storage. These steps will help you properly store a mattress to prevent damage. 1. Ensure the Mattress is Clean First, thoroughly clean the mattress so you can rest assured it comes out of storage in the same condition. After stripping it of pillows and linens, inspect for any stains. It’s generally not recommended to use heavy-duty commercial products on a mattress, such as an upholstery cleaner....