::Uncle Joe You Are Sitting Next To Me::

Looking for place cards for your Thanksgiving table that don't involve tracing your hand to make a turkey or folding a Pilgrim out of a napkin? We found some great alternatives in our November issue of Real Simple Magazine (http://www.realsimple.com).

1.) Kumquat Kabob- Spear several (4 or 5) kumquats on a wooden skewer for a pretty pop of color. Next, decide where to place it and do so. Now take a long strip of paper approximately a 1/2 inch wide and write the guest's name on it. Finally, curl the paper strip by running it over the blade of a pair of scissors (be careful) and place it around the kumquats.

2.) Wrapped Apple- Wrap a luscious apple (green or red) with some thin gold cord a few times and tie a knot. Next, place a small slip of paper with the guest's name under the cord.

3.) Monogrammed Gilded Pear- Take a pear and place a alphabet sticker on it. Next, spray paint the fruit with gold paint (the shinier the better) and let dry. Finally, peel off the sticker. This idea has caused some controversy between Kathleen and me. Kathleen feels as thought this would be very wasteful since you are ruining a perfectly good pear. If you share the same feeling we have found a great (and expensive) alternative. A company called Esslack has created edible metallic spray paint! It can be purchased at The Deli Garage (http://www.the-deli-garage.com/FOOD-FINISH_detail_16.html). If you do decide to go non-biodegradable use a plastic or wooden pear in place of the real one.

4.) Fragrant Herb Bouquet- Tie together your favorite sprigs of herbs. Cut a piece of paper into the shape of a leaf and tuck into the herbs.

::SORRY::

...FOR BEING DISTANT. WE ARE BACK NOW! PROMISE!

::PAINT BY NUMBER::

Here is a stupendous tip from the old battle axe, Martha Stewart (Hey Girl!!!). Have you amassed a whole gross of paint cans from your various household projects and now need to perform a touch up and have no clue if the dining room is cornmeal blue or Mexican azul? Martha has just the trick for that! So from this point forward this is what you are going to do when you have a painting project. Don't wash your stirring stick off or throw it away. Let it dry completely and then label it with the manufacturers name, the color name, and where you used it. As you collect stirring sticks, you can gather them together by drilling a hole in the handle and slipping them on a jump ring. Hang it in the basement near your work bench for future reference!

::GET A HANDLE ON YOUR CANDLE::

Here is a snazzy idea for storing those fragile taper candles you use during your romantic dinners. We all know they are so fragile, they really do need protecting and we also know that if we store mixed candles they can bleed into one another. Take your candles used or new and wrap them in a healthy amount of paper towel. Next, slide the wrapped candles into an old paper towel tube. The tube will help to protect the candles from breaking and the paper towel will keep them from bleeding. Store them in your fridge or other cool spot for safe keeping.

::GRATE EARRING ORGANIZER IDEA::

We stumbled across a GRATE idea to organize your hooked earrings, a box grater!!! It couldn't be grater (OK we will stop with the puns). Here's what you do. Find a box grater (they can be found at most kitchen stores or grocery store new, or your can find them second hand at a thrift shop). Next, if you would like it to match your decor, give it a coat of enamel spray paint designed for metal surfaces. You can add legs if you would like by hot gluing/epoxying on wooden beads or even old cabinet pulls. Finally, hang all your earring in the holes on the different sides. TADA!!!

::GREAT DIY LIGHTING IDEA::

We recently saw an adorable lighting idea while cruising RISD|Works(the online store selling works by students of the Rhode Island School of Design) and were so impressed we had to share it! The clever idea of this small hanging lamp is that it is made from a large Chinese/take-out food container! The designer turned it upside down, cut a hole in the bottom to accommodate the bulb and light kit, and voila! Instant, kitschy lighting that would totally look cute in groupings of three illuminating your kitchen island!

Tips From A Drag Queen: Hairspray

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Thank you to Pandora Boxx, Rupaul, and Logo TV's Drag U for the fabulous tips and tricks!