::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!