Decorating a cigar box is a hobby and craft that has been around for a couple of centuries now – pretty much as long as we have been smoking cigars! They have been turned into purses, photo albums, stages and jewellery boxes.

They are easy to decoarate and cover in fabric because they are made of cardboard.

Here are some simple instructions for decorating a cigar box plus a list of the things you will need.
• Cigar Box
• Newspaper or paper towels
• Tissue paper decorations or stickers
• Scissors
• Decoupage
• Sponge brush
• Fabric
• Adhesive or glue
• Craft mirror for the inside of the box
• Strip of beaded edging.

Your first step is to acquire the cigar box. Some toboccanists will give you a cigar box for nothing. Others will charge you a fee. Places to get cigar boxes are local smoke shops, liquor stores, drug stores, and coffee shops often have empty cigar boxes. ‘

Try to find cigar boxesquality hinges and latches. There is also a kind that is hinged with tape that is quite serviceable as well. Pick one that’s a good size for your project.

Gather the materials you need, and remove any unwanted stickers from the box. Clean and dry the box, and set it up on top of newspaper so you don’t make a big mess. Consider restraining the wood, painting the box with craft paint, or sealing the wood before you decorate.

You should also arrange the tissue paper decorations on the outside of the cigar box after you cut them down to size. Glue them down and then add two layers of decoupage (like a glaze) to seal them into place and add a nice finish to the cigar box.

Cut the fabric to fit the interior of the box and then use a strong adhesive, glue gun, or double sided tape to stick the fabric lining into the box. Add a square of fabric to the upper interior lid and glue that down as well. Let dry thoroughly before you continue to decorate the box.

Glue the mirror into the interior lid of the box and use a clip or rubberband to hold it in place while it dries.

Add the beaded edging wherever you think it looks best. You have many options. You can usse it as a border around the lid, a frame for the mirror, or decorate the edge for the lining. Ribbon applied in this way looks great too.

One of the most fashionable ways to decorate a kitchen is in the French Country style. This is a very rustic look that is reminiscent of the charm found in homes in the South of France.

To accomplish this look you will have to decorate with toile. Toile is a fabric that has pictures of the countryside of France on it. It might depict landscapes, bottles of wine, cheese and the produce of France on it as well. These motifs are a great choice for the curtains, tablecloth, chair seats and dining ware in your kitchen.

Ladder back chairs are also characteristic of this look. Make sure the table is large and rustic and that the chairs have seats made out of rush (twined water reeds.)

The colors of the French Countryside are rusts, greens, blues and golds. Keep the walls, ceiling and floors in earthy brown, creams and red colors. If you have beams running across your ceiling you are lucky because it means you would have accomplished the look. If you don’t have beams in your ceiling you can also install them.

A stone floor also compliments this look. You can get faux tile in stone like colors that can help achieve this affect. Another charachteristic of this kitchen style is roughly plastered walls. Cast iron wall sconces also look nice on a plastered wall.

Yet another characteristic of rustic French kitchens is rusted metal. Rusted metal could be found in kitchen cabinet hardware, lighting fixtures and baker racks.

French motifs in the form of scultprues, clocks and other items can be roosters, olives, sunflowers and lavender. Decorate with handmade pottery to bring the element of the French countryside to your kitchen.

It is also characteristic to hang baskets in a kitchen. These woven baskets should be large and natural looking. You can put fruit and vegetables in these baskets and use them to store cooking implements.

Copper pots and iron pots also look gorgeous in this type of kitchen. Be sure to hang them from the ceiling and on the walls to augment the look.

When planning your space, remember that the French Country is a very warm, relaxed, and informal decorating style. Stay away from anything too fussy or formal.

Quite a few people enjoy collecting and decorating wine bottles. Many wine bottles are beautiful in shape and size. You can also embellish a wine bottle that you were keeping for sentimental reasons. You can also decorate either a full or empty wine bottle.

To look a collection it is nice to display the wine bottles in groupings of three to seven at once. It is nice to keep wine bottles that have the same color or that are the same type together in their own groupings. Another nice touch is to mount the wine bottles in a way that they are showcased. A shelf with a glass backing to it is a very nice idea as it also reflects and picks up the light in the bottles.

You can start by picking empty bottles and placing a wax candle into the mouth of the bottle. You then let the wax drip down as it burns. You can do this with several different colors of candles to add variety to the look of the wax drippings.

Another nice touch is to line up all the wine bottles together in a line on a window sill. This makes a nice window covering as it is difficult for others to see in. The color of the bottles also shines through them to create a nice glow in our home. One warning though – do not use full bottles of wine for this purpose as wine can be worried if it is exposed to direct sunlight.

If you really want to get spectacular about this then you can put your skills to work by making a rustic Italian –style lamp base out of a large wine bottle. You need to drill a small hole through the glass in the bottom or on the low side of the bottle. Purchase a lamp wiring kit at a home improvement store and then thread it through bottle to make a lamp base. This is a great project for anyone who is good at glass cutting.

One crafty way of decorating a wine bottle is to take chain or thin silver rope and coil it around the bottle to make ribbed designs. You can also make this chain or rope into floral or geometric shapes to give the bottle visual interest.

Finally consider using these empty wine bottles as flower vases. There is nothing prettier. Even a single bloom looks great standing up straight in a wine bottle. You can tie ribbons around the wine bottle neck to augment the effect.

Even the smallest apartment balcony can become a restful oasis in the city if you use your creativity and imagination . Adding just a few summery items and a splash of colorful plants can turn a drab and uninviting piece of concrete into a place where you’ll enjoy spending time.

The first thing you need to do is get some plants. Even the tiniest of balconies can accommodate a pot or two of plants. Most balconies can take overhanging planters as well. If you want your balcony to smell really fantastic try growing herbs. The bonus is that you can use them for cooking too. Hanging plants can act as a shield from the sun or nosy neighbours. Trellises on either side of the balcony can also help you maintain some privacy from your neighbours.\

You also need to add some chairs so that it is comfortable to sit on your balcony. For tiny balconies consider a stool or an ottoman.

Add seating. If your balcony is large enough, adding a chair or two will give you a place to sit and relax while enjoying your outdoor space. For tiny balconies, consider an ottoman or stool instead of a chair. You can also buy cute little fold up chairs that you can take inside or fold up.

You can also make a tiny balcony friendlier by putting in some carpeting. You can buy outdoor turf rugs or Astroturf. A small outdoor rug is surprisingly affordable and can make a balcony seem much more inviting and finished looking.

You can also use color to create an inviting mood. Red, orange, pink, yellow and green can help you create a natural environment, If you want a cooler effect then use greens, blues and shades of white.

You can also brighten up your balcony with the soft light of lanterns or candlelight. Candlelight screens are also very lovely and can help provide privacy while giving your balcony a romantic feel at the same time.

Add big mirrors to give your balcony a sense of spaciousness. Just make sure they are thick strong mirrors that can withstand any weather.

If you have room consider stacking aquariums or terrariums on your balcony. These are wonderful because they had color, life and a peaceful element to your balcony décor. Another nice touch is a bird cage with birds in it. This also adds an additional touch of nature to your balcony.

A tote bag is a bag with two handles. Decorating one makes a great project for both creative types and kids. You can make a tote bag that has a message on it, or one that reflects your own style and tastes.

A hand crafted tote also makes a nice gift for a friend. You can get blank tote bags at craft stores. Or you can get a used one and recycle it. The idea is to make it your own.

This is a very easy project!

You will need –
• A fabric or leather tote bag
• A square of cardboard
• Waxed paper
• Fabric paints
• Craft paint brushes
• Chalk
• Transfer paper
• Sewing needle
• Thread

Decorationss, such as silk leaves, appliqués and buttons (depending on what you want to make. Use your imagination while you are in the craft store. Old broaches, broken chains and jewelry can also be used to decorate the tote bag.

Select a tote bag in an appropriate color. Keep in mind that fabric paints don’t show up as well on dark colors. Make sure your colors aren’t so wild that the bag will not go with anything!

Pre-wash the bag before you paint it. Do not use fabric softener and allow it to hang dry completely. Make sure it is completely dry before you start painting or you will not be pleased with the results.

Cover a piece of cardboard with waxed paper and place it inside of the bag. This will prevent the paint from bleeding through and sticking on the inside of the bag.

Trace a freehand design in chalk. Chalk can be wiped away if you don’t like it and want to start over. Visible chalk lines can be wiped or wash off after the tote bag is done. Draw whatever kind of design you like!

If you are not great at freehand drawing use transfer paper.

Transfer paper is found in craft stores and used like carbon paper. You place it over your tote bag, then place the paper with the design you like on top of it. Trace over your design with the back of a paint brush or a chop stick. Be careful not to let the papers or the tote bag move as you are doing this. When you remove the papers, you will have an outline of your design. This is a good option if you’re not confident of your freehand drawing skills.

You can paint a design on the bag with fabric paint as well. Just use a paint bursh as you would regularly. Another option is to select fine tipped paint tubes to squeeze paint directly onto the fabric. To prevent smearing allow the paint to dry before painting on or next to it with another color.

Before you sew buttons or any other type of bling on it all the newly painted tote about 24-48 hours to dry. Keep in mind that the squeezed o paint will take a lot longer to dry.

Be sure ew on silk flowers and leaves, appliqués, patches or buttons to further decorate your bag. The goal is to completely customize it and make it yours!

Decorating cup cakes has become so much of an art that is it almost like fashion couture. Here are some interesting and offbeat ideas for decorating them.

Have you ever tried decorating Burger Cupcakes. These are decorated to look just like a humburger. You can putthem together using plain cupcakes yousing the ones lightly sprinkled with sesame seeds for the buns, a chocolate cupcake latyer for the meet, yellow fondaont and icing for the cheese and a bit of red and green icing for ketchup and pickles.

Cupcakes themed after cartoon characters are also very popular. You can use fondant and icing to create faces on the cakes. You can include characters like the Cookie Monster, Batman and the Smiley Face.

You can also use cupcakes to build shapes. Aligatores, snakes and caterpillars lend themselves especially well to this.

You can also make an edible cup cake tree by placing htem on cake tiers until they reach your desired shape and size.

Cupcakes are well suited to every type of holiday theme that you can imagine as well. You can decorate them in red and green for Christmas, decorate them to look like pumpkin faces for Halloween and make stars and stripes out of icing for Independence day.

It is also quite impressive to write on the cupcakes. For a wedding you can spell out the name of the happy couple on the cupcake. You can also use them for an anniversary but spelling out the date of the wedding.

Here are some tips for making cup cakes so that you have a good “canvas” to work from thm.
• Never fill your cupcake tins more than half full before baking
• Spraying the cups with non stick oil first really helps
• Mix the cupcake batter lightly to avid chewy7 cupcakes
• Make sure your ingredients are room temperature
• Use a toothpick to make sure the center of the cakes are done
• Use a piping bag to ice the cakes
• Use a flimsy rubber spatula to ice the cakes.
• Make sure the cupcakes are cool before you frost them!
• Keep a light touch with the food coloring as it can alter the taste of the cake if you use too much!

Keep in mind too that vanilla frosting can be made into any color you like. Use food coloring to make it last. To make colored sugar or coconut simply place it in a bag with a few drops of food coloring and shake it vigourously. It’s not just icing that benefits from a soak in food coloring!

Have you found a great kitchen chair at a garage sale or vintage store and do you want to try and make it into a fashionable piece of furniture? Recovering a used kitchen chair is easier than you think!

Begin by disassembling the chair. Your first task is to remove the chair seat. If you turn the chair upside down, you should easily find the screws that hold the chair pad in place. Unscrew these screws and the chair seat should just come pop off the chair frame.

Take the “naked” chair frame outside and spray paint, giving it one or two coats, depending on the colour you’ve chosen. Make sure you’ve removed any loose paint and dirt before you do this or the effect will be very disappointing and unprofessional looking. A light sand helps the paint stick better, but is not necessary if the chair is slightly “beat-up”. If the chair is bent out of shape in anyway you can slos hammer it back into shape.

Then turn your attention to the chair seat. Using a flat screwdriver or small crowbar, remove the stables holding the fabric onto the chair seat. If the padding is in good shape, you’re ready to move onto the next step. If it needs a little work add a layer of batting or a thin layer of foam (available at craft and fabric stores) before you staple on the finished fabric. This, of course, will help provide the actual seat for the chair.

Lay the chair seat on the fabric, back side up. It’s helpful to mark the front of the chair so you know which way to run the fabric. Also, if your fabric has a pattern, make sure the pattern is centered on the seat before you cut it out. Don’t choose thick fabric that is hard to fold or the chair seat won’t look quite right.

Now the fun begins. Using a stapler or electric staple gun, begin by stapling the fabric to the top and bottom of the seat, then the sides. Then work your way around the seat, making small folds as you go if you are upholstering a round chair.Trim excess fabric and screw the seat back onto the chair. You are done and have a brand new fashionable addition for you r home.

Looking for old kitchen chairs for absolutely free? Try looking for gems in your neighbourhood on garbage day. There are usually lots of them sitting on the side of the street waiting to be collected and rehabbed by somebody.

Is there anything more boring looking then a plain white mound of rice on a plate. This mound is known as “the rice bed.” There are many ways to make it more colorful.

Before you spice up a rice bed, you have to decide what type of rice to use. If you are not planning to use instant rice, you may opt for long-grain, medium-grain or short-grain white rice. Jasmine rice, basmati rice and wild rice add additional flavor. When preparing long-cooking rice, remember this ratio: twice as much water as rice. I

The general rule is you prepare a cup of rice (about 2 ½ servings), you’ll need 2 cups of water.

Here are more specific instructions for cooking rice -
• 1 ½ cups rice
• 3 cups water
• 1 tbsp. butter or margarine
• ½ tsp. salt
• Bring water, butter, salt and rice to a rolling boil. Reduce heat to lowest setting, then cover and simmer for approximately 20 minutes or until water is absorbed by rice and rice is fluffy. Additional ingredients of your choosing as suggested in
• steps 1 to 5. This recipe makes four side-dish servings.

Now here are some ideas for spicing up the rice bed so it is more thematic and colorful looking.

Basic Rice Pilaf: Add ¼ cup of chopped parsley and substitute chicken broth for the water in the basic recipe.

Autumn Rice: After cooking add ¼ cup of unsalted sunflower seeds, ¼ cup of raisins and ¼ cup of diced apples.

Sweet Rice: Add ½ cup of shredded, unsweetened coconut to your rice. This complements Indian, Thai and Caribbean entrees.

Basil Rice: Add basil to the rice water as it is cooking. Watch the rice turn green! To make it even tastier add some pine nuts.

Southwestern Rice: Add ¼ cup chopped red and green peppers and ½ cup cooked corn.

Tomato Rice: Add condensed tomato soup to the rice while it is cooking.

Orange Rice: Add raisins and orange juice to the rice water while it is cooking to infuse it with a citrus flavor.

Remember that the rice bed should go with your entree by substituting broth or stock for water in the basic recipe. For example, if you’re having a beef entree, use beef broth instead of water, chicken broth for poultry entrees and seafood stock for seafood entrees. Vegetarians will enjoy rice made with mushroom or herb broth, especially if nuts and herbs are also added to the stock.

If you have a space at home that is specifically dedicated to work, working from home seems more attractive. The idea is to create an office space that is really productive.

First of all start by decide one corner of your living room as the designated workspace area. Avoid bedrooms as seeing your work clutter at night could prevent you from sleeping.

Your first step is to buy set of computer table and a comfortable chair and put it in such a way that your back is towards the wall. Select a corner that has enough light but not so much that there is going to be a lot of reflective glare on your computer screen. Put your desk, cabinets and counters to create an L-shape. This saves space and looks more professional.

On fact one f the biggest challenges with a home office is lighting. You should get a horizontal surface such as a desk and doing it in such a way that you don’t get glare from your reading back into your eyes. I f your light source is coming from in front of you, it will bounce off what you are reading and go into your eyes. It is best to two sources. One from the right and one from the left that cross from the side so, that way the reflections go away from you as you read a glossy magazine for instance

Set up shelves and a file cabinet behind your chair, within easy reach. Try not to put your head directly below any overhanging shelves as that is not only dangerous but according to Feng Shui (the rules of object placement to attract positive energy.) Then set up counters for other equipment such as printer, fax, scanner and personal computer.

Interesting lighting figures can be great. Try using glass shades or paper globe shades (like the ones you can get an IKEA.)Decorate your office by adding clocks, pen stands and your very own personalized coffee mug.

Since this office is also your home try to blend in the décor by using cushions and curtains that match with the décor in the rest of the living room area.

To keep it looking neat make sure you keep the wires around your computer and technology hidden. You can buy compact tubes that hide them or you can ask an electrician to put them through the walls. Since your space needs to be clutter-free, buy some good storage for all your files and documents. The less cluttered your office the more inclined you will be to spend some time in it!

Autumn is the season to host some holiday supper and cocktail parties. It is nice to try and make an effort when it comes to presenting foods in the spirit of the season that is currently happening.

One of the most rustic elements that can be used to display fall foods, especially appetizers and desserts is cheese boards. You can get cheese boards of all types including ones made out of oak, pine, maple and cherry wood. Ornate cheese boards with some carving in them look great set out on a table and topped with a knife and hunks of cheese.

You can intersperse these wooden boards with ones made from other substances such as slate, marble and other types of stone. Stay away from plastics as they do not fit in with the season well. Wooden bowls and wooden glass coasters and platters made from tree stumps are also a nice touch. Pottery Barn is a great place to find these types of things.

Vintage trays in silver, nickel and copper look great with the wooden cheese trays. You can pair golden flatware with a vintage silver tray for interest. Consider using vintage chafing dishes with burners beneath to serve up soups and foods. Little copper pots for dipping or even a copper or gold toned fondue pot work well as an Autumn themes.

If you do use ceramic or glass make sure it is well embellished with images of flowers and leaves. You can get this sort of thing at Pier 1 Imports and even at Walmart. Even your teapot or coffee pot can have a floral theme. A nice big ceramic tureen filled with a tummy warming autumn soup made out of rich root vegetables makes a great centerpiece for a fall feast as well.

Foods also look good on rich colors such as aubergine, golds and dark chocolates. Other great colors for fall presentations are orange and gold. Those decorated with leaves and flowers are also suitable for the season. Look for flatware or linens decorated with fall themes like acorns, chestnuts and oak leaves.

Velveteen fabrics also suit a fall vibe. For a really elegant touch simply have the fabric drape over the table and touch the floor. To create a beautiful centerpiece, simply add a vibrant floral arrangement. You can also use vases made out of birch bark and red and golden votive candles to give your table an even warmer fall ambience.