Do It Yourself Tiered Tray

Displaying snacks on a tiered tray immediately transforms a bunch of ordinary crackers or cookies into something much more elegant. After years of working for a catering company, I know that how you present food affects how tasty it appears. Simple additions to how you place the food can make all the difference, like using a tiered tray. Tiered trays create levels, which makes a display of food more interesting and fun. Unfortunately, plate stands or tiered trays can sometimes be pricey—but not for the do-it-yourselfer. Here’s how to make a tiered tray using just a couple of plates and a candlestick holder. First, find a few plates in varying sizes. I was planning to make a three-level tray, so I found small, medium and large-sized plates at a local Goodwill. (I later decided to make a two-level tray because three levels seemed too tall.) Each plate was $0.69! Can’t beat that! Then, find a candlestick holder. (Again, I had two candlestick holders because I was going to make three tiers, but decided against it.) Any candlestick holder will do. You can always paint it to get the look you want. A lot of blogs out there create this...

DIY Hanging Collage: Christmas Style

When I decorate for Christmas, I like to use items I already own and just Christmas-ify them. Take this hanging collage. This project actually started quite a while ago as a way to fill the empty wall space between two windows in my living room. I was having a hard time arranging the random bits of paper and other items on the collage in a look that I liked. Nothing was working. Luckily, Christmas time came along. So, everything else came down, and Christmas décor went up. I shuffled through drawers and photo boxes and ended up with quite the pile of sort-of-related-to-Christmas items to hang on the collage. Magazine clippings. A book. Last year’s Christmas cards. (I plan to replace these as new ones come in.) Random snowflake ornaments. A piece of felt. Overall, I think it works. This hanging collage couldn’t be easier to create. Even for the not so handy do-it-yourselfers out there. Here’s how. What you need: Picture hanging wire Nails Hammer Tape measure Small binder clips Cute items to hang Directions: Using a tape measure, determine how long you want your hanging collage to be. Also, decide how many rows you want. (I went...