A Picture Frame is Worth a Thousand Words
By Kiki Clark

I don't know about you, but the house sort of closes in on me around February. I suppose I could vacuum the last of the Christmas tree needles from under the heat register, or find a place to store that Santa hat that absolutely would not fit in the box of decorations. But would that really satisfy my urge to take control of my environment, or quell the existential angst that comes from knowing no matter how many times I clean the kitchen, it'll be dirty tomorrow? No. I need a project that will change my life fundamentally. Something that, once done, will make a profound difference in how I get up and face each day. I need to organize my earrings.

I've seen these picture-frame gizmos maybe twice over the years, and each time I thought it was a great idea that cost more than I wanted to spend. But it's pretty cheap to make one yourself, especially if you hunt up a garage-sale frame. Note: This holder only works for standard pierced or post earrings, not spring-loaded C-clamp styles, endless loops, or clip-ons.

Here's what you need:

A picture frame (it has to be wood)
A piece of window screen
Long, skinny pieces of wood and something to cut them with.
Ribbon
White glue
Two flat-head thumbtacks or a staple gun

Step 1: Look at the back of the frame. See the nice little ledge where the picture and glass would go? Using a pair of tin snips or junky scissors, cut a piece of screen that fits on that ledge.

Step 2: Now cut four pieces of wood to fit in the sides of that same ledge. It's probably better to make these too big than too small. That's what hammers are for. If you don't have a handy saw, you can use a craft knife (or a butcher knife) to deeply score all the way around the wood. Then it should break at the score. Big Ol' Warning: Cut your long pieces first and remember that they're going to take up some room on the shelf. You'll need to make your short pieces the length of the short side minus two times the width of your little pieces of wood.

By the way, I bought my wood pieces at Michael's Crafts. They're 3/16" square pieces of basswood. God knows what normal people use them for. You could probably use round dowels, as well. Or no wood if you use enough glue or hot glue in Step 4.


Step 3: Put your screen in there with the wood on top of it. Does everything fit nicely? Good. If not, trim stuff.

Step 4: Run a generous line of white glue along the inner edges of the ledge, both bottom and side. If your screen has a slight curvature, lay it down so that it curves away from you when you're looking at the back of the frame. That will make the earrings easier to get in and out, and keep their backs away from your wall. Shove the wood strips down on top of the screen and flush against the sides of the ledge. If things want to move, wedge them into place with straight pins stuck into the frame. Let everything dry.

Step 5: While your glue is drying, get out your ribbon. This is what you're going to use to hang the frame. Cut off four feet, then cut that in half. (If you're never happy with the bows you tie, read through to Step 7 before cutting ribbon.) Tie a nice, tight, single knot on one end of each of your ribbons, very low.

Step 6: Look at the face of your picture frame (it's dry, right?) and decide which edge you want to be the top. On the back, mark where you want your ribbon to be affixed to the frame. It's a good idea to measure this, so it's the same distance from each side. If you have a staple gun, staple the ribbon to the back of the frame, putting the staple in the area between the knot and the top edge of the frame and making sure the good side of the ribbon is facing the right way. If you're using thumb tacks, push them through the knot into the frame.


Step 7: Turn over your frame and tie your prettiest bow in the ribbon. If you can't tie a nice bow (maybe I should have chosen this option), just staple a ten-inch length of ribbon with knots at each end to the back of your frame and call it good.

Doesn't that look stunning? You'll have to dust your earrings now, but that's a small price to pay for the fact that you can see them all, and will therefore wear them more.

Final Notes: If you only wear post earrings, I suggest you cut the screen significantly smaller than the frame's opening and only affix the top edge. It will be a flap of screen, and you can easily reach behind it. Seal the cut edges with glue (don't forget colored or glittery glue), so they don't scratch you. You could also do the project as I described but create a little "post-earring annex" by sewing a small flap of screen onto the front of the fixed screen with some embroidery thread.

Make sure your earrings aren't scratching the wall behind the frame. If the screen doesn't bow out enough to prevent this, stick something to the back of the frame to push it away from the wall - furniture protectors, page pebbles from last month's project, squares of cardboard, wads of chewing gum... I have great faith in your ability to figure something out.

If your frame is thick enough at the bottom, you can screw small cuphooks into the bottom and hang necklaces from them (ooh!). Drill holes first, so you don't split the wood.

The only change I made to my frame was to daub a little silver ink on the dot parts. But you could get a plain (or crappy-looking) frame and go wild with paint and glue.

Next month: Debra Holland shows us how to make hollow Easter eggs from real eggs.
 

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A Romantic Evening with your Honey
By Priscilla Kissinger

It's Valentine's Day!!! This month we celebrate, as we say in my native tongue, el Dia de los Enamorados -- the day of lovers. A day to celebrate love, friendship, and family. In our hectic lives, it's important to remember to stop and smell the roses, and enjoy one another.

I'll buy special treats for my children, call my parents and siblings and let them know they're in my thoughts and in my heart. And I'll be sure to spend some quality time with my husband.

Whether you celebrate on Valentine's Day, or hold off for the weekend when you can send the kids to a friend's house and have a quiet, uninterrupted evening with your honey, you deserve a night of decadence and romance. At least, that's what I keep telling myself. :)

Now, when I hear the word decadence, chocolate immediately comes to mind. And usually to my lips, too. My ever-expanding backside can attest to that fact. So you can bet chocolate is on my menu for Valentine's Day. But it isn't the only item.

My hubby is a meat and potatoes kinda guy. He'd like a quality cut steak, marinated for several hours in Dale's seasoning with a dash of pepper, season-all (Adobo by Goya in our house), garlic salt and a dribbling of minced garlic, then cooked to perfection on the grill.

We're veggie lovers, so with my family's hectic lifestyle, I keep the fridge stocked with those salads in a bag. Cut up a tomato, red bell pepper and a cucumber, toss a few croutons on top, dribble on the dressing and we're ready to go. For tonight, though, I'll add a little flair by using a sharp knife to carve out a few heart-shaped cucumbers and red bell peppers. Yes, cutting the hearts may be a bit time-consuming, but the reminder of how much you care is well worth the effort.

On to the bread. Okay, we're in a low carb era, but a girl's gotta splurge once in a while. Valentine's Day is not the time to step on the scale. Instead, I'll grab a loaf of French bread at the supermarket, slice it length-wise, butter it up, sprinkle it with garlic salt and paprika, then crisp it on broil in the oven.

Prepare your salads on small plates ahead of time, then cover them and keep them in the fridge. Get your bread ready to go in the oven, so it can be cooking while you're tending to the steaks. Just remember to set a timer! There's nothing like the pungent smell of burnt bread to ruin the mouth-watering aroma of meat sizzling on the grill.

Now it's time to set the mood. Bring out the candles and fancy tablecloth. Don't forget the cloth napkins; it's a special night. I may even break out the good china, what the heck, why buy it if you're not gonna use it? Fresh flowers are a nice touch. If your honey hasn't bought you any, hopefully it's because he has a better gift in store. :) So go buy your own, whatever your heart desires to create the right ambiance.

Speaking of ambiance, you need the proper mood music. Being Hispanic, I gravitate to Spanish love songs. Of course, there's plenty of romantic American music, too. The first CD in our player will be by Mexican sensation Luis Miguel. Anything off of his two Romance CDs is moving. After Luis, we'll hear a mix of Harry Connick Jr., Peter Cincotti, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw's duets, and Josh Groban. Josh is a young cutie with an incredible voice. He can serenade my honey and me anytime.

So I've got the main meal, the table set, the music playing, and my sweetie by my side. We open a bottle of wine, toast to our love, then dig in. If you prefer something non-alcoholic, try mixing half a glass of CranRaspberry Lite (made with Splenda) with half a glass of Diet Sprite. That's my spritzer of choice, but on to our romantic dinner.

We'll listen to the music, chat about everything and nothing, enjoy the lack of children's voices echoing down the hall, reminisce about times past. Dinner's done, our appetites are almost sated. Now it's time to bring out the piece de resistance.

Chocolate fondue!!

Ahead of time I've prepared and placed in the fridge a plate of banana slices, pineapple chunks (fresh or canned), cherries, strawberries, mini marshmallows, and chunks of angel food cake.

Breaking out our trusty fondue pot (again, my hips and backside let you know how often we indulge in fondue), I quickly add 1/2 cup of whipping cream and one 11-ounce bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips. Stir as the chocolate melts, add some chopped pecans if you'd like, and in minutes you're in business.

At this point, you can remain at the table, or adjourn to a more romantic spot in the house: a comfy rug or blanket in front of the fire, the center of your bed, on the back porch overlooking a beautiful sunset, wherever your heart desires. If your pot of fondue needs to stay in the kitchen, no problem. Dribble chocolate over the plate, grab your drinks and you're ready to go.

Let the fun begin.

Have you noticed that your plate is full of finger foods? All of which you can feed each other? Personally, by now I'm ready to enjoy my chocolate and my honey.

The night is young, we're feeling romantic, and the chocolate is waiting. Enjoy!!!!

To read last month's Stuff to Make article, click here

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