I never put water in the oven with my pumpkins, but as I use the kids Halloween pumpkins and the big guys tend to retain a lot of water, this advice may not hold true if you are baking those tiny little pee-wee jack frost pumpkins. I also never cover them with foil as the hard shell makes a perfectly acceptable natural foil and the pumpkin will ...

Toni B ... the reason you don't see ideas like this on TV is because those networks sole existence is to provide a market for big companies to sell supplies to people like us. If you dumpster dive for materials, the big corporations lose money and pull their advertising from the networks. I suspect that is also part of the reason craft ...

I wish I was as handy as you with woodworking, Happy! My grandfather was ... he used to peruse the dump for construction demolition cast offs and make all sorts of nice things for us grandkids out of these teeny little scrips and scraps of wood, such as little wooden toy cars, doll beds, plant holders, whirligigs, even wind chimes using old wood, ...

Has anybody ever come across any free build-it-yourself web articles on how to route water from your washing machine out into a drywell, garden or fruit trees? I know of quite a few people who simply ran a pipe out of the house into a ditch, but since we use very little (and always phosphate free) laundry detergent and almost no bleach, I'm ...

Popsicle stick crafts and egg-crate "reindeer" are two good craft ideas for little ones. All you need is popsicle sticks or bits of egg crate, glue, craft paint, pipe cleaners (for antlers), and dribs and drabs of whatever else you have laying around for decorations (googly eyes, buttons, glitter, cotton balls, felt, etc.) to make ...

Who's saving money making Christmas gifts this year by reusing base materials salvaged from items that would normally go to the dump? I've got a bunch of things I've been doing the past year listed below, and would love to hear from others what other free junk-crafts people are whipping up into beautiful gifts even a snob would love ...

Mmmmm ... can't wait to try this recipe! Last year my church hosted a Thanksgiving dinner for the disadvantaged. They asked everyone to donate desserts, so I asked our local gourmet grocer if he had any use for the giant box of leftover pumpkins which had frozen solid over the weekend and they agreed to donate them for the cause (7 giant ...

"...I've gone back to the dryer for a lot of stuff. Any cost associated is just not worth the amount of ironing time it takes for me to press everything." If you're promptly taking your clothing out of the washing machine and "snap" it 4-5 times times before you hang it on the line, it dries nearly as soft and ...

Janome is an excellent brand, but very very expensive (even for an entry-level machine).  If you can negotiate the price of an entry level all-mechanical machine down to $50 or more than a brand X machine, then it would be a good investment.  If you're buying a used machine, the old all-metal Singers and Kenmores are pretty good and ...

Since you say you are new to sewing, my first suggestion before you make any investments in anything (machines, patterns, fabric) would be to take a low-cost machine sewing class either from your local community school (many senior centers, recreation centers, or schools offer adult ed classes) -or- through your local fabric or quilt shop. It ...