Make ghost jugs by drawing ghost eyes and mouths on milk jugs. Cut a hole in the back of the jug to insert the lights. Share one string of lights by placing a few jugs close together.
Source: Disney Family Fun
Haunted Spirits
To make haunted spirits put a shirt on a dressing stand (or chair) and spray with fabric stiffener. Once it dries the shirts will be stiff and easy to stuff with lights. Hang your spirits from trees with hangers.
Make the Wreath: Gather an assortment of old-fashioned candies in autumnal shades such as yellow, orange, and magenta. Wrap a 14-inch foam wreath form in white ribbon. Attach candy with hot-glue, layering and overlapping as you go. Finish with a yellow burlap bow.
For this homemade face mask, a dreamy mix of hydrating avocado, skin-cleansing honey and toning apple-cider vinegar delivers perfect pH balance for all types of skin. While the face mask is completely edible, we don’t recommend actually eating it. By: Lily Diamond
ÂĽ cup ripe avocado Loose Hass Avocados
2 tablespoons raw honey
½ teaspoon cider vinegar
Preparation
Prep5 m
Ready In5 m
Combine avocado, honey and vinegar in a mini food processor; process until smooth. (Alternatively, place in a small bowl; mash with a fork until smooth.)
Apply a thin layer to clean, damp skin. Let dry, then rinse off and moisturize as desired. Oily skin types may not need additional moisturizer. This makes enough for 2-3 applications and should be used immediately.
THESE HACKS WILL MAKE YOUR NEXT BACKYARD GATHERING THE BEST YET
Throwing a successful backyard gathering doesn’t need to be stressful. Nor should it require weeks or even days of planning. Impossible, you say? Not at all: The key is adopting a few of our favorite hacks, each designed to make your backyard the place to gather this summer.
1. Build a backyard fire pit. In three minutes!
No fire pit, and no time to build one? No problem. Just grab a 15-gallon metal wash pail and four bricks from your local building supply or hardware store (total cost should be around 20 bucks). Set the wash pail wherever you like (well, ok, not inside!), then space the bricks evenly along the bottom; they’ll provide essential air flow. Lay your logs on top of the bricks, strike a match, and break out the hot dogs.
2. Make your picnic table an impromptu piece of art
Grab a roll of craft paper (your local office supply store should carry it), and use it in place of a tablecloth. Next, hand out pocket-sized packs of crayons, or place them conspicuously on the tables. Finally, encourage kids of all ages to add to the artistic masterpiece. As an incentive, find a place to hang the table covering from your previous gathering. Fair warning: the presence of adult beverages may influence the quality and nature of the art.
3. Cook corn in your cooler
If you want to see mouths drop, just start tossing freshly shucked ears of corn into an empty cooler, before casually adding boiling water (two quarts per dozen ears, since you’re asking), and closing the lid. Give it 30 minutes or so, open the lid, and voila! Perfectly cooked corn on the cob. Butter not included.
4. Create a backyard party “secret signal”
Gather your friends and neighbors together, and agree on a neighborhood signal for the spontaneous “party at my house tonight.” Our suggestions: A pink flamingo on the front lawn, a garden gnome in the driveway, or the universally understood balloon tied to the mailbox.
5. Use your holiday lights to make your summer more festive
Sometimes the simplest things have the biggest impact. In the spirit of this truism, we remind you to invest in a few strings of holiday lights. Run them around tree trunks and into the branches, around the legs of picnic tables, and pretty much anywhere they won’t get stepped on. It’s remarkable how much good cheer can be cultivated by this one simple act.
6. Get your kids to do all the work without even realizing it
Leave the canned whipped cream in the pantry, and instead pick up a few pints of fresh whipping cream and a half-dozen or so mason jars. Fill each jar with about a cup of cream, a tablespoon of sweetener (bonus points: Use maple syrup), and a dash of nutmeg. Gather the kids around, give them each a jar (be sure the lids are tight!), and count them down, with instructions to start shaking on “0”. The first one to achieve whipped cream gets the first taste–unless you claim it. Because you are the parent, after all.
7. Serve a party-sized burger
Sliders are so 2018; instead, create a massive hunk-a-chunk of grilled perfection by forming three pounds of ground beef into a party-sized patty, slathering it with your favorite toppings, and serving it inside a hollowed out loaf of your favorite locally baked bread. Slice into almost-reasonable sized portions, and serve with lots of napkins. Lots and lots of napkins.
8. Transform squeezable bottles into custom drink makers
Whether you’re serving alcohol or not, create a custom drink-mixing station by setting out squeeze bottles full of simple syrups. Your guests will love cooking up their own personal potions, though laminating a couple of your favorite recipes and setting them out with the mixin’s is a thoughtful touch.
This homemade moisturizer is an all-purpose miracle worker—as excellent for damaged and dry hands as it is for repairing chapped lips and cracked skin. Rosemary and sage oils, steeped in nourishing coconut oil and cocoa butter, help to jump-start skin repair. While the salve is completely edible, we don’t recommend actually eating it.
By: Lily Diamond
Ingredients 32 servings
½ cup raw virgin coconut oil
½ cup chopped cocoa butter
½ cup fresh sage leaves
½ cup fresh rosemary leaves
Preparation
Prep15 m
Ready In1 h 30 m
Melt coconut oil and cocoa butter in a small saucepan over low heat. When the oil is hot to the touch, add sage and rosemary. Let the mixture steep over low heat for 10 minutes, then turn the heat off and leave the pan on the stove to steep, uncovered, for another 1-2 hours, depending on desired potency of scent.
Strain out the leaves and discard. Pour the liquid into an 8-ounce glass jar, two 4-ounce jars, or four 2-ounce jars. Place lids on the jars and refrigerate overnight to harden. Remove from the fridge the next morning and keep in a cool, dry place.
To make ahead: Store in a cool, dry place for up to 6 months.
