When you make your own advent calendars it can be challenging to remember to have them made before the first of December. Therefore, this project comes in time for you to have a couple weeks to gather your materials together and make your own. This particular calendar is made using “small coin” or […]
Living
Gardens
Recycled Plant Containers
Looking for fun, unusual and fresh ideas for vessels in which to start houseplant cuttings or seedlings this winter? Here are simple instructions to create 4 recycled plant containers to nurture tender and young plants in until they are established enough to be transplanted into larger containers or permanent areas. Paper Egg Cartons The recyclable […]
Homes
New Farmhouse Style
Look for home decorating ideas just in time for the holidays. Designer Terry John Woods’ farmhouse style features antique objects and elements from the natural world in his 1820s Vermont home. Yankee‘s longtime contributing photographer Kindra Clineff’s brings this style to life in her work here. Images are from Terry John Woods’ New Farmhouse Style […]
Small, boxy rooms can sometimes make you feel as if the walls are closing in. But the way you decorate a small room can make a big difference. A light touch generally works best for creating a more open feeling—lighter colors, fewer big objects, simpler patterns and window treatments. If a tiny space has you […]
November is a time of year when I use more nature-based materials to decorate our home because I enjoy the rustic appeal of legumes, gourds, seeds, acorns and dried grasses. Decorations made from these materials are durable enough to last the month (and many times, much longer) which means you can keep them around for […]
Artist, writer, and the “queen of cozy” Susan Branch creates a real-life world of holiday magic in her Martha’s Vineyard home. Find cozy inspiration in Susan’s 2013 Christmas house tour.
When Pam Kueber bought her 1951 ranch in Lenox, Massachusetts, she became one of the country’s leading advocates for 1950s home decor. Take a tour of her colorful home!
Thousands of different varieties of potatoes are grown worldwide in a broad range of shapes, sizes and colors from tiny fingerling potatoes to the medium sized rounded reds to the larger yellow and whites and even some specialty purple varieties. Here in New England, potatoes are abundant and easy to grow and are very much […]
Witch hazel is a fascinating plant because it blooms at the very end or the very beginning of the growing season. Find out more about this perennial plant.
A tall, grassy plant we call “bamboo” has been spreading like wildfire near a brook on our property, and we can’t control it. We don’t want to use anything that will affect our water, wells, or wildlife. — P.D.S., Agawam, MA Polygonum cuspidatum, commonly known as Japanese knotweed or Japanese bamboo, was introduced from eastern […]
It’s pumpkin season! These easy-to-make paper pumpkins can be hung as decoration for Halloween as well as Thanksgiving. The paper pumpkins are made from strips of orange paper that are attached with small metal brads. You can tie string around the brads to hang the pumpkins wherever you like such as stair banisters, window frames, […]
Eastern Connecticut is the witch hazel capital of the world. Why is witch hazel important? 1. Native Americans used witch hazel teas and tinctures to treat cuts and scratches, insect bites, poison ivy, bruises, swelling, and sore gums, among other ailments. 2. Witch hazel extract can speed healing of blisters, cold sores, shaving nicks, and […]