Make a Room Bigger Look: 3 Decorating Tricks With Optical Illusions

Make a Room Look Bigger: 3 Decorating Tricks With Optical Illusions

Fool the eye with paint and other accessories to completely transform your space.

Add stripes for more space
Just as vertical stripes on clothing may make you look taller, stripes on a rug will make a room appear longer in the direction the stripes are oriented.

Adam Voorhes for Reader’s Digest

Hide ugly tech with a hollowed-out book

Place an unsightly router inside a hollowed-out book to keep it out of view.

Clive Tompsett

No-Carve Pumpkin Decorating: 14 Simple, Pretty Ideas Anyone Can Try

Think you have to wield a carving knife to dress up your pumpkins? Try these no-carve pumpkin decorating approaches for an easier approach this autumn

Mummy pumpkin

Courtesy Mother's Niche

Wrapped up with Halloween spirit? Your pumpkin should be too. Grab strips of gauze from the medicine cabinet (cheesecloth will work too), hot glue, and two shifty googly eyes to make this easy craft from Mother's Niche.

Personalized pumpkin

Courtesy Unoriginal Mom

Whether a flare for fuschia or a streak for sparkle makes you tick, make it stick to a personalized pumpkin. The Unoriginal Mom makes this gorgeous craft with gold glitter (it only takes 20 minutes!).

Punky pumpkin

Courtesy Kelli Trontel

Glue: It's not for everyone. To avoid sticky fingers, pick up two packages of silver and gold thumbtacks. Press them into your pumpkin for an edgy gourd. Blogger Kelli Trontel uses the tacks on white pumpkins, a modern look for a Halloween classic.

Sweater weather pumpkin

Courtesy Confessions of a Plate Addict

If the cooler weather evokes an obsession for all things knitted, cozy up to this idea: Use old sweaters as adorable pumpkin wraps. It's a warming addition to indoor and outdoor fall decor. Confessions of a Plate Addict serves up this idea in easy steps.

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Hands-on pumpkin

Courtesy The Melrose Family

Recruit itty bitty handprints for pumpkin decorating. Dunk each family member's handprint in a different shade of paint, and layer on the pumpkin from largest to smallest. The Melrose Family shows how to get your hands dirty.

Creepy crawly pumpkin

Courtesy Oopsey Daisy

Break out a few rhinestones and old pantyhouse for sophisticated design with a bit of fun weaved in. This black and white color scheme from Oopsey Daisy is a creative way to crawl into the Halloween season.

Creepy crayon pumpkin

Courtesy The Swell Designer

For a ridiculously fun art project, glue a pack of crayons to the top of a pumpkin, plug in your hair dryer, and watch the colors melt into a pumpkin that is creepily colorful. The Swell Designer draws out the instructions.

Dollin' pumpkin

Courtesy Allyson Baker Design

Not a fan of splashing the house with orange and red? Tame down autumn colors by adorning pumpkins with lacy dollies. Allyson Baker Design explains how she uses this trick to maintain her home's color scheme while decorating for fall.

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Polka pumpkin

Courtesy Home Stories A to Z

Dot a pumpkin for a poppy porch decoration. Home Stories A to Z explains how she does it in just a few minutes (with the help of a few sporty stickers).

Beach bum-pkin

Courtesy Crafts by Courtenay

Before summer becomes a distant memory, fit in a daily dose of vitamin Sea. Supplement pumpkins with a collage of lobsters, starfish, and shells. Crafts by Courtney uses leftover scrapbooking paper and gold spray paint on these nautical gourds.

Perfectionist pumpkin

Courtesy Handmade Charlotte

If you prefer clean cut lines to ad-lib art, consider stencils. Use store-bought designs or painter's tape to saturate pumpkins with bright, vibrant colors. Handmade Charlotte details what to do to make this a no-fail project.

Bow pumpkin

Courtesy May Arts

Carved pumpkins "bow" down to a simple, yet elegant, gourd. A classic ribbon accompanied by a more eclectic material (like a black web ribbon) ties this look together. The Ribbon Ladyexplains how to knot the perfect bow.

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Evergreen pumpkin

Courtesy Mom 4 Real

Put your green thumb to work with this pumpkin planter, which incorporates moss and a variety of your favorite evergreen plants. It's far easier than it looks: Simply Happenstanceoffers detailed, no-sweat steps.

Frozen pumpkin

Courtesy A Pumpkin and A Princess

For the Elsa-obsessed princess in your family "let go" of traditional pumpkin designs. ThisFrozen-inspired craft will have passersby freezing in their tracks. A Pumpkin and a Princessreveals the sparkly how-to.

Confetti pumpkin

Courtesy Made In A Day

Hosting a fall party? Dazzle your guests with an eye-catching confetti pumpkin. MadeInADay explains how she made this look stick (hint: all you need is school glue, white pumpkins, and confetti).

Creative Christmas Tree Decorations: 6 New Ways to Deck Your Tree

This holiday season, take your tree from "ho hum" to "heavenly" by trying out one of these clever concepts.

The Giving Tree

Paige Green

This concept takes all the fun of an advent calendar and presents it in glorious 3-D. The baskets and envelopes hanging on the tree serve as the calendar's "windows," so every day in December a new one can be opened. Since bare is better when it comes to the tree, feel free to re-purpose an outdoors tree for this project. You can even just use a single sturdy branch supported in a bucket. Here, The New Christmas Tree author Carrie Brown used a fruit theme for all the gifts and decorations, but you can let your imagination run wild. Race cars? Sock monkeys? Wind-up toys? The theme (or no theme at all) is up to you.

Popcorn, Peanut, Pretzel, and Pickle Tree

Paige Green

This is the perfect tree for the often-overlooked people who prefer the salty and savory over the sweet. Pretzels and strings of peanuts and popcorn are festooned on the branches, interspersed with glass pickle ornaments (you can find them on eBay) or small cucumbers from the supermarket (be sure to replace as needed). The hardest part about making this tree? Stopping your guests from nibbling on it.

Paperwhite Tree

Paige Green

By using only decorations made from cut white paper and fabric, this tree takes the simple and makes them sensational. Paper snowflakes, flowers, chains, birds, bows, and boxes bedeck the tree, highlighted by basic white lights. When creating your ornaments, play around with different textures of paper, from shiny wax paper to sheer tissue, and fabric to add some visual interest.

Birdland Tree

Paige Green

Here's a tree for all the bird lovers out there. In addition to all your favorite avian ornaments, this tree sports feathers, nests, and small glass balls. Keep the lighting subtle (it's not the time to break out your eight-color strobe) so that the focus stays on the birds and the overall effect is muted and natural.

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Hansel and Gretel Tree

Paige Green

What if a gingerbread house exploded onto a tree? This tree would be the result. It contains every kind of candy imaginable, some of it strung into garlands and some tucked into paper cones, accompanied by an army of gingerbread men. A star constructed from glued-together pixie sticks and hard candies tops the whole thing off.

Shimmering Tinsel Tree

Paige Green

Having this tree on display would be like showcasing a waterfall in your home. An abundance of tinsel drips down from every branch, letting the lights and ornaments peek out from the silvery depths. Using only glass decorations adds to the shine. Author Carrie Brown recommends Lametta lead tinsel from Germany since it is heavier and less flyaway than the mylar variety.

Read More: 'The New Christmas Tree'

Paige Green

All of these photos come from the just-published book The New Christmas Tree. You'll find creative Christmas tree decorating ideas for 18 other Christmas tree themes, plus how-to information to craft more than 100 decorations.

Decorate with Leftover Christmas Ornaments: 6 Genius Ideas to Try

Add holiday cheer to your home without breaking the bank. Here's how to decorate for Christmas with ornaments you're not using.

Make a shining wreath

Courtesy MadiganMade

This standout wreath is just a foam base with ribbons and ornaments wrapped around it. Blogger Madigan Made got the supplies at a dollar store.

Create a framed Christmas portrait

Courtesy 52 Mantels

This project is only two steps. 1. Buy shadowbox. 2. Fill with small ornaments. For additional ways to style the frame, check out 52 Mantels.

Display a holiday bulb bouquet

Courtesy ApartmentTherapy.com

This beautiful centerpiece is guaranteed to get compliments. Visit Apartment Therapy for full directions.

Hang them from a chandelier

Courtesy Vanilla Joy

This is an incredibly simple way to add major drama to a room. Tie ornaments to pieces of curled ribbon, then hang from a chandelier or other light fixture. For more photos, visitVanilla Joy.

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Drape a garland of ornaments on the mantel

Courtesy Centsational Girl

To create this eye-catching garland, thread ornaments of varying colors and sizes along a length of thin wire. Visit Centsational Girl for detailed instructions.

Display an adorable design

Courtesy IntoVintage

So cute! This project really lets your design skills shine. Start with an old window screen. Outline your design with string, or go freehand if you're feeling confident. Hang ornaments in varying shapes and sizes to create your vision.

Winter-Proof Your House and Car: 4 Common Mistakes We All Make

Winter-Proof Your House and Car: 4 Common Mistakes We All Make

Cutting corners on certain winter habits may leave you with chilly regret.

Ralph Smith for Reader's Digest1. Mistake: You knock down icicles on your house.Never whack icicles with excessive force; this could cause building damage at the bases. Tap formations with a broom, from a window if possible (never stand below icicles, which can injure you when they fall). If icicles don’t dislodge, call a professional to remove them—the frozen mass can cause structures like gutters to collapse.

2. Mistake: You assume you have to idle your car before driving.Idling was necessary with older cars that used carburetors, devices that twisted open to move air and fuel into the engine. Cold air could affect the balance of air and fuel, causing the car to run smoky or seize up. Cars made from the late ’90s on have electronic systems that use sensors to keep the air-to-fuel ratio balanced. Even in frigid temperatures, 30 seconds is all you need to get the oil circulating.

3. Mistake: You pour warm water on a frozen windshield.Nice try, but if the temperature outside is freezing, you’ll only add another layer of ice to your windshield. Depending on the temperature difference between the air outside and the water, this trick could even crack the glass. Instead, spritz your windshield with a solution of one part water to two parts rubbing alcohol to melt ice immediately.

4. Mistake: You nap next to a space heater.It may seem harmless to doze off, but the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that space heaters cause more than 25,000 residential fires every year. That’s mostly owing to human error (like leaving a space heater too close to long drapes). If you want to fall asleep next to the heater, put the appliance on a timer so it will shut off automatically.

Holiday Safety Mistakes You Probably Don’t Realize You’re Making

Whether you're hanging Christmas lights or questioning poinsettias, protect your home and family by approaching holiday decorating safely.

  

Ralph Smith for Reader's Digest

Mistake: You let the dog drink water from the tree stand.

That tree stand is probably filled with water that’s far from fresh. Tree preservative, often made with fertilizer and fungicides, can cause vomiting or upset stomach in pets; bacteria can also multiply in the standing water. Snugly wrap a tree skirt around the trunk to make the water harder for your pet to get to.

Mistake: You hang a few “indoor” lights outdoors.

Many holiday lights manufactured today are intended for both indoor and outdoor use, but you may come across some that are location specific. Indoor lights aren’t as resistant to moisture, which may cause electrical shorts and damage in wet weather. Many products tested for safety in the United States are labeled with a UL tag (for Underwriters’ Laboratories, a certification company that inspects such products). Indoor lights have a tag marked with a green UL. Outdoor lights are marked with a red UL.

Mistake: You keep poinsettias in reach of your kids and pets.

This one is actually not as risky as you might think. Despite its “poisonous” reputation, the plant is only mildly toxic. A 50-pound child would need to eat more than 500 poinsettia leaves to reach potentially toxic levels, and no deaths have been documented from consumption. A child may get queasy or throw up after eating, say, five poinsettia leaves—but not much more will happen. (Plus, the leaves taste unpleasant, so it’s unlikely many would be consumed.) The plants may cause drooling, vomiting, or diarrhea in cats and dogs, but medical treatment is rarely necessary unless symptoms are severe. To be safe, keep poinsettias out of the reach of pets and young children, but there’s no need to banish your favorite holiday plant.

Sources: nfpa.org, christmastreeassociation.org, realsimple.com, doityourself.com, webmd.com, petpoisonhelpline.com, medicinenet.com, lifehacker.com, chicagotribune.com, energy.gov