A Helping Hand for Holiday Decorating

Do you hear that? The Christmas music is starting to play. It’s only a matter of time before the snow is flying, the cookies and cocoa are being passed around the hearth, and the streets are twinkling with lights. Whether you’re feeling like a bit of a Scrooge this year or if you’re ready to don your gay apparel and sing like Buddy the Elf, decorating your home for the holidays is one of the most effective ways to get into the spirit of the season.

The Lights

Longwood Gardens

Many of us have memories (both real-life and supplied by campy holiday comedies) of the family patriarch standing on a snowy roof, stapling his glove between the string of lights and the shingles. If anyone you know is still using a staple gun, it’s time to inform him there’s a better alternative. In fact, with adhesive light clips, the only hardware you’ll need to hang your lights is a ladder. Whether you plan to hang LED or incandescent, icicle style or great big bulbs, Christmas Lights Etc. has compiled a convenient chart of what clips work best with what lights in which location on your home.

The Tree

Some people love the natural scent of pine that fills their home with the arrival of a live or freshly cut tree. Other people prefer the convenience and cleanliness of a pre-lighted plastic tree. Since most artificial trees come with everything you need to know on the packaging, we got some tips from About.com on which cut trees work best for decorating and how to make sure your tree fits in the space you have designated for it.

Ornaments

Godfather Style

When it comes to ornaments, people have a variety of different ideas of what configuration looks best. Some families opt for a hodgepodge of handmade ornaments bursting with sentimentality. Others stick to a strict theme of beauty and elegance year after year. No matter what type of ornaments you have, you’ll need to keep them safe before and after their brief stint among the boughs. Our Snapware ornament keepers are the perfect solution. Capable of holding 27-48 ornaments, our 3-tiered keeper is a fantastic choice for safely stowing all your valuable glass.

If you aren’t settled on what kind of ornaments you’ll hang this year, check out this list compiled by BuzzFeed. It contains 39 different ways to decorate bare glass ornament bulbs. Consider laying down masking paper before you get started for easy clean-up, then let your imagination run wild with festive creativity!

Stockings

Design Mom

While these sweets-filled Santa socks have traditionally been hung by the chimney (with care), many homes no longer contain fireplaces nor mantles. Babble offers a list of 10 Festive Ways to Hang Christmas Stockings on their blog. Take a peek at what alternatives they suggest instead of using wall-damaging nails or the sometimes-unreliable weighted stocking hangers we see this time of year.

Holiday Deals from HeltonTool

Whatever style you choose to decorate your home for the holidays, we hope you are able to do it safely and affordably. The new Holiday Deals section on our website offers more tools and housewares that will make your holiday prep a little easier, so you can sit back and delight in the twinkling lights, the scent of frosted pine, and the assurance that Santa will be here soon.

Top 10 Best DIY Children Costumes

Halloween is a time for kids to dress up as their favorite character, super hero, movie star, food, etc. If you think it, you can be it. Nowadays, children’s costumes range from $20-$60 and even more if you’re going to the extreme!! As a parent, you want your child to LOVE their costume and remember it forever. The best way to do this is to create a fabulous DIY Halloween costume!

DIY Halloween costumes are fun, less expensive than store bought costumes, more creative, and you get to decide every aspect of it! We gathered the top 10 best children costumes that you can re-create at a fraction of the price of a store bought costume.

Elsa 

Image & Tutorial By: Eighteen 25

Was Frozen a favorite in your household for months on end? Send your child trick-or-treating as the prettiest snow queen with this easy and creative Elsa costume!

Peter Pan

Image & Tutorial By: Babble

If your child is free spirited and loves to be adventurous, create this simple, yet adorable Peter Pan costume!

Minnie Mouse 

Image & Tutorial By: Sugar Bee Crafts

Minnie Mouse is a classic Disney character and you can re-create this look with items you have at home and a few pieces from your local hobby store!

Woody 

Image & Tutorial By: Googie Momma

Don’t settle on a costume  with a vest that fits awkwardly, a hat that’s too big or a belt that hangs off your child’s waist! Make the perfect Woody costume with some fabric and foam pieces!

Cinderella 

Image & Tutorial By: Kiki & Company

Getting ready for the ball is a serious task… Don’t let your beautiful girl walk out of the house without this unique DIY Cinderella dress!

Olaf 

Image & Tutorial By: Catching up With Kate

Olaf is the goofiest, cutest, most loving snowman there is and you can make your child this costume with a quick trip to your local hobby store. It takes time but the outcome is totally worth it!

Rapunzel

Image & Tutorial By: Make it & Love it

Re-create the look of the beautiful princess with the magic, healing hair!

Buzz Lightyear 

Image & Tutorial By: Fun at Home with Kids

Does your child want to be the toughest space ranger? Send him to infinity AND beyond with this awesome Buzz Lightyear costume that will win the vote for best homemade costume!

Snow White

Image & Tutorial By: Candice Ayala

Minus the poisonous apple, your child can feel like Snow White with this easy to replicate DIY tutorial!

Minion

Image & Tutorial By: Playing With Scissors

They may work for an evil scientist, but Minions are both silly and stylish! Dress your child in this adorable costume.

What’s your favorite DIY costume idea? Are you going to make your own costume, or are you headed for the store-bought route? We want to hear your thoughts!!

6 DIY Halloween Crafts to Make With Your Kids

When it comes right down to it, Halloween can be a very family-focused holiday. From making treats, to creating DIY decorations, to even whipping up a terrifying feast, the scariest day of the year presents many opportunities to get together as a family and bond.

Creating your own Halloween crafts is no exception. It’s a blast, it’s the perfect way to get together and do stuff as a family, and best of all, it’s a great way for your kids to flex their creative muscles. So this weekend, get in the Halloween mood by gathering up your family and making something scary together.

Here are 6 kid-friendly ideas to get you started, each of which is more than capable of scaring up a healthy dose of wholesome family fun.

How to Make a Fangtastic Halloween Feast

Halloween is right around the corner, and there’s no better time than now to plan a spooktacular feast for your friends and family.  Normal feast fixings like turkey, mashed potatoes, and the like just won’t cut it though. For Halloween, you want a feast capable of not only satisfying your family’s hunger, but frightening them beyond the brinks of sanity as well.

So this year, break out the big guns. Show your family you care by whipping up a fangtastic feast that even Dracula himself would be proud of. Don’t worry, either. We at HeltonTool won’t leave you hanging. Here are several course ideas sure to evoke a scream or two. It is the most terrifying day of the year, after all.

6 Cool Tools to Carve a Better Pumpkin

Carving a pumpkin for Halloween is timeless. There’s nothing better than gathering the family around the table with a bunch of pumpkins, and seeing who can carve the scariest, most fun jack o’ lantern.

When it comes to carving pumpkins, people usually reach for one of those cheap store-bought carving kits with flimsy serrated knives and flattened orange spades. This is a shame because, aside from the fact that those kits are actually terrible for making jack o’ lanterns, there are so many more tools out there that are far superior for pumpkin carving.

Best of all, if you’re a diehard DIYer, you should already have most, if not all of these tools on hand. So this Halloween, don’t carve your pumpkin with a cheap serrated knife. Get creative, and turn to tools!

Top 7 Best DIY Halloween Costumes

Let’s face it, store-bought Halloween costumes are lame. They’re expensive, and usually only slightly resemble the thing they’re themed after. Thankfully, there’s an easy solution: make your own! DIY Halloween costumes are fun, cheap, and best of all, you have complete control over how the end product turns out.

If you’re in need of a bit of inspiration, you’re in luck. We’ve compiled seven of the best DIY costume ideas on the Internet that are sure to scare up a bit of creativity. With just a dash of hard work and time, you’ll be rocking your very own homemade getup in no time.

So don’t waste money on a cheap store-bought costume.  A DIY Halloween is the way to go!

Top 10 DIY Halloween Decorations

Halloween is nearly here. The leaves are falling, the air is getting cooler, and everywhere you look, spooky decorations abound. It makes sense, when you think about it, because one of the most fun parts of the holiday is designing your own deviously delightful decorations to adorn your home and yard.

Here at HeltonTool, we take DIY seriously. As such, we thought it would be fun to spotlight 10 Halloween decorations that truly embody the DIY spirit. So sit back, grab yourself a handful of candy corn, and check out HeltonTool’s top 10 favorite DIY Halloween decorations.

How to Effortlessly Maintain Your Deck to Prevent Major Repair

Decks add looks and value to a home and give you, your family and visitors a comfortable place to relax. But since they’re exposed to the elements year-round, decks need lots of maintenance and repairs. Fortunately, if you stay on top of your deck’s upkeep, you’ll be less likely to find yourself in need of a major repair.

Preventive maintenance is an easy way to stave off problems with your deck, so start by regularly cleaning it, paying special attention to moss and vegetation. Apply a stain and sealer that will protect your deck from sun, rain and whatever else Mother Nature throws at it. You’ll also want to make sure that 1/8-inch gaps exist between your deck boards so that water and debris can fall between the cracks. If dirt and other debris have clogged these cracks, clear them with a broom or putty knife.

One of the most common DIY deck repairs is replacing one or more deck boards due to deterioration. Many decks are built using cheap, knotty boards. Cracks will often develop around these knots, especially if the deck hasn’t been properly maintained. Fortunately, it’s a simple matter to replace deck boards, and it’s a good DIY project that’s relatively simple and straightforward.

Preventing Water Damage in and Around the Home

The best way to save yourself from a time-intensive, costly cleanup is to prevent water damage from occurring in the first place, but can you recognize the signs that indicate when you’re about to have a soggy mess on your hands?

What Causes Water Damage?

In most cases of water damage, time is the culprit. Ordinary wear-and-tear on your pipes, water pressure that’s set too high, and age can all cause leaks. A small leak can become a huge problem quickly, so it’s important that you address drips, leaks and cracks in your pipes immediately.