Homemade candles are a great gift idea, but be sure to follow these safety tips before you start melting wax. From Homemade: The Heart and Science of Handcrafts by Carol Endler Sterbenz.

By Barbara Reich
Author of Secrets of an Organized Mom
As a child, the whole concept of Halloween seems too good to be true. You get to wear a costume, knock on strangers’ doors, and ask them for candy. Then you pretty much eat as many sweets as you want for an entire night. But as a parent, Halloween can be downright scary.

If you’ve never decoupaged before, don’t be scared. It’s not as fancy as it sounds, but the end result is beautiful using this how-to guide from Tori Spelling’s CelebraTORI: Unleashing Your Inner Party Planner to Entertain Friends and Family.

What the heck do you do with parchment paper? How do you use a pastry bag? Buddy Valastro, author of Baking with the Cake Boss, lists everything you need for at-home baking success—including how to avoid grating your knuckles on a microplane zester.

If the core of Italian cooking is seasonality, then nothing defines it more than fresh greens. Celebrity chef Jonathan Waxman shares his favorite fresh, simple salad ideas from Italian, My Way: More Than 150 Simple and Inspired Recipes That Breathe New Life Into Italian Classics.

Cool off on a hot summer day with this stove-free soup recipe from The Stocked Kitchen: One Grocery List…Endless Recipes, by Sarah Kallio and Stacey Krastins.

‘Tis the season to fire up the grill and enjoy a tender piece of goodness. Let Brooke Parkhurst and James Briscione, authors of Just Married & Cooking: 200 Recipes for Living, Eating, and Entertaining Together help you choose a steak that’s a cut above the rest.