Official eHow Blog

In eHows recent Knowledge Guru contest, we asked you, Whats the yummiest popsicle you can make at home? You served up homemade recipes so delectable that we just couldnt keep them to ourselves. Here are the top five sweet treats you submittedas voted by eHow fansso you can beat the heat all summer long.

1. Mango and Orange Popsicles (Contest winner!)
By Edith Delgado

2 cups chopped mango (fresh or frozen)
1 cup orange juice
2 tbsp. honey

Blend all ingredients until smooth.

2. Kiwi Ice Pops
By Victor Joli

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
4 kiwis
ï½

Fourth of July can be as easy as buying a few packages of hot dogs and buns. But because were all about learning how to do things ourselves here at eHow, we like to challenge ourselvesand we know youre right there with us.

How to have a DIY 4th of July? To find out, we asked our resident experts, the editors of eHow, for their top recommendations. Heres what they told us.

1. Grill Out with Marinated Spare Ribs

The 4th of July is all about cookouts, and spare ribs are one of my all-time favorite grilled meats, says eHow ï½

What’s the yummiest popsicle you can make at home?

In our fourth Knowledge Guru contest, we were looking for a taste of summer. Your answer to the question above gave you the chance to win the eHow Knowledge Guru crown and a $300 gift card—and the responses were as creative as ever.

All the ideas made our mouths water, with suggestions ranging from hibiscus tea with raspberry, to root beer float, right up to a very inventive mix of Kool-Aid and Gummy Bears.

But, of course, there could only be one guru of yum. We counted up your votes and ï½

To celebrate the launch of eHow Food’s new partnership with Rachael Ray, we’re giving you the chance to win a trip to the Big Apple. We’ll fly you and a friend to New York City, put you up for two nights, give you a gift basket from Rachael’s entertaining expert Evette Rios, and treat you to a fantastic dinner for two at a restaurant of one of Rachael’s Buddies. The Buddies are Rachael’s talented friends who are up-and-coming voices in food—you can get to know them on eHow Food today!

To enter, just show us the single dish that ï½

Notice anything different about eHow Food today? You might just see a friendly face you’re used to laughing and cooking along with on your TV screen. eHow is delighted to announce our partnership with television personality and lifestyle expert Rachael Ray!

Thanks to Rachael and her Buddies—her talented friends who are up-and-coming voices in food—you’ll be treated to new food videos, articles and blog posts for all skill levels and tastes.

“On eHow Food, my Buddies will share personal experiences to complement the useful information people already find on eHow.com,” Rachael said. “Now, people have a place to come and ï½

What’s the best gift for a pet that you can make yourself?

We challenged you to provide your answer to that question for a chance to win the eHow Knowledge Guru crown and a $300 gift card—and the response was huge. Hundreds of you submitted entries, and almost two thousand of you cast your vote for the best DIY gift.

There was no shortage of inventive entries, with ideas ranging from homemade dog biscuits, toys, beds, blankets, collars and pet clothing, right up to plain and simple TLC.

But there can be only one Guru of DIY pet gifting. The ï½

Hundreds of you entered eHow’s first Knowledge Guru Contest through our Facebook page, and Jamie Price was our first winner with a great tip on family summer fun. Now it’s time for our second Knowledge Guru Contest. Like Jamie, you could win a $300 Amazon gift card just by submitting a helpful tip and getting the most votes for your answer. It’s our way of rewarding all the can-do creativity you, our readers, showcase on a daily basis.

Here’s our second Knowledge Guru challenge question:

What’s the best gift for a pet that you can make yourself?

It could ï½

Many thanks to the hundreds of people who entered eHow’s very first eHow Knowledge Guru Contest, where we challenged you to tell us the #1 way families can enjoy this summer for under 50 bucks.

We received hundreds of ideas, including picnics at local beauty spots, scavenger hunts, barbecues, yard sales, camping, family dance classes and raising money for charity. But it wasn’t up to us who would win—you and your friends voted for your favorites, and now we’re pleased to announce that the winner of the contest and eHow’s first Knowledge Guru is … Jamie Price!ï½

eHow is delighted to announce that we are launching a brand new video series today with beauty and skin care expert Tracy O’Connor.

The new series, ‘Beauty Lab’, offers tips and inside information to help your looks every day and for special occasions. You’ll see episodes on spring cleaning your beauty closet, air travel beauty tips, exfoliation do’s and don’tsand the very first episode, Essential Tips for Beauty Sleep.

“What makes ‘Beauty Lab’ so great is that each show is packed with tons of useful information, supported by research and science, but we make the learning process fun ï½

Did you know that more than half of the nation’s home moves and relocations take place between May and September? That’s why May’s been dubbed National Moving Month. If you’re one of the estimated 40 million people planning a move this year, eHow can help you get through your to do list. Whether you’re buying, renting, selling, packing, moving across state, relocating overseas or simply considering such a change, eHow’s on hand to make your move as stress-free as possible.

We hope you’ll find some helpful advice here to make your move less of a hassle … and more of ï½

The helpful tips and advice you put on our Facebook page never cease to impress us. Every single day, we see entertaining, inventive and thoughtful answers to our questions. Since you’re so generous with your help, we thought it would be a great time to highlight and reward your expertise. We’re pleased and excited to announce our very first eHow Knowledge Guru Contest, where you could win a $300 Amazon gift card.

Over the next two months, we’ll be challenging you to share your knowledge on four seasonal activities. All of the challenges will be posted to our Facebook page ï½

It’s Mother’s Day this coming Sunday and if you haven’t quite finalized your plans yet, eHow is here to help make the day special. We have a wide range of articles and videos to help you honor mom, and other special women in your life.

Take some inspiration from these eight gifting, activity and craft ideas to show your gratitude over the weekend.

How to Buy a Mother’s Day Gift
How to Decorate for a Special Mother’s Day Brunch
How to Make Fun Brunch Recipes
Low-Fat Brunch Ideas
How to Make a Lychee Mimosa
How to Make Spa Treatments at ï½

Did you know that April is National Poetry Month? Over on our Facebook page, we asked you to get creative and compose a haiku for spring.

We were extremely impressed by all your efforts. Here are just a few of our favorites, which follow the Japanese poetry form perfectly:

Spring embrace me now!
Effortlessly and sweet … peace
Perfect, pure, rebirth
—Cassandra Nowell

Wind please go away
Come again some other day
The trees sway too much
—Michael Norris

Plant firm your new dreams
Nurture with sun, quench with moon
Watch them grow like trees
—Georgette Jones

If that’s ï½

Easter’s the perfect time of the year to get families involved with arts and crafts. Whatever the weather’s like, with eHow’s help, you can organize a fun Easter egg hunt in your house or garden.

If you want to start a new tradition, why not try a photographic scavenger hunt with Easter-themed items to track down in your neighborhood? Even teenagers can appreciate the idea of an Easter hunt if it means they get to go to the mall or watch movies.

Rather than buying Easter eggs from the store, why not make your own chocolate Easter eggs? They’re ï½

Recently on our Facebook page, we asked how you spend quality family time at home.

Here are the results:

Going to the movies won out with 405 votes, watching TV got second with 282 votes, and just hanging together got 3rd place with 279 votes (a close match!).

As we all know, it’s tough to find ways to spend not just time, but quality time with family–that is, time where being together is the point, not a byproduct of crossing items off your to-do list. Below are some quick tips to help you create those meaningful family moments.

1. ï½