Recapture the kid in you -- the one who lived on two wheels -- with brand-new bicycles (and baskets and bells ) that have old-school style. Get back on the bike with these cycles that revive classic designs -- and our passion for pedaling.

Inflatable pillows make lounging at the beach even more relaxing, and they're easy to tuck into a tote. Add a terry cloth slipcover, and the plastic pillows will feel soft and dry, not hot and sticky.

Essential oils capture nature's subtle fragrances and are known to balance your mood.

Make Your Own Mood Mists

This towel isn't just for drying off at the beach. It's crisscrossed with grosgrain ribbon for a giant tic-tac-toe board that's sure to produce hours of enjoyment in the sand.

Simple mats cut from wallpaper remnants or sheets of decorative paper work magic on serving trays.

Losing a set of keys in the jumble of a beach bag -- or worse, in the sand -- can put a damper on your day. But it is easy to keep them close at hand with a steel shower-curtain ring. Simply clip the ring onto the handle of your bag and slip on your key ring; you'll always have your keys in sight.

This brightening mask exfoliates and stimulates circulation in the face, resulting in a warm, rosy glow.

How to Make a Skin-Brightening Mask

Making a handmade kite may seem daunting; the materials sound unfamiliar. But constructing this particular kite is not very different from creating an applique, or designing a quilt block. If either of these crafts sound familiar to you, this task will be an easy addition to your creative repertoire. And even if you haven't appliqued before, our method is as simple to learn as it is intriguing.

With a little advance preparation, you can use the hours spent relaxing on the beach to actually improve the condition of your hair.

Make a Protective Hair Treatment

Keep track of beach essentials -- sunscreen, novels, flip-flops -- by sinking them in a corner pocket.

As any seasoned grill enthusiast will testify, cooking and eating outside immeasurably enhances the taste of the food. But if you're away from your back yard, a successful cookout requires preparation.

Turn your towel into a sarong with Velcro closures. Wrap a towel around your waist. Pin one side of Velcro inside towel flap; position corresponding strip on towel's facing side on the diagonal. Stitch Velcro in place.

Gardening gloves have a way of disappearing. To keep them handy, sew magnets onto their cuffs.

Don't let yesterday's rainstorm dampen your plans for a picnic. You can waterproof a cotton or wool blanket by adding a protective backing of water-resistant fabric.

This four elements ritual -- earth, wind, fire, and water -- is designed to awaken your senses, enhance your focus, and help you reconnect to the natural world.

Get the Routine

Don't let a stiff breeze chase you off the beach. Bring along a windscreen to protect yourself from gusts and blowing sand, as well as to enjoy a little surf-side privacy and shade.

Fold your tablecloth in half a few times, and it can be easily stowed for your trip to the picnic spot. But fold it a little more and, through the magic of origami, it will be transformed into a handy picnic basket.

Blowing the perfect bubble depends on equal parts science and magic. With a few twists of wire, you can make fantastic bubble wands and spend long, lazy days practicing your technique.

In this relaxing ritual, you'll gather stones to stimulate the body's seven main energy centers.

Learn More About Chakra Balancing

Protect your summer reading at the beach or pool with these stylish covers.

Add your favorite fragrant ingredients to a tea ball, then get ready for a relaxing soak in the tub.

Turn away picnic-table pests with inexpensive sewing supplies: embroidery hoops and muslin. Buy hoops that are slightly larger than the rims of your pitchers and serving bowls. With pinking shears, cut cloth squares two to three inches wider than each hoop. Position a piece of fabric in each hoop to create handy covers.

Lounging in a hammock on a quiet afternoon is one of summer's most relaxing treats. To hang one in your yard, all you need are two sturdy trees spaced about 15 feet apart or two posts driven into the ground and cemented in place.

Sunglasses, a book, sunscreen, and money are necessary items for a relaxing day at the beach. A convenient way to hold them all is by adding pockets to the bottom of a beach towel.

After a busy week, why not treat yourself like a flower in need of some care and pampering? Follow our plan and come Monday morning, no matter how hot it is outside, you'll emerge feeling cool, collected, and looking your best.

Get the Weekend Revival Plan

Create a cool spot for summer living with two easy canopy ideas.

These cheerful seats enable you to accommodate unexpected guests in any part of the garden.

Quilted jam jars holding votive candles hang from a grape-covered arbor. As night falls, crystals wired to the bottoms of the jars will cast refracted candlelight onto the stucco walls.

The smooth, flat slabs normally used as stepping stones last for years under any weather conditions -- a quality that makes them ideal as outdoor tabletops.

When you go out for a stretch, use a leash to get your yoga mat to heel.

As the long summer days melt into balmy nights, relax outdoors under a private starry dome of twinkling candles.

Meditation is known to promote relaxation, enhance health, reduce stress, and increase focus -- it can be done anytime, anywhere, and you only need a few minutes.

Learn More About Meditation

To complement your backyard with the most appropriate furnishings, you might forgo a trip to the garden center and head to the lumberyard instead. Encircling a majestic black locust tree, this bench delivers 360-degree views. Plus, it always has a shady (and a sunny) side. We used poplar, but any durable lumber coated with weatherproof exterior paint will do. While you can mimic the design of this hexagonal structure, alterations will have to be made to suit your tree and terrain.

You don't need a lakefront property to enjoy the benefits of backyard water. Stacked pots filled with a pump and filled to the brim produce sounds reminiscent of lapping waves.

A store-bought linen robe promises a relaxing weekend morning in island style. Embellish it with a graphic, Hawaiian-inspired design. 

You don't have to banish sloppy eaters to the children's table. With a laminated tablecloth, spills disappear with the wipe of a sponge.

Hang a tire from a branch, and let your kids experience the sensation of flight at home.

A plain canvas tote and a straw beach hat are turned into bright, sunny creations using touches of raffia.

To explore a place on foot is to know it -- really know it -- in a way that visitors confined to rental cars and tour buses miss entirely. By slowing down, walkers experience beautiful nuances of the landscape and culture in between all the typical tourist spots.

Learn More About Walking Tours

Table-and-umbrella tandems are often found on patios and decks, where they provide sheltered seating for large groups. Why not customize your own for a more intimate settings

Turn a camp cot into an elegant patio daybed. Throw pillows in coordinating colors provide a soft surface to lean against. Depending on your sewing skills, you may wish to enlist an upholsterer for this project.

Decking your yard with tiki torches is an inexpensive, festive way to bring island style home -- and to light up the night without electricity.

These child- and fish-safe poles are really for attracting fish so kids can get a good look; there is no barbed fishhook.

Mosquitoes, bees, flies and other winged pests seldom relax in the summer. They're sure to be out when you are, so stock up on natural remedies like clay, baking soda, lavender oil, plantain, and tobacco.

Learn How to Make Bite and Sting Remedies

Rinse away grit after a beach trip -- or a wrestling match with the mower. This outdoor shower hooks right up to your garden hose (it's cold water only; for a hot-water shower, consult a plumber).

This indulgent orange-jasmine treatment is made with wet sand and essential oils you've packed in your beach bag. Once you've applied this skin-softening scrub, you can rinse it off in the ocean.

How to Make Beach Body Scrub

With a few yards of ripstop fabric, you can transform an ordinary beach towel into a durable, all-weather picnic blanket.

A customized camp stool makes for more than just a convenient seat. Artfully refurbished, it will function as a nifty side table in a sunroom or on a porch.

Instead of settling for a print that's not quite right, make your own outdoor chaise cushions using inexpensive pillows and the fabric of your choice.

Iron garden tables from the mid-twentieth century are easy to find at flea markets, but they often look plain. Give one instant style with a fresh coat of paint in a sunny shade and easy-to-install caning (no weaving required).

To avoid tracking in sand or soil after a day at the beach or working in the garden, set up a rinsing station just outside your door or at another convenient location. A teak bath mat provides slip-free footing and good drainage. The steady stream from an ordinary watering can cleans every unwanted speck from your feet and flip-flops or waterproof garden shoes.

The skin in the eye area is especially thin and sensitive, so it flares up fast when you're stressed, fatigued, or surviving on a less-than-perfect diet. Natural remedies, though, can lessen redness or puffiness almost as quickly as it appears.

Make Your Own Eye-Soothing Treatments

A relaxing picnic outdoors is hard to resist once the weather turns warm. Whether your destination is a park, a beach, or your own backyard, this make-ahead, grab-and-go strategy offers the complete makings for an easy ritual that you'll want to repeat throughout summer.

A relaxing outdoor event isn't complete without proper lighting. Bars and buffet tables, especially, must be adequately lighted, but are often located far from electrical outlets. An easy, inexpensive solution is to gather clear apothecary bottles and fill them with lamp oil and wicks. Arrange the bottles under a large hurricane for protection; we set these on a sturdy glass cake stand (make sure the bottles are evenly balanced on the stand).

Give yourself a smudge- and chip-free manicure in 20 minutes.

Natural Manicure How-To

Kick back with these sunroom pillows made from mustard-yellow linen printed with three different-size anthurium leaves.

Brighten outdoor spaces with decorative pillows made from cloth napkins. Use spares when their matches have been tossed or lost, or buy single napkins that catch your eye.

Cocktails at sundown are more memorable when you supplement the waning daylight with Asian-inspired lanterns.

Why not treat yourself to a spa getaway -- without leaving your home. We have a 48-hour regimen to recharge and rejuvenate the body and soul. Start on Friday evening, and by Monday morning you will feel truly changed.

Create an At-Home Spa Getaway

Tone up, slim down, and find balance with this high-energy summer workout.

Get the Workout