DIY Life

We've started notifying our Toolstravaganza winners-- and a big thank you to everyone who entered. Since our notification email contains words like "giveaway" and "prize" we urge you to check those junk mail folders. Many filtering systems are easily confused, and we'd hate for you to miss the prizewinner email.

Also, we require a bit of paperwork in the form of an Excel document. If you don't have a copy of Microsoft Excel, there are actually a few free alternatives that will allow you to open, edit, and re-save the .XLS format.

There is an entire office suite for your machine, be it Linux, Mac or Windows, called OpenOffice. This open-source project includes a word processor, spreadsheet app and presentation tool, just like MS Office. Did I mention it is free? Now if you'd rather not install something and you have a Gmail account, there's always Google Docs, an online suite of office apps (no presentation tool yet, but they have a private beta). Lastly, there's Zoho, which adds CRM, wikis and more to their office suite. Zoho is a commercial enterprise, but you can use the office apps, with some restrictions, for free.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned in the future for more great giveaways!

UPDATE: The email will be from weblogsinc, as Weblogs is an AOL company. Sorry about the Excel requirement, but you are free to refuse to participate and we'll pick someone else.

Today's prize is a scrapbooking wonder: the Cricut machine. Pronounced like the jumping bug, a Cricut comes in handy if you're tired of using scissors to laboriously carve out letters for scrapbooking, cardmaking or anywhere you need paper letters and shapes. The Cricut is easily transported and stored, like a little papercutting robot. Using cartridges and dies you can combine and scale things to get new shapes and sizes. The keyboard on top tells the machine what to cut, and there a loads of extra cartridges (not included in our prize package) for adding new fonts later.

To enter today's giveaway for a chance to win a Cricut machine, simply leave a comment on this post during the entry period. Today's entry period, like all during our Toolstravaganza giveaway, is 5AM to 11:59PM Eastern (although your entry today, August 9, will be to win the Cricut machine). Full rules after the jump, or on our Toolstravaganza page. Good luck and happy scrapbooking!

One last "gripping" prize as we count down to day 30 of our Toolstravaganza contest: a Leatherman Crunch Multi-tool. This is not your ordinary Leatherman, but one with a pair of locking pliers, capable of gripping a pipe one inch in diameter. Plus, this is a multi-tool, which means it isn't just a pair of pliers, but includes a serrated knife, a file, three slotted screwdrivers and a Phillips, wire cutters, a wire stripper, a 1/4-inch hex bit driver and the ubiquitous bottle opener. This is one serious tool you can carry anywhere.

To enter to win today's prize, simply leave a comment on this post (but be sure to validate it so it appears in the comments section). Entry period is 5AM-11:59PM EST on August 7. Full rules after the jump and on our Toolstravaganza page.

Continuing our "keeps things in place" theme, today's Toolstravaganza prizes are a number of clamps. Two sets of clamps, in fact. The first set is a 6-piece quick-release clamp set with two 12-inch clamps, two 6-inch mini bar clamps and two 2-inch Handi-Clamps, all made by Irwin. The second set is a wide variety of clamps, perfect for starting your home shop. This set includes two 2-inch spring clamps, two 4-inch bar clamps, two 6-inch bar clamps, two 8-inch bar clamps and two 3/4-inch pipe clamps made by Bessey.

To enter, leave a comment on this post and validate it. Entry period is 5AM-11:59PM EST on August 6. Full rules after the jump or on our Toolstravaganza page.

Remember when we gave away a tool box? Well this time we're giving away another container in day eighteen of Toolstravaganza: a hobby chest from Restorers. This is a 20" by 11 1/2" hobby chest made from American Red Oak using tongue-and-groove joinery. Just the thing for storing little tools or craft pieces or anything small.

To enter, leave a comment on this post and validate it so it appears in the comments section. Entry period is 5AM-11:59PM EST. Complete rules after the jump and on our Toolstravaganza page. Good luck!

To cap off the first phase of Toolstravaganza we're giving away our biggest prize yet: six Lithium-Ion cordless tools from Makita in one kit, complete with cargo carrying bag. So what tools are included? A 1/2-inch hammer drill driver, a 6-1/2 inch circular saw, a reciprocating saw, an impact driver, a grinder/cutoff tool and a work light. The kit includes 2 batteries and a 45-minute charger along with a few accessories and blades for the tools.

Enter by leaving a comment on this post, and don't forget to validate your post so it appears. Entry period is 5AM-11:59PM EST on August 1. Full rules after the jump or on our Toolstravaganza page.

A little change of pace as we inch ever closer to our halfway point on day thirteen of Toolstravaganza. This is a tool for making things, but it doesn't actually make anything-- it reads things. Today's prize is a bench-top multimeter from Mastek featuring true RMS reading for accuracy, and a RS232 interface for PC or robotics work (among other things). If you need to "geek it yourself" this is the perfect tool for those electronics projects.

To enter, leave a comment on this post and validate it. The entry period is 5AM-11:59 PM EST on July 29. Full rules after the jump and on our Toolstravaganza page. Good luck and thanks for reading!

We're almost halfway through our 30-day Toolstravaganza giveaway. So far we've given away several tool sets for general fix-it work, a Dremel tool, a few saws, a router and a drill. Today's prize is a professional-grade Chapin Premiere 2-gallon spray canister-- coated and constructed for years of use. Of course, we already know DIY weed killers aren't worth putting inside, but that shouldn't stop you from filling this with all kinds of caustic and hazardous liquids, should it?

To enter, just leave a comment on this post and validate it. The entry period for today is 5AM-11:59PM EST, July 28. As always, good luck and thanks for reading DIY Life. Full rules after the jump and on our Toolstravaganza page.

It is day ten of the DIY Life Toolstravaganza giveaway, and today's prize is useful and a little bit too much fun. A reciprocating saw, or "saw's all" is useful for cutting jobs of all kinds, although it isn't always going to leave an elegant or clean cut. During my brief stint in the construction biz, we used these babies to cut off almost anything in our way, extra bits of drywall, small pieces of wood or metal flashing, and like all great construction workers we probably bit off more than the saw could chew at times.

Here's hoping the winner will treat this nice Porter-Cable quick-change Tiger Saw a little better. It features variable speeds at 0-2,000 strokes per minute, a 10-amp motor and a 1-1/8 inch stroke length. And of course, Porter-Cable makes some durable stuff (this is rated professional grade but it does lack the counterbalance sometimes seen on the higher end models). It does have a quick-change blade clamp so you don't need a tool to swap out saw blades.

To enter, leave a comment on this post and make sure to validate the comment (so it appears in the comments section). Read the full rules on our Toolstravaganza page or after the jump.

Day nine of thirty in our Toolstravaganza giveaway, where you can win a different tool or craft item every day. Today's prize is an industrial-strength router from Makita.

Routers are awesome, and you'll be hard-pressed to find a better one than this Makita. After all, it's got the word industrial in it! Seriously, this is just the thing for cutting everything from wood to plastic. With variable speeds from 8,000 to 24,000 RPM, a 2-1/4 hp motor, and included fixed and plunge bases, there's little you won't be able to do with this thing.

To enter, just leave a comment on this post and be sure to validate it. Full rules on our Toolstravaganza page, or after the jump. Good luck!

Ah the Dremel tool, pervasive hobbyist element that does so much. My first college roommate used his Dremel to decorate his dorm room by drilling holes in cinder block and sawing dowel rods. Not really recommended, but it shows you what a Dremel can do! Now's your chance to win one in our 30-day giveaway, Toolstravaganza.

This Dremel rotary tool goes from 5,000 to 25,000 rpm and can be used with all Dremel accessories. Plus, it has a lithium-ion battery for long life and regular use. Set includes a base station and several accessories including: cutters, bristles, cones, polishers, sanders and more. A little bit of everything in a convenient, powerful package.

Leave a comment on this post to enter, and don't forget to validate. Check out our Toolstravaganza page for previous prizes and full rules. Entry period for this prize is from 5AM-11:59PM on July 24. Good luck!

Welcome to day seven of Toolstravaganza, where we give away a new tool every day for 30 days. Today's prize is a 6.4 amp top handle jig saw from Bosch. The thing about jig saws is that they are a cross between a band saw and a scroll saw. The jig saw is useful and versatile, and this Bosch is one of the best. Corded for constant use, variable speed, the 1590EVSK features a cool one-touch release for the blades. That means you won't need a tool when swapping out blades, making cutting whatever you need a much simpler affair. And it's a Bosch, Swiss-made and sturdy with terrific power and control.

To enter, leave a comment on this post and check your email to verify the comment. One per person, contest is limited to the 50 US states, entry period for this prize is 5AM-11:59PM Eastern time. You can check out the full rules after the jump, or on their permanent home on our Toolstravaganza page.

Today's prize: Bosch 6.4 amp top handle jigsaw with 3 blades and a case.

Toolstravaganza marches on, with 23 days left to go. The prizes are gonna get bigger, so stay tuned. Today it's a Makita cordless drill. What's that? You already have a cordless drill? Not like this one. This drill has headlights. Two LED's attached above the trigger so you can see what you're doing, even in crawlspaces and dark rooms. This is a very nice driver drill.

The engineering on this "mere" cordless driver drill is impressive. Eighteen volts with a 1.5 amp hr battery (this thing lasts a while), charges in 15 minutes and manages to provide 450 in./lbs. of torque-- all in a 3/5 lb. package. An ergonomic and pretty snazzy package at that. The batteries can be charged over 1200 times, and the charger contains a fan to prevent damage while charging.

Sound good? Save what you were going to spend on that cheap thing and spend it on some fancy matching Makita work gloves. Enter to win by leaving a comment on this post. Entry period is 5AM-11:59PM on July 22. Full rules on our Toolstravaganza page and after the jump!

Day five of Toolstravaganza, because DIY folks really appreciate the weekend-- it's when we get our "work" done! Again, a tool set with a little bit of everything, and this time in pink. This is a "small repair" kit, which includes less heavy hardware, and more fix-it stuff. A cordless screwdriver, some bits, a wrench, pliers, even a putty knife (surprising how many kits forget this invaluable item for patching work). The pink is in support of breast cancer awareness initiatives as well.

To enter, leave a comment on this post (one per person), and don't forget to validate those posts. Contest comments will close at 11:59PM Eastern time, so don't delay. Full rules after the jump and on our Toolstravaganza page.

Today's prize: Apollo Precision Tools 135 Piece Household Pink Tool Kit

So let's say you don't have something small to fix. Let's say it's a little bigger, like, your house. We found a great "first home" starter kit, full of the most used and necessary tools for the fixer-upper in your life. This Denali 115-piece kit has a little bit of everything you'll need to take care of business around the house.

To enter, leave a comment on this post and be sure to validate the comment (check your email!). The contest for today closes at 11:59pm, but we'll have two more this weekend. In fact, later today you'll get to see a sneak preview of the prizes on our Toolstravaganza page. That page also contains the full rules too.

Today's prize: Denali 115-piece home repair tool kit. Includes a heavy-duty bag to carry everything, hammer, level, tape measure, utility knife, wrenches, pliers, screwdrivers and drill bits.

As always, full rules after the jump.