DIY Life

The DIY vampire fangs in this video are the ultimate Halloween costume accessory. Avoid the store bought fangs that are uncomfortable to wear and leave you looking and talking like they are about to fall out all night. These fangs are molded to your gums making a seamless fit, and are very realistic looking vampire teeth.

Bre and Eric are hilarious as they make spinach molds of their own teeth. With this negative mold they pour plastic to make a positive mold. The actual tooth is made of a two part nail acrylic. You'll end by carving the tooth into a sharp tooth with a Dremel tool. Leave the gum line and ridges so that it comfortably forms to your teeth. Watch their step by step video for the full vampire fang transformation. You've only got a couple more days to perfect your costume. These last minute touches will set you apart and get you ready for a fearsome Halloween.

If a designer calls her site "Monster Crochet," she's practically required to have some horror-themed patterns on it. And so it is with Regina Rioux Gonzalez, whose awesome designs you might have seen in magazines like KnitScene and Crochet Today.

Regina's latest pattern is this Bloody Saw Scarf, which I first saw over on Craftster. It's made in a basic, worsted-weight wool yarn: the entire saw portion of the scarf is crocheted in gray, then the "blood" is crochet-embellished on top of it, on the "toothed" edge. Look closely, and you'll see that there are even handles at the ends of the saw!

Some of you will dig it because you're into the Saw horror franchise, others will make it for a horror fan friend, still others will just think this is attractively witty, silly, and/or gross. Whatever your interest in it, you can get the pattern from Regina's site for $5. While you're there, check the sidebar: you might be interested in patterns for her Wearable Web spider-web shawl ($5), her Dem Bones Scarf that looks like connected bones ($5), and her "monster fingers" pattern (free).

Just in time for Halloween, this video shows you how to make fake wounds with gum or Fx wax. These gashes look pretty realistic. They can be pulled off simply and inexpensively. Here's what you need:

Materials

1. Fx wax or gum
2. Skin tone foundation
3. Blade
4. Black and red makeup
5. Fake blood

The video shows the transformation from bare foot to seriously injured foot. It's quite impressive. He sure makes it look easy slicing through the gum; personally, I'd be a bit nervous about that part. I guess it's the price we'll pay for a great gag. Top off your costume with these realistic looking wounds and you'll be ready to terrify your neighbors this Halloween.

This Halloween trick is sure to terrify your friends and have you go down in history with the best prank of the year. Elaborate makeup with fake wounds and oozing blood are staples of gruesome Halloween costumes, but what about blood that appears without any wound at all? Imagine that you saw somebody get cut with a knife, and blood starts seeping from where the fresh wound. You'd be pretty freaked out, just like your friends will be when you pull this one on them.

This video shows you how to create the two solutions necessary for this trick. The first solution, a Potassium thiocyante formula gets poured onto your body in the place where you want the blood to appear. You then dip the knife in the second solution, a Ferric Nitrate formula. Use the blunt end of the knife (or better yet, get a prop knife to avoid any mistakes) and pretend to slice on the same spot that you applied the Potassium. The result: a stream of realistic looking blood as the knife is pulled down the skin. Check out the video, you'll be shocked at how convincing this one is.

We've all been there - -the removal of stains from countertops, carpets, couches, beds, shoes, clothing and just about anything else that something vibrant can be spilled onto.

Instead of spending precious dollars at the nearest Home Depot or Lowe's to get that flashy bottle of "Oxygen" stain remover, what may you have around the house that costs next to nothing and performs the same job better?

How about cigarette ash, mayonnaise and Alka Seltzer? Those household goodies could come in handy when used as proper stain-removing aids, but since the suface effectiveness varies (carpet and formica are, um, different of course), you may want to take a gander over here and see if any of the surfaces you need cleaning could be blotted, wiped, steamed and washed with some ordinary objects probably within your sight somewhere in your home.

My favorite: using a load of table salt to get that wine stain out of that nice tablecloth. There's plenty more, so have at 'em here. File these away for future reference as well, should you desire.

Dilemma: You don't know your blood type and your significant other is sucking the life right out of you. You need help before you end up in the hospital.

As funny as that may sound, there is a serious issue here -- you don't know your blood type! Knowing your blood type is extremely important. Some blood types can only give or receive from other blood types. For example, a person who has a blood type that is O negative can give to anyone with any blood type. However, a person who has blood type that is O negative can only receive blood that is O negative. Givelife2.org estimates that only 7% of the United States population has O negative blood types.

Another example is that a person with AB positive blood type accounts for about 3% of the US population, can receive from anyone, but can only give to that 3% that has AB positive blood type. It is important that you know your blood type when giving and receiving blood as it can make all the difference in the world for a person.

Solution: I just found this awesomely simple DIY Blood Type Test Kit. Just a little prick, a few drops of blood, a little water, and a special card are all you need to find out what blood type you are. In just a few minutes, you'll have a card which will show you which antigens you have in your blood and you'll be able to determine your blood type all on your own. Even better, this kit comes with a laminating sheet so you can carry the card around with you once it dries.