DIY Life

I saw some very nice trinket boxes at the thrift store the other day, but I let them go without a second thought. Too bad I did, because I now want to make over one for my daughter for a Christmas present, and maybe a few as gifts for other special people.

Using cleaned and broken white egg shells, decoupage and white paint, Jane Lake over on All Free Crafts, made over a plain trinket box. Jane put the eggshells into a plastic bag and used a rolling pin to crush them into fairly fine pieces. After removing the hardware, she then decoupaged the box lid, sans where the holes for the hardware were.

Jane alternated the decoupage and the broken egg shells, then allowed the box to dry overnight. After the box was dry, she used two layers of shimmery white paint, allowing one coat to dry before she applied another. She says you can apply pearl beads to the bottom of the box. Apply the hardware, and call the makeover finished!

A set of ten boxes, nested one within the other. The largest is perhaps two feet square and a foot deep (60 cm x 60 cm x 30 cm), the smallest half those dimensions.

You can purchase the yummy unit shown at right through Seletti, or -- using instructions provided by those generous folk at Seletti -- you could make your own very personal unit, and save yourself a significant bundle of cash!

You'll need a collection of sturdy wooden boxes in various sizes, decorating materials, and two sections of heavy-duty strapping.

It's so easy to just email photos off to family and friends, but there's not a lot of thought behind it. If you really want to give somebody something special, consider this exploding scrapbook box.

You'll need three sheets of 12X12 cardstock, one sheet of 6X6 cardstock, glue, ruler, scissors, photos, and any embellishments you'd like to add.

Measure and cut the 12X12 sheets into cross (or tic-tac-toe) shapes. The outer layer will be the largest, and the inner two layers will be slightly smaller. Measure and score one-inch folds on each side of the 6X6 cardstock. Cut a flap on each corner, and use glue to secure the lid.

Decorate the layers of the box and the lid as you wish. Secure the bases of the box layers with glue, slip on the lid, and your box is complete! Check out the gallery for details.

[via CraftyDaisies]

I've mentioned here before how much I love the amigurumi patterns by Brie, the Scottish blogger who writes at Roman Sock. She designs with a wonderful eye, and her resulting creations are completely charming.

This time, she's back with a travel yarn holder that you can crochet in one of two shapes: an acorn, or a strawberry. All you'll need to make it is heavy worsted weight yarn, a crochet hook, some ribbon, a few beads, simple crochet skills, and your spare time.

When you've finished, you'll have a cute way to protect a ball of yarn while you transport it, or to dangle it from your wrist when you work on a project.

Brie doesn't charge for her patterns at this time; however, one of her friends is seriously ill and is trying to raise over US $10,000 for treatment, so she's asking that people donate if they can afford to. It's for a good cause, so why not? Details at her blog.

[[via Becky at Craft.]]

I recently adopted a 10-year-old boy. Despite his having a big room with a big closet, a big dresser, and a big bookshelf, his stuff has slowly spilled out to the rest of the house in a big, big way. I've reassigned drawers and shelves all over the house for his belongings, but still we've had trouble keeping any semblance of organization.

I don't know about your kids, but for my son, anything that requires too much effort is useless. The over-the-door rack I bought for his baseball caps? It's completely empty. The case I bought for his Hot Wheels cars? It doesn't even house one measly little vehicle.

But there are kid-friendly storage solutions. What I've learned is that when it comes to kids and storage, easier is better. I'll discuss what I did after the break.

Of all the bird species native to North America, bluebirds are some of the most beautiful. During the decades of the 80's and 90's, bluebird populations were in serious decline which spawned nation wide efforts to assist them. One of the most dramatic developments to arise from the movement to assist the bluebirds may have been the inspired design of the Peterson bluebird house and the bluebird trails created with them.

You can buy secret compartment books, usually with a velveteen lining, in plenty of stores. However, they tend to be made from books which were expected to be best-sellers. These books are often connected to politics or current events (for a long time, they were all by the prosecutor in the original O.J. Simpson criminal trial).

I don't know about you, but that's not the kind of book I ever buy: a "secret compartment book" made from one of them would probably stick out like a sore thumb, even in my extensive personal library. It looks like I'm just going to have to make one of my own. This Secret Compartment Book video from MAKE could help... and I can help you make it even better, with the addition of a few more tools.

I don't have a sacrificial Haruki Murakami novel to use for this project -- you know, to really blend in with my collection -- but if you're a certain kind of reader, one who doesn't read best-sellers, this seems like the sort of thing for which the cheap hardcover classics sold by every chain book store would be great. Find a good, thick Tolstoy or Dickens (lots of room in those!) and go to town, or choose something long and boring that's already taking up space on your own shelves.

This would make a great gift... or an amazingly sneaky gift box. If you'd like to know more, please join me after the break.

[suggested via BoingBoing. Thanks, Ryan! I'm not saying Tolstoy and Dickens are boring, but rather that their books aren't in short supply.]

Every special someone in our life deserves to have a special gift. If you don't want to give just any ole gift to your teenage daughter, why not wrap her Christmas gift in money?

I say teenage daughter because that is what this instructional reminds me of. What teenage daughter or young child wouldn't love to be given a gift that is wrapped in money?

Using two crisp one dollar bills, the author shows us step by step how to fold a one dollar bill into a box, and then use another one dollar bill for the cover. The author doesn't like a "traditional" cover, so he (or she?) has made the cover to go around the box, so that you slide the box in and out as you wish.

If you are giving this homemade money gift box to a person under the age of eighteen, I suggest using money in larger denominations. I think that the only time I would use two one dollar bills is if I was giving the box to my spouse.

Air infiltration into your house is the number one enemy of your home heating and cooling efficiency. Wall switches and electrical outlets which are located on the exterior walls of your home can serve as ports of entry for outside air. Insulating these potential thermal leaks is simple and cheap to do.

You can get inexpensive foam outlet seals at any home or hardware store. They are simple die cut foam shields which go between your outlet plate and the wire box in the wall. These foam insulators can potentially shut off air leakage entering your home from behind switches and outlets.

The process is simple and goes like this:

Sure, this has been going around for a few days now, but it fits so well into the "Hillbilly How-to" way of thinking, that I couldn't let it pass. Few things stifle the hillbilly mindset like boring, monotonous office work -- there are no trucks to tinker with, no donkeys to feed, and rarely any NASCAR to watch on TV. Modern office environments are enough to drive most people (hillbillies or not) to the bottle, which is why I thought these two projects were so practical.

Can you spot the hidden booze in this picture?


How about this one?


If it's not immediately noticeable, then you can consider both of these "booze concealing" projects a success. Continue reading if you're interested in seeing the BIG REVEAL!

I have only recently gotten clued in to the Bento box. Sure, I have seen them before but I was unaware of the depth to them. There are Bento boxes for adults, kids and fancy ones that are practically works of art. There is even a rich history regarding the boxes. There is also a process for packing the boxes.

Have you ever been on your way to a party, then realized that you didn't have a card or a gift box for the gift you'd planned to take? Are you getting married, and want to make your own invitations? As long as you have printer-ready card stock, a craft knife, and a bone scorer/folder around the house, you're covered.

Ruth Ann Zaroff's Mirkwood Designs is a site that was once known for its excellent hand-carved rubber stamps (no longer made), but is currently known for its wide variety of printable card, box, and envelope templates.

Among the 50+ templates you'll find: the center-tie card shown above, a heart card, a butterfly card, a paper doll, a trapezoid box, a library card book pocket, faux postage, a milk carton box, a take-out box, a mug card, and much more. Instructions for using each template are included. Most projects can be completed in under half an hour.

Ask any bibliophile: we don't like moving. We lose the organizational schemes that we've developed for our personal libraries, and books are heavy, like chunks of wood. Even a small box of books can be difficult to lift; if not packed correctly, books are easily damaged. But a move is sometimes unavoidable.

A few years ago, I moved from one end of the country to the other, on very short notice. I knew that I'd be moving eventually, but had no exact timetable, so I began by packing books. I have a lot of books. I did hours of online research to find out what libraries and movers recommend as the ideal way to transport a collection.

When the time to move came suddenly, the movers we hired (who were not terribly professional) finished the packing. At the other end of the trip, all the boxes I'd packed came out in good shape; every single box they'd packed had at least one or two damaged items in it.

There is a "right way" to pack books, one which minimizes damage and the likelihood of back strain. I'll describe it after the break.

If you strive to be a somewhat organized person, that you know that storage boxes can be an invaluable possession.

Magazine storage boxes are handy, not just for storing magazines, but also for your kids' books, cookbooks, file folders of semi-important papers and craft supplies.

Price, however, can be a big deterrent in having as many magazine storage boxes as you'd like.

Want to learn to make them yourself? If you have any old cardboard boxes and Mod Podge, you have the makings of endless magazine storage boxes. For close to free? Sign me up!