DIY Life

With the high price of gasoline, we're all looking for ways to stay home, rather than loading up the car with the kids and heading off to have some summer fun elsewhere. One solution kills two birds with one stone: building a deck will give you a place to hang out and entertain, and add equity to your home.

Of course it's no secret that DIY deck building takes some careful planning, some tools that you probably already have, and lots of elbow grease. What you might not know is the construction details and tricks that the pros use. Read on and you'll be an expert!

If you are looking to give the perfect wedding gift, you can do it in style with the stenciled trivets I found over on Design*Sponge. Get out the spray paint and con-tact paper!

Derek and Lauren are back from vacation and decided to take a trip to the hardware store, where they purchased some 6" x 6" white tiles normally used in a kitchen or bathroom for a mere 45 cents each. To make the stenciled tiles, they printed the flower design directly onto the con-tact paper, applied the paper to the tile, and then cut out the design with an x-acto knife. A couple coats of spray paint and four rubber pads on the back of the tile completed the project.

I really think the trivets would really make a blushing bride happy. For that matter, I think they would make an awesome gift for anyone that loves to cook, me included. My husband is the artist in the family, so I think I should have him make some for me and his mom. Who would you make the lovely trivets for?

Being the mom of a toddler doesn't let me sit for extended periods of time, so I have to pick and choose DIY crafts that are not so mind intensive that I get lost in them and end up totally ignoring my child. I know that will end when she goes to preschool, and I can focus on more intricate projects.

One of the first on my list for that time will be this paper cutting tutorial. I am decent at drawing, and pretty good at sitting for a long time, when necessary. The fact is, Heather makes it very easy to fall in love with her artwork, so her "cut tut" should definitely be added to everyone's crafting "to do" list.

Heather gives instructions detailing her drawing of the design onto thin white paper, used sticky tape to adhere the white paper to a piece of black construction paper,and then sat for hours cutting out the intricate design.

This project takes extreme patience and some seriously steady hands, both of which I don't really have right now. If you happen to have that patience and steady hand, I'm sure your not so crafty friends will be amazed to receive your gorgeous gift.

[via Whip Up.]

I find safety gates inexcusably ugly, so I don't use them. Just kidding: of course I use them! I curse their dreadful sight every time I pass, but I still use them.

With our older ones we had white plastic gates. These weren't just an eyesore, but were incredibly awkward to use. Now, we have wooden ones. They are much more convenient and attractive, but are hardly a compliment to interior design.

These homebrew safety gates might be just the answer, keeping your adventurous little ones safe without compromising your style. The design isn't available, but Joel lists the materials and method in his post comments. Looking through the pictures and reading the conversation following the post is probably all you need to reproduce this innovative safety gate.

If you're using the gates to keep animals to a designated area, these safety concerns don't apply, so you can build the basic design and enjoy your stylish gates. If you're using it to keep children off the stairs, you'll find the conversation in the comments about safety and the various solutions helpful.

It's hard to believe with all the trendy tot-type merchandise out there, nobody has developed a better baby gate. It just goes to show that if you want something done right, you'll have to do it yourself!

It used to be that writers needed the deep wallets and promotional resources of big publishing houses to get noticed. Those days are long gone: DIY publishing is a way for writers to reach their audience without sacrificing the integrity of their work, or selling to the big companies.

Even with new technologies making it possible to reach potential readers, sales of self-published books still fall far behind those of traditional ones. The DIY Book Festival is designed to spotlight exceptional books in the self-published area. They are now accepting entries for the 2008 contest, which will take place in February 2009 at the DIY Convention in LA.

With 18 categories in all, there is surely a place where your work will fit. While the grand prize of $1500 is something, I'm sure the publicity and recognition of your book will pay off in even greater numbers. Along with winners for each category, they will choose a book design of the year, author of the year, and publisher of the year. Look through the full contest details for all your entry guidelines and award specifications, then download your entry form here.

This paint swatch weaving project is attractive, simple, and best of all, super thrifty. Head down to your local paint store and pick up a bunch of paint swatches. If you're like me, and have a hard time envisioning how things will look when they come together, take a tip from the pros, and follow their suggested color themes. Choose something that complements or contrasts with the current color palette in your room.

Basically, all you have to do is cut the swatches into strips, lay your base, weave it, and glue the back with rubber cement. Add some bold focal points, maybe with a color drawn from the accessories in your room or your focal wall. Framing the woven swatches can take on a variety of forms, depending on the look you're going for. A bold wooden frame would add dramatic impact, where a thin basic frame gives an understated impression.

This would also make a great project for children. You might want to ask the paint store if they have leftover swatches from discontinued colors.

The cool thing about creating paint swatch art projects is that you get the exact colors you're looking for, instead of settling for something that doesn't quite match your current decor. Have you created any other projects with paint swatches?

The other day, I found an interesting and easy decorative glass vase tutorial over at CasaSugar. I thought to myself, "That's pretty cool for around the house, but I bet it would also be perfect as a wedding centerpiece." In fact, it turns out that the project originated at DIY Bride.

This is really as simple as picking up some rub-on transfers you like, along with a clear glass vase that has a smooth surface. After making sure the vase is completely clean and dry, just cut around the transfers you like, then use the burnishing stick that comes in the package to carefully rub designs onto the vase (exactly as you would if you were rubbing them onto paper).

The transfers are sold in almost any store that carries scrapbooking or other craft supplies. Thousands of designs are available, but if you can't find any rub-ons that you like in your area, the DIY Bride post has a list of online resources.

This project is as versatile and stylish as your imagination (for example, the right transfers would make it great for Mother's Day), but this is not exactly a new tip: a few months ago, this concept also ran in the Winter, 2008 issue of Somerset Life magazine, where it was used to decorate glass bottles and jars. Please join me after the break to read more about the appealing ideas that were presented there.

Some DIYers do it themselves out of necessity. Others do it for fun and entertainment value. And sometimes, they do it for love. Take Bill Bramanti of Illinois, who loves Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. A lot. So much so that he designed his own coffin to look exactly like a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon.

Mr. Bramanti isn't going anywhere anytime soon, at least to his knowledge, though he has crawled inside to test his coffin out. Instead, for now, his custom-designed coffin will serve as a beer cooler, which he'll naturally fill with his favorite beverage.

Bramanti ordered the coffin from a local funeral home and then had a local sign company create the giant beer can. Bramanit put them together to create one giant conversation piece and a guarantee that he'll spend the afterlife with his favorite brew.

This water bottle wall divider is the perfect addition to any green home or office. The genius combination of recycled plastic bottles and modern office design, makes this project one you won't want to pass up.

Designed by Klein Dytham Architecture, this semi transparent wall is perfect for dividing open work spaces. While Curbly doesn't reveal the full instructions on how to recreate this original idea, they do give some guidance.

You'll need lots of clean, empty water bottles, with the labels peeled off. The bottles are strung on wires hanging from floor to ceiling. It looks like the track would be the same as any other industrial wall divider.

You don't have to duplicate their design entirely. Play around with your own space and modify it to best meet your own style and functional needs.

My daughter loves to watch the cartoon "Lil Bill". Repeat episodes come on every day, so I have the theme "Spring is here, Spring is here, it's the best time of the year" stuck in my head. The episode reminds me that the snow is slowly melting and it's about time to go to the beach.

Maybe it is too early in the year to go to the beach yet, but somewhere in the world it is spring or even summer. That means it is time to think about decorating your home for breezy summer days. What better way to do that than with seashells? Kathy Peterson has excellent suggestions on exactly what and where we can decorate with seashells.

Using seashells as a table centerpiece is a marvelous idea. Decorating with seashells in a roomy bathroom is ingenious, especially is you use seashells to spruce up a mirror. You can use shells to pretty up your fireplace too, as well as your lampshades, pillows and curtain tie-backs, and to decorate a baby mobile.

You can decorate pretty much anything with seashells, but like Kathy recommends, keeping your theme simple is the key to a successfully and tastefully decorated abode.

Along with Spring comes the flurry of kids' birthday parties, concerts in the park, and festivals of every sort. Face painting is part of so many of these festivities. If you think you might get dragged into face painting this spring or summer, you'd better get prepared. Knowing what you're doing will make the difference between a kid who runs to the bathroom in embarrassment, scrubbing his poorly-painted face, and one who doesn't wash their face for a week.

The two most important elements (along with a steady hand and a comfy seat) are the paints and the designs. After the break, I'll tell you what you need to know about each.

I am a shoe fanatic. Every time I go to my local thrift store, I always manage to come home with one or ten pairs of shoes. I stopped counting the pairs of shoes that have somehow managed to migrate to the back of my closet.

I was just not sure what to do with all my shoes, especially the ones that I no longer want to wear because they are scuffed, or are no longer in style, so I was really thrilled when M.E. Williams pointed me to a post written by lindsycarranza over on Craftster. Lindsycarranza had received a free bag of shoes from Craig's List. The shoes weren't in great condition, so she decided to paint them.

To prevent the shoes from cracking, she says to apply fabric glue first. Then paint the shoes with a mix of acrylic paint and textile medium. Finally, to get a high gloss, use an acrylic varnish to seal the shoes.

Her shoes are awesome, and I must admit I am kicking myself because I never thought to paint high heel shoes, mostly because of the way the tops of the shoes can crack. If the shoes do happen to crack though, that is just incentive to paint them again.

If you are after a way to paint shoes other than high heels, check out this post on how to paint a mural on your boring shoes.

Sometimes finding the right flooring, not to mention which material will most suit your lifestyle, is very difficult -- especially these days, when there are hundreds of designs to choose from. Then there's the hassle of installing your new flooring: if you've never done it before, you may want to have an expert walk you through your first installation, to save yourself some hard feelings (and/or damaged tiles).

Laurie Crogan has designed floors for the rich, the famous, the poor, and just about anyone else who doesn't like "ordinary." Her beautiful artsy inlay floors are absolutely magnificent, jaw dropping to look at, and are well known around the world.

I am totally amazed by Laurie's work. I know there are a few (ok, more than a few) of you out there who are more than willing to create your own designs. Why settle for boring? If you aren't interested in installing your own cork, linoleum, or vinyl composition tile flooring, though, Laurie will do it for you. You will have a new floor that all your neighbors will be in awe of, and once again, you will be the talk of the town.

[via: Craft]

The Celtic knot, often referred to as the endless knot, dates back to 450 AD. In Celtic knot design, the beginning and end are intertwined. This is said to remind us of the life's continual nature. Now, Celtic symbols are popular in tattoo and jewelry design and bring them mainstream, but drawing a Celtic knot is no simple task.

I wouldn't know where to start, but learning how to draw a Celtic knot isn't nearly as complicated as I would have expected. You'll notice at the top of the instruction page, there is a comment claiming that the directions are unclear, but I found them to be relatively straightforward.

Along with the recommended patience, you'll need graph paper, a pencil, and an eraser. You have some flexibility with the design, but remember that symmetrical ones are most attractive.

The circle of life is evident when a young couple moves in to a home previously occupied by an older couple. Then it is literally out with the old (crocheted owl wall hangings and ornate door knockers) and in with the new (glossy black and white photos and doorbells). In our case, our main bathroom had tiles with yellow flowers on them. One big long line of tiles that wouldn't fit our beach theme-- so we painted them.

There are two things to learn from our experience. First, get yourself some good enamel paint, but don't expect to coat all your tiles this way (at that point it is easier to just rip them up and start over). Second, the easiest path is take one design element (our flowers) and turn it into something else (our fish). As you can see in the gallery, once we painted the flowers purple and added an eye we "remodeled" with a simple bottle of paint.