DIY Life

Your front yard doesn't have to be perfectly manicured or professionally landscaped to look good. It is, however, your public face -- of sorts. Plus, your neighbors are forced to look at whatever you put out there!

Be a good neighbor: banish the following items from your front yard.

1. Plastic foliage. I'm talking anything you got from a craft store. Like this, for example. Plastic ivy. Faux dried sunflowers. Silk chrysanthemums. Plastic wreaths. Fake autumn leaves strung into streamers. Shudder.

Plastic flowers are tacky in the garden. They're unnecessary. After all, you have Mother Nature at your disposal! Why choose fake flowers? Finally, they evoke the cemetery. Enough said.

Hurricane season has been in full swing for a few weeks now, but thankfully it's been very quiet so far. Don't let the lack of named hurricanes lull you into a false sense of security. The season stretches all the way to November 30th, and the peak of it -- August to October -- is yet to come.

Don't assume you'll have time to make preparations "if the needs arises." Of course, we all remember the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. And in 2004, Hurricane Charley was expected to head into the Gulf of Mexico and collide with Tampa. At the last minute, it made a sharp right turn and landed substantially farther south, obliterating entire neighborhoods and barrier islands.

If you live in a hurricane-prone area, and haven't yet made preparations in case one heads your way, here are a few of the most important steps you can take to keep you and your family safe this summer. You may never need to activate the plans you have in place, but it's good to know they're there.

A few weeks ago I took my 8-year-old English Bulldog to the vet. I thought he'd get his annual shots and we'd be on our way. Instead, he was diagnosed with arthritis (which I suspected) and I was also given the news that it was finally time to surgically correct his protruding third eyelid. Bummer.

Last week my dog went under the knife. Not only did they correct his eyelid, he also got a dental cleaning, and had his far-too-long nails trimmed back. The poor puppy was a mess. He came home, woozy from the anesthesia, and staggered around my living room like someone who had spent too many hours at the bar. But, in the days since, he's healing well.

Not only have my dog and I had to deal with the massive Elizabethan collar he's wearing, we've also had to deal with his multiple medications. It hasn't been fun. I've done some searching for tips on the web and gotten some advice from my vet on administering medications to dogs. I'll share the tips after the break.

I've witnessed many dog fights over the years. I've noticed that in a crowd situation such as a dog park, the response of the human observers is pretty predictable. Some stand and stare. Some scream at the dogs to stop... and the dogs ignore them completely. (Well, what did you expect?!) Then there are those -- usually the hapless owners -- who try to haul the dogs apart by the collars.

In fact, the worst thing you can do in a dog fight situation is to grab the dogs by the collars. You risk getting bitten really badly. Here's what you should do to stop a dog fight.

1. Get a volunteer to help you. Be warned: the other owner may not be the best choice. You will know that is the case if he/she stands there looking helpless. I had this happen to me once when a gianormous German Shepherd attacked my dog. It was very frightening. (Luckily I was armed with a baseball bat, so I was able to rescue my boy. Phew.)

Not too long ago I blogged about converting a onesie into a dress. This inspired me to find other things to do with onesies, things not too time consuming. Babies outgrow onesies so fast, so this a great way to recycle these little gems. (I have quite a few nieces and nephews, so lots of onesies to play with!)

One of the most unusual uses I found for onesies was reconstructing them to make a tee for your dog. This project is quick, pretty easy, and only requires a onesie, thread, scissors, and sewing machine.

Of course, being the embellishment addict that I am, there is no way I can stop there. You can add appliques, patches, ribbons, decorative buttons, embroidery, or anything else to jazz it up (Just make sure that the buttons are really secure, you don't want your pet to swallow them).

In the recent past, t-shirt reconstruction has had us scrambling about trying to find cool shirts to revamp. Don't our four-legged BFFs deserve the same DIY goodies? Run out and get those onesies out of storage, from a thrift store, or a garage sale, and make your pup a fab little shirt today.

When it comes to protecting our families from poisonous plants, we go about things wrong, all wrong. Backwards, in fact.

Yes, you are probably already aware that a great many common garden and container plants are poisonous to humans and/or family pets. But if I asked you to identify the ones posing the greatest risk to you and your family, chances are you'd be stumped, or perhaps hard pressed to name more than one or two.

Why? Because we learn about poisonous plants from our teachers at school, from books, and from television. We see pages and pages of photographs of toxic leaves and berries. We scan ultra-long lists of poisonous plant names. The nerdier among us (Ooh! Me! Me!) have tried and failed to memorize some of this mass of information.

Silly thing is, your own yard is the best starting point for learning. Once you feel confident in your own landscape, it will be much easier to branch out and learn about less well-known species, which I'll discuss after the jump. And check out my gallery below if you'd like to see some of the common poisonous plants growing in my yard.

Can any dog lover resist watching dog shows on TV? The past few weeks have been dog show heaven: first, the Eukanuba Invitational, and just the other day, the Westminster Kennel Club show. It made me want to post a sweet doggie for you to make.

This cute little life-size dachshund from Runo Dollmaker fits the bill: there is a printable free pattern, and a photo tutorial to accompany it. You'll need sewing notions, several kinds of cloth and thread, stuffing, and eyes.

Please join me after the break for some tips on working with fake fur fabric, as well as a link to one crafter's absolutely precious hand-sewn success.

Recently, Unclutterer posted some useful information for those of us who drown in piles of pet hair. In response to a post about speedy house-cleaning, a reader asked what to do about piles of fur shed by their Chocolate Lab. The question came up because most "Clean your house really quickly!" plans don't take pet ownership into account.

Erin from Unclutterer responded with a number of tips for dog and cat owners. In summary, and with a few parenthetical comments from me, they are:

• Pick up pet-hair dust-bunnies with damp paper towels daily.
• Bathe pets as frequently as you can: a lot of excess fur will go down the drain with the water. (Bathing a dog more often than every few weeks can really dry out their skin, so be careful with this one. Also, it can clog your drains.)
• Brush pets regularly. (A shedding loop/blade may be more helpful for longer-haired or double-coated dogs.)

Find the rest of the tips, more ideas about how you can put them into action, and information about equipment that might help you, all after the break!

Nearly all pet owners have a dirty little secret that we all desperately want to keep under wraps: sometimes our perfectly trained, dander & body function free little people actually poop and pee other than in their prescribed locations ...only occasionally of course. Unfortunately, the tell-tale smell from these occasional mishaps can linger, well, forever.

Even after using various pet odor removing products that caution you against using them around animals a faint scent always remains to remind you and spill the beans to your guests that your cat or dog isn't perfect. I learned a simple, 100% effective, and all natural solution to even the foulest of pet odors by applying a little kitchen knowledge.

Keeping pets safe during home improvement projects is a concern of many DIY'ers. Especially when your project spans a few days and takes up some of the household space that pets typically use. When I think of problems between pets and projects I imagine cat prints in pain or dogs underfoot. The challenges of home improvement projects with pets are far more serious. Pets can become seriously ill or even die from some of the chemicals, tool and other toxins that are revealed while working on these projects.

According to Tom Kraeutler, AOL Home Improvement Editor, in his article Home Improvement Safety For Pets, there are seven project items to be cautious about.

1. Paints
2. Tools and supplies
3. Solvents
4. Glue
5. Concrete
6. Mold
7. Lead

The article discusses these in more depth, hazards range from items we use to build or clean, to toxins that may be uncovered while making changes. He continues to cover other more common household items that threaten pets and makes recommendations for dealing with each.

Ultimately, with careful planning, diligent clean-up and a good understanding of potential hazards, your project should go smoothly and pets stay healthy.