DIY Life

Here's a great idea for bedside storage. Might I add, it's a great idea because it's really easy and, assuming you already have a tote bag to spare, it's free! Makezine put me onto this idea from Five Whys: repurpose an old tote bag as an underbed pocket.

You will need:

1. An old cloth tote bag
2. Scissors
3. Needle and thread or (even better!) a sewing machine
   
4. About 10 minutes to an hour of your time, depending on your sewing skills

Cut the bag down each side, starting at the top end and ending about halfway down. Fold the cut flap down inside the bag. Fold and sew the cut side edges to prevent fraying. Next, lay the bag's handles and top half under your mattress, letting the newly-created pocket hang down the side of the bed. The weight of the mattress should keep the bag in place. Voila! A place for bookmarks, magazines and other odds and ends.

Want to make a tote bag? Anna can tell you how. Oh, and she knows how to make a bag from old jeans, too!

Weddings... it is so easy to get caught up in the moment. After all, your big day is pretty important, right? Agreed, but instead of being stressed over the planning, it makes sense to me to keep it simple and enjoy every moment leading up to your wedding as well.

Zen Habits has thirteen tips to hep you do just that: keep your wedding plans as simple as possible. They make a disclaimer, though, stating that if you want a traditional wedding that you probably still will have some stress. Their sensible tips are to help alleviate some of the needless worrying, so after the break I'll share some of their ideas.

This is a simple project that only takes 15 minutes; it took me longer to take and post the pictures. If you have a wooden picnic table and an abandoned lawnmower laying behind the garage, you have the ingredients of a rolling table. Adding a set of lawnmower wheels to the legs of the table makes it easy to move it around the yard, while not dragging the legs and tearing up the lawn.

Tools: A wrench and drill.
Parts: Two 3-inch lag screws with washers and two small lawnmower wheels.

First, prop up the legs on something and place the wheel so it hangs 1/2 inch below the leg. You'll also want to have the wheel sticking out 1/2 inch on the outside of the leg (see pictures in the gallery). Mark your hole location and pre-drill the hole for the lag screw; do this on both table legs. Attach the wheels with the lag screws, but don't overtighten. That's it!

Now you can pick up one side of the table and roll it around like a wheelbarrow. This only works on lawns, not hard surfaces. The wheels can't support people weight on patios and other hard surfaces, but on the lawn they'll sink in a little so the weight rests on the legs. You could double the wheels for extra strength; then you would need long bolts instead of lag screws.

Check out this de-lightful Valentine's Day idea: lovebird votive holders. Is this not an adorable idea? Discovered on the site Ready Made (homepage of the magazine Ready Made), they are cleverly constructed from two aluminum beer cans. Yes, beer cans. Wait! The final result is classier than it sounds. You simply cut the cans open, flatten them, then trace on the lovebird design. Cut out the lovebird shapes and fasten 'em to a couple silver metal ashtrays or votive holders. Voila! When the lights are out and the candles are lit, your lovebirds (placed so they face each other, of course) will cast romantic shadows on the wall. Perfect for canoodling.

I love this candle holder concept for a bunch of reasons. It makes a nice alternative to candy, yet is doesn't involve shelling out lots of money, as you would for higher-end Valentine's Day gifts like jewelry. Yet its low-sheen metal look is hip. It's ideal for the budget-conscious couple, too -- just be absolutely certain your partner is on board with low cost romantic gestures, or you could end up sleeping on the couch! It's also a perfect little token for the very new, very casual relationship where something lighthearted is called for -- something that won't scream "let's shop for engagement rings!" Finally, you have to drink two beers in order to carry out this project. Sound like fun? Yes, it does! Do we have lots more DIY Valentine's Day ideas? Yes, we do!

Day after day, we all have to look at the same walls. I know just how boring that can be, considering the fact I am a work at home mom. Surely there are ways to liven up drab walls, but what do you do if you have ceilings or walls that are crying out for something unique; something that isn't going to cost you an arm and a leg, not to mention your other arm? How about dressing up your walls with fabric?

With just some fabric and wood framing, you can make gorgeous fabric panel wall art. You can liven up any wall, using fabric as bold or docile as you choose, depending on the needs of your particular walls. Super simple and easy to do, and the best part is, your finished art will be easy to hang since it is lightweight, and you can move it around without breaking your back.

Fabric wall art is perfect for those of us who have vaulted ceilings or even just a wall that is crying out for a grouping of artwork. Cheap, easy, and trendy! What more could you ask for? Just in case you don't have the budget for fabric wall art, don't despair, maybe you can make wall art from Styrofoam.

My homemade spa experiments started with a deep condition, then an apple face mask, and finally the DIY'er manicure. The face mask disaster reminded me that sometimes we're better off sticking with a simple recipe rather than adding in all the fancy ingredients. This exfoliating salt body scrub is exceptionally simple and I was certainly impressed with the results. Try it for yourself and let me know what you think.

What you'll need

1. Table salt
2. Oil - recipe calls for olive oil but I used grape seed oil
3. small container

What to do

1. Pour table salt into the container
2. Fill it with oil just until the oil passes the top of the salt
3. Mix it thoroughly
4. Spread over your body
5. Rub in gently with your fingers
6. Rinse off
7. Reveal your new skin

After the break I'll let you know what I thought of this homemade exfoliant. I'll also let you in on the secret powers of grape seed oil and why I replaced the olive oil in this recipe with it.

This little trick doesn't require any tools, not even a pen and paper. In 4 easy steps you can figure out your lost combination. You'll never have to cut off an old lock because you've forgotten the combination, just use this trick and you'll uncover those three secret numbers in about 12 seconds.

1. Push up on the clamp. Hold it in place. Spin right until you hear a click.
2. Move two numbers to the right. That's your first number.
3. Continue holding the clamp up. Spin left until it stops. That's your second number.
4. Spin right. It will be very choppy, but keep the clamp up. It will open on the third number.

Remember, this is for recovering your own lost combinations, not for putting a head in a jar in your friends locker this Halloween!

With inspiration from a recent blog post about ways to recycle empty milk jugs, I went in search of the instructions for making milk jug skeleton Halloween decorations. This craft project is just fantastic for keeping a couple kids busy for a few hours, but an adult absolutely must oversee all cutting operations.

You'll need as many as ten jugs to make one full size skeleton (about 3 feet tall), so start saving them now. We'd hate for you to have to chug three gallons of milk on Halloween night just to complete the project, especially if you're lactose intolerant. Although I guess that would give a realistic touch to your whoopie cushion costume.

Want to make a homemade gift for someone but you're short on time or money? Here's a quickie craft that doesn't require special skills or talent but yields an impressive finished product.

Materials:

• Page Pebble stickers (found in craft stores and scrapbooking shops, available in different shapes and sizes)
• Old magazines with interesting images
• Magnets (no bigger than diameter of your Page Pebbles)
  

Does an arrangement like this make you flee, for fear of your wall crumbling around the multitudes of nails used to hang all of the pictures?

It used to make me run too, especially in our first house, an antique with the original plaster walls. It took us years to work up the courage to hang anything up, and even then, we did crumble some of the walls a bit.

Using this trick will save your walls and make it easy to hang pictures without mistakes and a bunch of nail holes.

It's easy:

1. Make a kraft paper template of each picture you wish to hang.
2. Use blue painter's tape to attach the kraft template and figure out where you want the picture to go.
3. Put picture hanging hardware on walls, directly through the paper.

The pictures will be exactly where you want them, the walls won't crumble and everyone will be happy.

This technique works much better than the ol' masking tape trick, so give it a try.

The pillowcase skirt is the easiest way to make your old sheets into new, fashionable attire. Your pillow may be ready for a change too, having the same wardrobe for too long is not only boring for you, but also something your pillow doesn't want either. Here is how you can put new life into your old sheets, and give your old pillowcase a spin out on the town.

The instructions I have for you here represent one of the easiest bird feeder kit designs I have ever encountered. This is not my own original design but when I came across it I immediately recognized the sheer brilliance of it. The engineering of the Peanut Butter Jar Bird Feeder will astound you with its classic simplicity and timeless design.

• Materials: Peanut butter jar, any size; Coat hanger; One stick similar to a pencil.

• Time: Approximately one hour

• Tools: Modeling knife or utility knife. Heavy wire cutter (optional), Drill and bits (optional)
  

• Steps:

1. Begin by separating the jar from the lid. Put a hole through the center of the lid, just large enough to fit the coat hanger wire through. You may use a drill or just wing it.
   

Making your own masks as a kid used to be kinda painful. At the very least, cardboard and construction-paper masks aren't very comfortable. But today we aren't limited to paper plates, we've got convenient sheets of foam.

Masks are a great way to make pretend play dress-up items on the cheap. Craft foam rectangles can be purchased in bulk, in all colors. If you have room, buy several packs so you have a lot of duplicates. The rectangles we get are about 7 inches wide, which is perfect for heads of any size. Foam masks are light and durable (but not indestructable), and take permanent marker and white glue readily.

Full details after the jump.