Now that summer's coming to a close, it's time to retire my floral wedges for the fall weather. (Don't worry -- they'll come back in the winter with knitted tights!). This can only mean one thing -- time to hem those jeans for flats. Not sure how? It's easier than you think!

Stylist Rachel Bagley of Cardigan Empire shows you how to hem your favorite pair of jeans in just three steps. The process couldn't be easier, and I'm so excited to try it myself (if I can find my dusty old sewing machine).

Of course, not everyone knows how to sew, and some are more talented than others in the arena (file me under the 'non-talented' section, please). Don't fret -- there's also a lovely no-sew hemming option for those of you who aren't sure whether a bobbin is a tiger or a piece of sewing paraphernalia.

So give it a shot -- hem those pants and show off your new fall flats. You can thank me later!

While shades and blinds come in all lengths and widths, wooden Roman blinds tend to be 72 inches long, no matter how wide they are. When I cleaned the filthy blinds in our old apartment, I totally neglected the Roman blinds, only because I wasn't sure how to clean or shorten them.

I wish I had known then about DIY Maven's tutorial on how to hem wooden shades. I could have made my 6 foot wide kitchen window blinds look new again, using hot glue and Tacky Glue, and Maven's step by step instructions and follow along pictures to shorten them to a manageable length.

All you have to do is mark the shades at the length of your window, do a little cutting, gluing, and folding of the shades, rehang them, and stand far enough away from them to admire your hemming handiwork.

I actually like wood blinds and shades much more that vinyl blinds, and now I will buy them for each room in my home, now that I know how to make them shorter, and can do it in just a few minutes.

I do not have any problems finding jeans that fit my waistline; however, finding jeans that fit my short legs is a real pain in the hinder. I have a 27" inseam (on a good day!) and I tell ya, the jeans made for my short legs are also for kids that are about 10 years old. I am a 30 something year old adult who doesn't need to wear butterflies on my butt, no matter how cute that might be!

Kansas A has a hubby who also has a 27 inch inseam, and she has perfected the hemming of jeans. She takes us through the steps necessary to make jeans look like they were professionally hemmed. Measuring accurately and pinning evenly are key steps in getting a great looking jean hem. I know this to be true because I have measured too short, and then had to end up making shorts out of my jeans. Be super careful when measuring; capris for men are not in style!

[via: tipnut]

It's a universal law of freshman year: Whatever can go wrong the first few weeks at college, will. Your calculus book will fall in a puddle, your cell phone will get knocked off the desk and break, you'll sleep through your first class of the day at least once, and you'll lose a button off your favorite shirt the day before Pledge Week starts.

Don't worry, DIY Life is here to help. Use book covers, a cell phone case, and a good alarm clock.

Now, about that shirt. When you were getting ready to move into the dorm, did you remember to pack a little sewing kit? Great! From replacing buttons to fixing a hem, there are a bunch of ways that little kit can save your bacon. Oh, and if you have any leftover thread, I'll also tell you how to kill time with your roommate on a Friday night before your dates get there.