DIY Life

Summer vacation keeps rolling along. How long until your kids go back to school? Are they spending too much time lounging on the couch? Here are a bunch of summer projects to trick your kids away from their air-conditioned sanctuary and out into the great outdoors of, er, your backyard.

Okay, okay. So the backyard is not the great outdoors. True. But the main thing is to get the kiddos out in the fresh air, learning about nature, and learning about the noble pursuit of maintaining a garden.

Getting their hands dirty
1. Ask them to help with the weeding. Pay them a small amount of pocket money for their time.

Attention, husbands: If you're just planning Mother's Day now, I won't scold you, but I will save you from the wrath you're about to experience if you don't get things together quickly.

Before you move on to showing her your personal appreciation, you'll want to make sure you've arranged something special from your children. If you're in a hurry, here are some quick and easy Mother's Day projects. You can also help them make this precious card, telling Mom just how much they love her.

Some suggest giving Mom a day without the kids, but personally that isn't what I would want. Mother's Day should be celebrated as a family, but once they've served her breakfast in bed, and spent the day honoring her in clever ways, the two of you can tuck in those sweet little ones and get on with some romantic appreciation.

If you're looking for a way to spoil her, follow me through the break, and we'll discuss how you can shower her with appreciation for little or no cost, and with little preparation (yes, you can pull all of these off before Sunday!).

The U.S. Consumer Safety Product Commission, in cooperation with Galison/Mudpuppy, has announced a voluntary recall of about 90,000 Wire-O bound journals, calendars, and activity books. The paint on the metal spiral bindings of the journals contains excessive amounts of lead, violating the federal lead paint standard. No injuries or incidents have been reported.

Manufactured in China and sold nationwide through specialty and gift stores, as well as online, the recalled journals sold for between $7 and $10, from August 2003 through December 2007. Mudpuppy or Galison and the ISBN numbers are printed on the back of the back cover of the journals and calendars. Check the CPSC press release for the journals and calendars involved in the recall.

Remove the back cover of the recalled journal and contact Galison at (800) 670-7441 for instructions on returning the back cover for a refund. You may also visit the firm's website at www.galison.com or email the firm at safety@galison.com.

When I went to the craft store the other day, I was terribly unimpressed with their selection of scrapbook paper. Can we say my favorite word of the week: boring? Since I need an abundance of pretty paper for my ever increasing pile of photos, I tend to let my scrapbooks gather dust when I can't find the paper I need for my desired scrapbook pages.

Amy uses Photoshop to create scrapbook and journal paper. She used a computer with Photoshop, a scanner, doodles and clip art, inkjet and label paper, photos and magazine clippings, and a paper trimmer. Even if you have never used Photoshop before, Amy walks you through exactly how to design your own scrapbook and journal paper.

I am excited to design my own scrapbook paper now, even though I use Paint Shop Pro. The possibilites of what can be designed are endless, and I don't have to stare in open mouth boredom at the paper in the craft store anymore.

These mini saddle-stitched books are a great way to use paper scraps and make sure you always have a neat little book on hand. Personally, I'd gladly trade-in scrounging through my purse and scribbling a number on an old receipt for pulling out one of these stylish little books, and keeping my notes all organized.

Jessica Jomes made her books 3X4, but you could choose whatever size fits your needs. This is a great use for old scrap-booking paper, magazine covers, or even kid's art. Have fun with which decorative paper you choose. Here's what else you'll need:

1. Blank scratch paper
   
2. Clear contact paper
   
3. Decorative paper
4. Ruler
5. Something that cuts paper - If you have a paper cutter, this will give you the cleanest look
   
6. Stapler
7. Pin

You'll find a full tutorial on the site. While you're there have a peek around, I think this site is a real gem, and I'm sure we'll find more inspiring projects coming out of Jess and her orange office.

Duct tape is one of those essential materials in every DIY tool box. I am a big fan of duct tape, and admittedly, I've never used it to actually tape ducts. We've looked at all sorts of ways to use this multi-purpose tape. As Ryan cautions, don't use it to tape your baby to the wall. Heather taught us how to create a pretty cool wallet, and now I'm going to bring you yet another use for duct tape: make a journal cover.

What you'll need

1. Book
2. Scissors
3. Duct tape (assortment of colors if you choose)

The method that is outlined in the how to article is probably your best one. You'll actually make a piece of fabric out of duct tape, measured to fit the book. You'll then apply that to the book. Personally, I'd be inclined to cover the book in paper then apply the duct tape to that. Try this as a way to protect your text books or make a funky looking journal cover.

Everyone loves journals. Everyone has started and stopped writing several and some of you have even kept writing in them long after the New Year's resolution to write has passed. You may even be thinking about getting a few of your friends and family a journal for Christmas. Yes, I said Christmas, I know there are some of you out there that are done shopping too so, hush.

This year instead of running to a book store or the office aisle at Wal-Mart, make your own journals and give them to your friends. All you need is paper (lot of paper), glue, heavy books, two photos and a few other odds and ends to make a gift from the heart.

Photojojo has all the step by step instructions you need including a video tutorial by the designer of this wonderful craft. This is one project that I am for sure making this year.

Here at DIY Life, we like to have a photo with every post. When we don't take the photos ourselves, we often use photos from Flickr that have been tagged with a Creative Commons license. Finding the right photo can require a lengthy search, during which we get to see a lot of great photos that don't quite fit the mood of the post we're trying to illustrate.

I've noticed that many of the photos I've considered lately have been tagged with "project365." I thought that this must be some kind of web challenge, and I couldn't resist trying to learn more about it. It turns out that Photojojo, a great site with lots of DIY photography information, has popularized the concept.

Find out more about Project365 after the break.