DIY Life

As I bid my backyard evenings farewell and welcome cool, crisp weather, I'm dreaming of one last outdoor party, complete with Frank Sinatra tunes, light appetizers, fresh mint spritzers... and these adorable craft lights, of course. I love how simple this project is and can't wait to try it myself!:

A project that uses grocery items always sets my heart aflutter, and I can't believe how easy (and kid-friendly!) this craft is. Why not round up the family for scrambled eggs one evening and decorate your own carton lights to hang outside? Or, be proactive with the holiday season this year and get started on those tree trimmings!

And, when you're finished with your project and have a few egg cartons left over, why not re-purpose them with some of our great ideas right here at DIY Life. Think boot trees, ice-cube maker, drawer liners and more!:
-Recycling Ideas for Egg Cartons

Each week, Diane Rixon brings you Avant Yard, a look at all your lawn and garden could be. Diane shows you how to give life to everything inside your fence. We promise that your yard will be the greener "other side" and the neighbor's envy to boot. Alright, we don't really promise, but you get the idea.

Is there a dead tree in your yard? Let it live on -- repurpose it! Here are a bunch of suggestions, with an emphasis on projects that are both easy and inexpensive.

LEAVE IT ALONE
1. Leave it standing. If it's not a danger to people or structures on your property, of course. Let it be a home for birds, bugs and assorted critters.
2. Leave it standing and turn it into yard art -- hang colored bottles from the branches or string it with colored lights that change with the season.

CUT IT UP
3. Use planks for fencing.
4. Build a big brush pile, which is a fantastic refuge for wildlife.
5. Use it for garden mulch. You will need to hire a mulching machine or mulching service for this, however.

When the deer Christmas light forms start to rust, and the wires and bulbs wear out, spray paint that thing brown and prop it into the garden. Add a bush or vine (plus several months) and you have affordable topiary. This is a good way to recycle and save money; if you shop for topiary forms, they can cost several hundred dollars.

Add the right topiary plants for your area. Typical topiary plants yew and boxwood take a long time to grow into form, for faster results (not years) use English ivy or something similar.

I love disco balls. They are delightfully tasteless, but, like the lava lamp they have their place. Whether you're decking out the dorm room or looking for something unique in your living-room, this is a simple project that is sure to get guests talking. Here's what you'll need to build a Christmas disco ball:

1. Coat hanger
2. 50 SOLO 9oz clear plastic cups
3. 150 multicolor mini Christmas lights with a controler
4. Soldering iron

The author of this article uses colored Christmas lights, but I imagine that white lights would work well too. They would probably give a softer sparkle, so you can choose based on what style you're going for. The full instructions teach you how to make this Christmas disco creation. Put one together this weekend and it will look great over Christmas and carry you right through the New Year's party.

Hmm. What to do with all this unwanted electronic stuff? Let's see: an old computer mouse that no one uses anymore, all the parts from a dead power source, an old power cord, two cds, and a fan cable. Hate to just throw it away... What a waste... (Thoughtfully rubbing chin.)

Well, Flickr member Random42 had all this stuff and he knew just what to do with it: create a Geek Wreath! He says it was inspired by the Geek Wreath featured at Boing Boing. Says the Boing Boing caption for that wreath: "The Geek Wreath is a simple and powerful idea: take a strand of lights and weave it around a wreath of all the goddamned power cables, spare USB cables, obsolete SCSI cables and whatever else you've got cluttering up your home." Awesome!

Now that wreath is fab, but I'm liking Random42's wreath just a tad more. It's a little more festive looking and has a few creative artful touches. Like that old computer mouse. Yep. It's all you could want in a Christmas decoration. It's where geek-thinking meets those traditional Christmas staples: electric lights, wreaths, and whimsy. Nothing goes to waste in this festive creation!

If you haven't already put up your Christmas lights, now is the time to do it. Christmas is less than three weeks away, and by the time you get the lights up, it will be time to take them down again, storing them away for another winter.

If you have come across a string of lights that has some burned out bulbs, don't throw the lights away. Read up on how to fix those Christmas lights. Maybe you just have a bad fuse, maybe you stapled through the electrical wire, or maybe the entire string is bad. If you have had that string of lights for 10 years, then maybe it is time to replace it, and start from scratch.

My lights are so tangled up, not to mention old, that if I start checking them now, I just might have them ready to hang up by next Christmas! In the meantime, I'll be checking my properly stored lights and fixing them for another season of Christmas cheer. Make sure to check yours too, and please be careful!

If you're missing the bright days of summer you might be finding some rooms in your house too dark. A dark room can affect your work, change the impression of your decor and impact your mood. Learning how to brighten up a dark room can change your space so drastically. Here are the 11 suggested ways:

1. Turn on a lamp
2. Install a light fixture
3. Add task lighting
4. Replace bulbs with higher wattage
5. Open curtains or blinds
6. Install a skylight
7. Use diffused lighting
8. Mimic the sunrise
9. Use mirrors
10. Paint and decorate the room
11. Clear the clutter

After the jump I'll share the details of my favorite tips.

I think it's safe to assume that you all know how to change a light bulb. What you may not know is how to change a broken light bulb. Broken bulbs that are still in the socket can be hard to change and very dangerous. A potato can be your saving tool.

What you'll need

1. 1 raw potato
2. 1 knife
3. 1 replacement light bulb
4. 1 bag for trash/glass shards
5. Gloves
6. Protective eye wear
7. Vacuum

The instructions on how to change a broken light bulb with a potato are simple, but you should pay particular attention to the safety tips. Next time you break a bulb in the socket don't mess around trying to pick through glass, just grab a potato and remove the bulb with ease.

If you'd like to partially re-create the home of Microsoft founder Bill Gates but you lack a couple a' billion in Benjamins, you can at least get close using easy-to-install home automation equipment. I've used X10 products for close to a decade now and almost every detached light in my home is controlled by a few remotes that are strategically kept in every room. The fun does not stop there, though.

Wallplate remotes, keychain remotes and appliance modules are all available from the company, and there are enough audio/video receivers and senders to wireless beam DVD or TiVo images from the living room to just about anywhere you want. While that's not really home automation, I still think it's cool, and especially if you live in an older home where re-wiring is not that easy. Wireless internet have saved many of us in that boat, and wireless audio/video transmission systems can ease the TV pain, if you will.

But, if you want to feel like you like in a pseudo-futuristic home from 2030, purchasing a collection of X10 lighting control and electrical outlet control devices will give you that power (and feeling of Tom Cruise superiority). Home automation, in my book, starts with home lighting. Once you can enjoy remote control of lamps and other lighting (like accent lighting) and have dimmer control from a remote as well (as in mood lighting from the couch), you'll want to control other devices in your home in addictive fashion. Well, if you're like me. Check out X10's plethora of products here.

Are you one of the millions who tosses away a good portion of the day sitting in traffic and wasting inordinate amounts of time during the process? Welcome to the club, as recent reports state the average San Jose citizen wastes up to 54 hours per year just sitting in traffic. I think the total is easily more than that, and if you've driven in Silicon Valley traffic before, you're probably inclined to agree with me. In other areas, the figures range from 20 hours to 70 hours per year. Bleh!

Hey, we're not yet to the point in the future where flying cars ala' The Fifth Element have arrived, so what is the solution? If you're into cheating the system, how about a way to gain access to all the green traffic lights that you can? If you're into reducing the number of stops your lane of traffic has and you drive a smaller car, truck, scooter or motorcycle, listen up.

For about $6 or so, you can probably score some 3M exterior mounting tape and a pair of small neodymium magnets. With those two items, you'll fool most current traffic stop induction systems into thinking that Scion is a Ford Expedition -- and with that disguise, you'll gain access to much faster green lights. I'm trying this one soon after a short trip to the nearest Home Depot. Get the dibs using the below video. (NOTE: This may be illegal where you live! We provide this info for edutainment purposes only)

Instructables user huirub has a great new tutorial on how to transform any clear bottle of booze (or non-alcoholic clear liquid, if you want to be boring) into a cool accent lamp. Using readily available LED stickies, this simple project doesn't require any wiring or soldering, making it ideal for those of us who can't tell the difference between a volt and a vole (whatever that is).

The original tutorial calls for Dot-It LED lights (~$6 USD per unit), but I imagine you could get away with using any low-profile LED light source. If you're not afraid of building your own LED light array, however, this little tutorial might come in handy. I could envision this making a really cool bar backdrop if you had enough multi-colored alcohols and LED lights. Or, better yet, program the LEDs so they pulsate to the beat of some groovy music. It would be just like Waltzing Waters, only not as lame!

[via Instructables]

Now that we've been in our new house for a month or so, my home theater room is starting to take shape. I'll be writing more on it as I slowly transform our finished basement into a fully functioning battle station, er, home theater. because I'm using a front projection system, normal ceiling lights can't be used at all during shows. Recessed lighting offers the perfect combination of room filling lighting that's directed everywhere but the movie screen. Here's an easy way to to install lighting in a pre-finished room.