DIY Life

Mother's Day invariably means an avalanche of mundane gift ideas for mom. If your mom is into gardening big-time, why not get something she can use and/or enjoy year-round--unlike, say, that $60 bunch of flowers or (yawn) potted herb garden you were about to order. Read on for ten gifts that real gardening moms would love to receive this Mother's Day!

Oh and by the way: all of the following gift ideas are available on the Web, which is cool because it means you don't have to schlep to the mall or your local blue- or orange-hued home and garden superstore. The down side: prices do not include tax or shipping. But, hey, if you can avoid a trip to the mall on Saturday it's worth it, right?

1. Japanese hand shears, $25-$48
Renowned for their beauty and durability are these Japanese hand tools. The secret? They are constructed from carbon steel (as opposed to stainless steel). Elegant rolled steel handles give them an unusual and distinctive appearance. In order to prevent rusting, these tools must always be dried after use and oiled occasionally. Aficionados swear it's worth the effort.

If you've ever wished you could make scrapbooks of your kids' lives the way all the cool moms you know do, then you ought to take a look at Smilebox. It's an online scrapbook maker that lets users create their own cool scrapbooks to post on a blog, email, or print out to show off to others.

Smilebox requires Flash 9 to run and only works on Windows for now. Since I'm all thumbs when it comes to crafts -- especially scrapbooking and other uber-creative projects -- I wasn't sure I believed the Web site's claim that I could create my own scrapbook in "less than five minutes."

That turned out to be true.

Once you register, the site walks you through each step, from choosing which of your digital photos to use all the way to emailing the finished scrapbook of your kids to an unsuspecting grandmother. Each design is customizable, some even down to the color of the flowers, and the end results are pretty slick indeed.

The basic service is free, but you can pay to upgrade to other plans for additional features and ad-free projects. While Smilebox is clearly aimed at moms, I could easily envision my elementary school-age children using it to create scrapbooks of their own. Be sure to bookmark the site, it's a great rainy day project for the kids.

A few months back, the control knob on my clothes dryer broke. Since it involved only a minor DIY repair job, I thought this a fab opportunity to try shopping for spare parts online. Result? A 10 out of 10 experience. I used PartSelect and was really happy. Other likely-looking choices include PartStore and big box store sites like SearsPartsDirect, to name just two of the many sites out there.

I was thrilled with how easy it was to locate such a tiny and obscure plastic doo-dad via the Web. Thrilled because ordering it online was possible in the first place. Also thrilled because such sites make simple appliance repairs easier for the beginner DIY'er. Interested? After the break, I'll share what you should know before cracking out that credit card:

The Speed Factor. Buying spare parts online saves you lots of valuable time. In the olden days, you would have to flip through the phone book to find likely parts suppliers. Then you would have to make some phone calls. Next, you would waste at least an hour driving to and from the supplier.

It wasn't so long ago that well-meaning parents, scholars, and knee jerk social engineers were pointing at the dawning of the computer age and claiming that computers were going to usher in increased illiteracy. These people had visions of video screens full of pictures which were activated by keystrokes, and they foretold the rapid demise of the written word. In bold defiance of that warped assertion, I kindly write this blog post.

These days, any person with a computer available to them has many virtual libraries right at their finger tips. These painstakingly assembled databases are growing daily and are providing hungry readers with every type of literature you could imagine. From pulp romance to legal text books and everything in between, it's now more readily available to the average reader than ever before. Let me provide you a few good examples:

The Internet is quite obviously a fabulous resource when it comes to shopping. You can literally find anything anywhere in the world you might need for any possible purpose. For many people this concept is wonderful; however, for those of us who have problems making choices, this can be a problem. I know when I am looking for something decorative for my home and open my computer to begin the search I am all too often at a loss. So many decisions and choices. It is quite overwhelming.

For those of us who do have shopping issues or choice dilemmas, Design Sponge offers a great comprehensive guide to online sources for everything from furniture to wall hangings. The links have been contributed by a wide variety of Design Sponge devotees and reflect an even wider range of tastes. I like this aspect of it because it gives a little bit of everything, and for those of us who struggle with decision making it feels as though the pressure has been taken out of the shopping. So the next time you need a great reference for where to purchase lighting or curtains, stop by and take a peek.