DIY Life

Not so long ago, Debra showed us a ton of different ways to wrap handmade soap. You don't need to stop with hand-made variety, though.

We know, normally you're the type to be making your own oatmeal-lanolin-sweetgrass wholesome-granola soap, but sometimes you just don't have some right when you need it. Mind you, you did find some very nice soap while you were out shopping the other day. You could aways give that. But store-bought soap?

If you just can't face the shame, we have a fix for you! Take your (store-bought) soap, get yourself a nice quality wrapping paper, a ruler, and a craft knife or scissors. Use Debra's post to choose a style of wrap, and then, using the beautifully illustrated and detailed instructions found here at Creature Comforts, create your own highly professional, boutique-style packaging. The recipient will barely register that it isn't hand-crafted soap.

Okay, so it's sort of cheating. But when the blogger even provides free, downloadable labels for that final touch of perfection, who can resist?

Making handmade soap is an art form in itself. You can create swirls, layers, confetti, and textures in your cold process soap. It makes sense that you'd want to wrap your soap in a beautiful way too.

Your first instinct might be to use cellophane or another clear wrapper so you can see the gorgeous details of your soap, but if you make cold process soap from scratch, you will want to choose a more breathable wrapping.
The cold process soap likely retains some moisture from the curing process, which, unless you have been drying your soap for a year or so, is still not complete. Also, due to the high amount of naturally occurring glycerin in cold process soap, moisture is naturally attracted to it and you'll possibly end up with a soggy, moldy bar of soap if you use plastic.

After the jump, I'll share multitudes of wrapping ideas to make your soap look classy, country, funky, or somewhere in-between. In the meantime, peruse the gallery for some visual ideas.

In this day and age, we are all thinking about ways to be more environmentally friendly. Our household tries to find ways to reuse things rather than throw them out. Cardboard paper towel tubes can become a fun rain stick craft, for example.

It seems there is nothing more bountiful than used paper. From junk mail to gift wrap, stationery to greeting cards, we are inundated with it daily. Don't let it leave you wondering what to do with all that post-tree fodder any longer.

Fish Lips Paper Designs has a fun and useful list of ways to reuse paper. From framing patterned paper as art, to making book covers, to lining your sock drawer, they're sure to have a tip that will breathe new life into your scrap paper. You can even shred it to use as packaging.

Me? I'm going to reuse some colorful gift wrap as mats for black and white photographs. What will you do with your reusable paper?

There is nothing sweeter than a child, arms spread wide, exclaiming "I love you this much!" Sure, it's a little cliche, but it melts my heart every time. This week's Kiddie Craft captures that precious exclamation, their adorable hand-prints, and their complete admiration for Mom or Grandma.

So, skip the Mother's Day display in your local stationery store, and help your children make her a personal card. Here's what you need:

• Construction paper
• Scissors
• Tape or glue
• Pencil
• A large sheet of paper
• Pens, paints, stickers and other things to decorate the card

This simple Mother's Day card was easy to make, and my boys had a blast spreading their arms wide on the paper, and giggling as I traced their tiny hands. Follow me through the break for full instructions, and take a look through the gallery for your visual step-by-step.

Weddings are so fun, but for the bride and groom, getting prepared for their special day can be a hassle. It is quite a feat to pull off a wedding without a hitch.

Although it is exhilarating to pick out flowers, the hall, the chapel, and those you've chosen to be in your wedding party, it can get a little frustrating to agree on all aspects of the day.

You can take the hassle out of choosing your wedding invitations with an awesome instructable that teaches how to print and assemble multi-layered wedding invitations.

Back in March, I wrote about Hinamatsuri, a Japanese traditional festival celebrating the happiness and growth of young girls. Hinamatsuri is interesting, but it's not a national holiday in Japan: that distinction goes to Children's Day (Kodomo no hi), which was known as Boys' Day until the late 1940s, when it was expanded to include girls. And Children's Day is today!

The most visible symbol of Children's Day to most people is probably the koinobori, or fish kite (sometimes called a koi kite or carp kite). These are colorful windsocks shaped like a long koi. They are usually tied to a bamboo pole, where the wind catches them and makes them look like they're "swimming."

There are a few legends attached to why the koinobori are displayed, but most relate to the koi being energetic and courageous in the way it goes against the current, leaping out of the water when it swims. The koi becomes a metaphor for parents' hopes for their children, particularly their sons.

Today is a perfect day for family members to make simple paper or fabric fish kites of their own. After the break, we'll explore some of the history and motifs of this holiday, and check out a variety of related crafts: not just koinobori! We'll also talk about some non-traditional, totally American ways to celebrate the kids in your life.

I have a fascination with pretty paper, but I balk at buying it. I just don't send out enough correspondence to cover the cost, since I prefer to use my cell phone or email to keep in contact with my loved ones. Besides, my love of pretty paper has resulted in a drawer full of lonely, unused stationery.

For those that prefer to use snail mail, but also balk at buying notebooks, lined or graph paper, I have the perfect solution for you. Printable Paper has hundreds of papers styles that you can download and print for free, including graph paper, lined paper, financial paper, music paper, and letter paper. The site also has stationery, cash receipts, fax cover sheets and even business cards for you to download and print out. For a small fee, you can print out matching envelopes for your gorgeous stationery.

Now, you no longer have to worry about running out of any kind of paper. Just pop over to the site and print out what you need. I was truly amazed at the pretty stationery. Not bad for free. If you don't want to pay for the matching envelope, download it for free by checking out this post by M.E. Williams. If you have your own image in mind and want to create your own stationery template, check out this post by Debra McDuffee.

via: Lifehacker

Pam Garrison is a relatively well-known artist and craft blogger: you may have seen her work in the Somerset family of magazines, or over at her blog.

Recently, Pam wrote about a decorating project she'd done in her own home: she made over the closet in her art room by papering its interior and adding shelves.

There's nothing so unusual in that, but the paper is entirely vintage (and vintage-style) wallpaper scraps, put up in a patchwork style. The effect is a cheerful and pretty collage. She credits the inspiration for the project to Alicia Paulson of the popular blog Posie Gets Cozy, who has done a closet door in a similar style.

Read more about how Pam did it, along with some further suggestions of my own, after the break.

Ever had an itch to be crafty, but just couldn't figure out what you wanted to make? Try making some crafty dice to help your decision along.

I seem to stress enough on everyday life decisions, and whenever I want to craft I want to be able to relax. So instead of debating on what I want to make next, I just roll the dice!

This project is really simple to make, and only takes around twenty minutes or so. Sketch it out on paper using whatever dimensions you'd like your die to be.

You can write out your descriptions of whichever categories you enjoy crafting in, or if you're really artistically inclined, you can draw them on. Whether you're into knitting, painting, clay, sewing, jewelry-making, or baking, these cute dice will help you when you just can't seem to pick between them.

St. Patrick's Day is coming up on March 17. Need some fun craft ideas? Read on.

Bring a bit o' good luck to you or someone you care about this St. Patrick's Day: make a shamrock bookmark. It's pretty easy, with instructions and photos over at Squidoo. The one and only item you'll need for this project is flexible, green-colored wire. The Squidoo project relies on crafting wire from WigJig (who I think submitted the idea), but anything similar will do. As for tools, just a pair of skillfully-wielded pliers will do the trick.

Note the shape you're aiming for here is the traditional shamrock with three leaves, not the lucky four-leafed clover. Why? Because three leaves are a lot easier to bend into a pleasingly symmetrical shape, that's why!

Other wiry St. Pat's Day ideas can be found here, such as green and gold bracelets and shamrock-shaped earring and necklace sets. Or pop over to About.com for a ton of other St. Patrick's how-to projects, including necklaces, bracelets, and lucky charm key chains.

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.

Now why would anyone want to kill an innocent laptop? Simple. The current technology is better, faster, and quieter. Affordable, too. Yet maybe you can't justify shelling out for a new machine while your old one continues to perform as slowly and faithfully as an old dog. Or maybe you can justify it, but your Significant Other argues it's beyond the family's means. Yes, it's an evil plan to be sure. Put your laptop out of its misery today, and tomorrow you can merrily trot out and purchase something better. No one need ever know the truth! (Evil laughter)

The best starting point comes courtesy of the UK paper The Register. This publication's website has two handy articles on the subject worth checking out. First up: "Ten ways to kill your laptop." Second: "102 ways to kill your computer." The suggestions here are good for entertainment value and maybe inspiration, but they're not the most subtle. For instance, I'm not sure my Significant Other would believe it if I told him my trusty yet aging Dell died due to my accidentally dropping it off a bridge or down a stairwell. You, too? Okay, so now we turn to the definitive resource: "How to destroy your computer," on the site Dan's Data. This is where you'll find the evil advice you seek: how to off your computer in a way that won't be detected by your (non-techie) loved ones. Muahahahahahaha!

I am so in love with the art of origami, but sometimes feel like a new born babe who just can't get her hands to move correctly to fold a piece of paper into a magical work of art. I can do an elephant, a flying bird, and a gift box, but can't do a lampshade or even a hedgehog.

The possibilities of what you can create are endless, as is clear in this article on Wisebread; 8 fun and frugal things to do with origami. If you have a wedding coming up, make your own centerpieces. Make someone you love an origami greeting card. Give a gift in an origami fabric container. Make jewelry. You can even turn your old business cards into neat origami works of art.

Anytime you get bored and think there is nothing to do, pick up a piece of paper or cloth and turn it into something amazing. Just don't let your boss catch you at your new found craft! You may find yourself fixing that piece of paper into a "hire me" sign.

Have you heard? Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia recently announced that their magazine Blueprint, around for less than two years and full of achievable DIY domesticity, is kaput: the January/February 2008 issue, which should be out next week, is the last.

The news has not exactly been greeted with cheers of joy, and the company is apparently still trying to decide what to do with the brand. It may be folded into Martha Stewart Weddings (a decision they seem to be rethinking, based on reader feedback), or exist only as web content, or as an occasional "special issue."

The November/December 2007 issue of Blueprint directs readers to a nifty little project on its website: a printable 2008 calendar designed for display in a CD jewel case. You need:

• paper
• a printer
• a CD jewel case
• a paper cutter, or a craft knife and straight edge

Pay attention to the comments on the project at the site: you may need to change the printing scale to 85%, and you'll almost certainly have to disassemble the jewel case and flip one side so that it'll stay open as shown in the photos. The calendar itself exemplifies the appealing art direction that the magazine has been known for, but it will probably only look as good as the quality of the printer and paper stock you use. (Time to pull out that resumé paper you bought a while back!) When you're done, you'll have a stylish and practical little desk ornament for the new year.

If you have a definite opinion about the cancellation of Blueprint, or simply an idea about how Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia can address younger women who aren't as affluent as the target Martha Stewart Living reader, they're asking for suggestions on the Bluelines blog. Of course, the top suggestion so far seems to be, "Bring it back!"