DIY Life

Duct tape has to be among the handiest fix-it tools around. That big, fat roll of tape sure is bulky, though. Consider stowing just a small amount in your pocket, bag, or glove compartment. That way you'll always have some tape on hand, and there'll be no more riffling through the garage searching for the main roll of tape.

Here's how Lifehacker's Brad Isaac made his own pocket-sized duct tape dispenser from a drinking straw. You will need a roll of duct tape, a drinking straw, and a pair of scissors. Carefully wind a length of duct tape around and around the straw, then cut the excess straw on either side. Voila! You have a decent amount of duct tape that slips into your pocket for those unexpected little repair jobs around the house, car, at work, or camping out.

[via Lifehacker]

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!).

Duct tape is cool. There is no doubt about it, people love it. It's a strange fascination really.

At DIY Life alone we've used it to make book covers, wallets, and a no-sew bag. We've even learned how this strong, multi-purpose tape can be used to remove warts, and keep your baby in one place.

Just when you thought we'd exhausted all the wacky uses for duct tape, we've got another: the duct tape top hat. This would make a great prom accessory, or quirky addition to an everyday outfit.

You'll need a compass, cardboard, scissors, and of course the duct tape. Basically, you will make fabric out of duct tape, and assemble the hat from there. Cardboard will help keep the structure firm, but the duct tape coating ensures that it is water-proof.

If you're feeling particularly adventurous, why not pair that top hat with a duct tape mini-skirt?

Cassette tapes have been replaced with much more modern technology. I don't own an iPod, but I do own about 300 cassette tapes, so aside from disguising your iPod with a cassette tape, or digitizing your old cassette tapes, what else do you think could be done with those old tapes that are wasting space?

Turning a cassette tape into a business card holder should eliminate any more issues with loose business cards in your purse or briefcase which can be difficult to find when you need them, or worse yet, crinkled business cards in your pockets. All you have to do is remove the screws from the cassette tape, use pliers to break off the plastic pieces, insert your business cards between the empty pieces of plastic, and wrap the elastic around to secure the tapes together.

I don't know if I would go through all the trouble of tearing up a cassette tape. Why couldn't you just use the cassette tape case for holding your business cards? I would think you could get more business cards in the tape case than you could in the cassette tape itself. Either way, it is still a cool hack, don't you think?

Do you have old tapes kicking around? Recently, my husband's parents cleared out the old boxes they had been keeping from his childhood. Along with some trophies and LEGO there were boxes and boxes of cassette tapes. Many were mixes that he'd spent hours recording off the radio and making the perfect music compilation. As fun as those are to listen to, most of it can be downloaded. You'll get better quality and most of those 80's favorites should be readily available. What can't be downloaded elsewhere are his first music recording or memorable concerts. There were also some old books on tape that I haven't seen in ages. These recordings can't be replaced.

A year ago, Lifehacker taught us how to digitize old cassette tapes. In the spirit of getting organized before the New Year, let's get rid of the tape boxes, and get those recordings digitized. In case you missed it last year, or it's still on your to do list, have a look through the instructions. With a few tools and Audacity (an audio editing program), you can save these tapes in digital format to enjoy again and share with your children and grandchildren. The best part is that you can then ditch all those old boxes that are taking up space in your garage.

This homemade metal detector is one of the easiest projects I've seen. All you need is an AM radio, tape, and a calculator. You don't have to take anything apart or follow any complicated directions, all you do is tune the radio, stick them together and let the reaction happen. As your device moves close to the metal object the radio waves from the calculator reflect off the metal and are heard as a loud beeping on the radio. The beep is intensified as you move closer to the metal object just as it would on a commercial metal detector.

Hack together one of these next time you're searching for a hidden treasure, or just give it a try for fun. The video results are impressive and it uses materials you have, takes little time, and is super simple.

Tim Ferris, author of The 4 Hour Work Week is at it again sharing his efficiency tricks and experiments with us. This time he's deconstructing and learning a new language in just one hour. He suggests that you ditch the books and CDs and instead delve into the mechanics of language and really dissect your subject.

First consider the new language a sport. With any sport there are some physical requirements. How closely does the new language resemble your native tongue? Does it use familiar sounds or will you need to re-train your brain and muscles to form sounds you've never experienced before? Tim walks you through the language deconstruction to determine how long it will take to gain fluency.

Once you know the rules of the game and the requirements of the specific sport, put your energy into training. Tim explains the theory behind this language deconstruction and outlines the process from curiosity to fluency. You might be preparing for a trip, or exploring a new language for business, or maybe you just want to dazzle your friends with some foreign vocabulary. Whatever your reason, this method looks a lot easier then suffering through hours of CD lessons and poring over language books.

There comes a time in the busy life of every home that the kitchen faucet must be replaced. That time came to my kitchen faucet today and after about one hour of light work the job is done. Not only did I replace the faucet. I upgraded it a little. The fixture I installed today is a fair standard better than the $29.95 model I installed a couple years ago.

The process is fairly simple and requires only a new faucet kit, Teflon pipe tape and a few of the proper tools. If you are a little handy, a lot patient and able to get under the sink on your back, you can do this plumbing job. I have outlined the project for you and I have included some pictures to help you along.

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.

Do you keep that shiny-n-thin iPod nano in the car a lot for listening to tunes from your car's aux-in connection? Perhaps you use an FM transmitter to get those iPod tunes from your iPod to the car stereo (like in a leased car or SUV).

Long gone are the days of toting around a CD case full of music for many of us. And CD changers in cars? That is sooo 1990s. But, if you leave that iPod in the car when you park, are you afraid of snooping eyes and possible window-break-theft? I am.

Did you ever buy a used car from someone and then wonder how to get that, "My kid is an honor student..." bumper sticker off the rear bumper? I have found that a hair dryer will assist in removing almost any sticker from any surface. The trick is to heat the area slowly and thoroughly before attempting removal and without over heating the material you are removing the sticker from.

Start out by warming the entire area of the sticker and warm a little of the surrounding area also. Once the sticker is warm to the touch, then beginning at one corner, carefully focus the heat on that area while attempting to peel back the corner of the sticker. Work slowly by keeping light tension on the sticker while heating the area in front of where you are pulling. What you are doing is softening the adhesive which holds the sticker in place. The newer the sticker is, the better the process works but I have successfully removed very old stickers and I have even successfully removed mailing labels from old magazines using this method.

If any adhesive remains after your sticker is removed, there's a product called Goo Gone which works nicely on hard, colorfast surfaces. If you are unsure about how your newly sticker free surface will react to a cleaning agent, you may want to consider alternatives such as good hot water or even a little clean dish water. Alternatively, you may simply continue to heat the cleared area and remove as much adhesive as possible by blotting very lightly with a lint free cloth.