I once ate a fried beetle in 10th-grade bio class just to prove to the boys that girls were able to do gross things too. It was sick, and the worst part was feeling the legs get stuck in the back of my throat. But it was an experience I’m glad I had, if only for the brag factor.

If you haven’t experienced such a joy, here is a recipe for chocolate-covered ants. It probably wouldn’t be that bad … chocolate makes anything palatable. But, according to the Web site, avoid the red ants. They’re too spicy. And, if you want to go the absolute opposite direction, Evil Mad Scientist has a list of foods that include bug parts that you might want to avoid. [Photo yoinked from here]

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Apparently, if the soda machine has an LED screen, you can hack it using a combination of buttons and find out all kinds of fun facts, including how much money is in the machine, the inside temperature and how popular each variety of pop is. All I can say is, I know what I’m doing tomorrow at work.

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Fabulous Foods shows how to make shrunken heads out of apples. It’s at once disgusting, artistic and something I want hanging from the ceiling in my apartment year-round, just for the cool-creepy factor. Even better than using them for Halloween would be to surprise your family by bringing them to Thanksgiving dinner. Ahh, corpses. [via]

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These collages were done by Gracia Haby, one half of Gracia & Louise, whose blog high up in the trees I just discovered. The best part about Gracia’s collages are their apparent simplicity. She takes a clipping from a book or magazine and juxtaposes it in another piece of art in a way that’s really clever and fun. When I saw them, I instantly thought of all the horrible pieces of art that you can find in a thrift store and how much fun it would be to deface them, either with collage or just by painting over the frame.

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Lift weights while playing Tetris. Tetris Weightlifting’s the name, and getting ripped the nerdy way’s the game. The site has instructions on how to rig handle grips to move the pieces into their ultimate resting positions.

Hell, it’s more fun — and cheaper — than going to the gym. [via]

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MonsterCrochet is one of my favorite sites. The creator, Ladylinoleum, comes up with the most hysterical projects — my favorites are her monster vegetables (pictured above), the bacon wrap and el churro. But really, everything she makes is a) crazy and b) brilliant.
In the spirit of Halloween, she has provided a free pattern to crochet a severed finger.

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Carl from the WAREHOUSE had the misfortune of buying a crappy shoe rack but, instead of just throwing it out, made it into a really gorgeous paper lantern. If you don’t have any useless shoe racks around (but really, WHO DOESN’T?), you could easily make this with random bits of wood … or even pencils? Something fun like that.

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Instructions to make a working boomerang. Because you know what they say. If you love something, let it go. If it was meant to be, it will come back to you. Ah, love. (Thanks for the tip, Sam!)

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Tsk Tsk has a great tutorial on making relief printings using a printing block made from linoleum or something called speedball. It doesn’t look that hard or expensive, and she even explains how to transfer artwork from paper to the block. I think I might have to head over to the craft store today to get some supplies to make this. [via]

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Not just for exercise any longer. Use old tennis balls and cheap headphones to make a stereo, or do a variation on that theme and make a pair of headphones out of two halves … and you’ll not only be grooving, you’ll look hot, too. If, that is, you find tennis balls growing off your head to be sexy.

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I want one of these in every room of my house … er, apartment. The secret door opens up from a bookshelf, and the creator even rigged it so you pull on a book (he used Sherlock Holmes, which makes me happy) to open the passageway.
I can’t even handle how great this is. [via]

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Don’t worry, this guy did not lose his arm. But he did manage to gross me out and figure out a great way to make Halloween-caliber wounds with a little latex and a lotta love. [via]

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LED is, apparently, the acronym of the week for us at DIY:happy. But this thing is about the coolest use ever for those three fun little letters. Forget magnetic poetry, children’s art, shopping lists … rig up these refrigerator-magnet LEDs and go to town.

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I’ve seen a ton of high-end boutiques offer jewelry or magnets with tiny collages like these made in bottle caps, and this site has a great explanation of how to do it. Basically, you make the collage, then pour resin over it and let it set.

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Melissa Clifton has a great step-by-step guide on turning photos into artwork that looks like a Roy Lichtenstein original. [via]

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