Reference

In case you've been living under a rock for the last year, everyone is poor. For the most part, we all have the same jobs, make the same amount of money, and inflation hasn't increased the prices of goods too terribly - but somehow we're all still pinching pennies.

Here's a few Christmas related DIY projects to help ease the strain on that old wallet of yours. Wait - wouldn't strain on a wallet be a good thing?

Christmas Tree Projector

Photojojo has some really cool ornament ideas you can make from any old photo you have lying around.

Christmas Light Controller

Ah, we wouldn't leave you hanging! Of course we have to include at least one project that requires you to dust off your soldering iron. This Christmas light controller can be made in 5 minutes ... supposedly.

Christmas Card Star

Got a big pile of Christmas cards on your kitchen table? Well aren't you popular! Put those cards to good use by turning them into a unique star to top your tree with.

Christmas Cards

Be sure your "friends" don't just cut up your christmas card as part of some misguided DIY Christmas Tree Star art project - make it unique! Here's a roundup of several DIY Christmas Card ideas.

Hidden Tree Watering System

Here's a project sure to disappoint - a hidden tree watering system disguised as a wrapped gift! Little Timmy won't know what hit him as he finds a bucket full of water inside the nicely wrapped box instead of that laser eyes super robot he wanted. Then again, if you were planning on giving him a bucket full of water anyway, this project is a great way to hit two birds with one stone!

Snow Globes

If you can make out that image, what you see is someone making their own snow globe out of an old jar. Pretty cool, and a good way to get rid of all those mini city models you have piling up.

Design Formula has some handy tips and inspiration for anyone looking to do a wall collage - and let's face it - most of you have at least one wall in your home in need of sprucing up. Of course, ultimately you can do anything your little heart desires, but following some of these guidelines will help you get started. Here at DIY:happy HQ we have a stair collage made up of the absolute WORST pictures we can find from our local thrift stores. Glamour Shots FTW!

This gentleman made a moving-jaw skull for hanging on a wall. It's pretty unique, cheaper than buying one at a store, and it opens the door to all kinds of Halloween ideas! Since the directions aren't directions specifically - more like a general how-to - we'll post this under Reference. If anyone wants to post more detailed directions with measurements or anything, feel free (and/or spooky)!

Alright folks, the moment all you graphic designers, dabblers, photoshophiles, and avatar-makers have been waiting for!

DIY:happy does not have a logo. Some folks think we do (the little TV-looking thing), but we don't. However, we'd like one! We'd even be willing to throw in some incentives, because we're nice and fabulous like that.

Here are the regulations (not rules, for all the Libertarians):

1. The logo has to be a good size. Nothing too small... it has to be made in all kinds of sizes, and we wouldn't want to distort your masterpiece by resizing it, right?

2. It has to be a-okay for us to print it!

3. We'd rather not having anything offensive, mean, rude, terrible, or violence-insighting. 

4. Those things said, anything goes.

 DIY:happy loves you. So, whomever wins the contest will win:

• A $20 GIFT CERTIFICATE, care of the wonderful LadyAda. Good for anything in her online store (linked here), which is a cornucopia of DIY electronics kits, components, and all kinds of fun stuff for hobbyists, electronic engineers, and weekend DIY fans!
• Buttons with the logo YOU designed on them! Good for a resume, especially for designers!
• Every button you sell will have your signature at the bottom, so you don't have to convince anyone. Just point at your sig.
• You'll get three free buttons, as a sample of your work!

The suspense is over, let the games begin!

SUBMIT TO: Kristi@diyhappy.com or TIPS@diyhappy.com!

Projected End Date: September 13th at 11:59 PM (CST).

 UPDATE: 14 SUBMISSIONS AS OF 10:00PM, 08-11-07.

This is a very helpful post for anyone who's always wondered how to take things apart and make new things out of it. If you open up electronics, they generally look pretty similar, but this site allows you to figure out the proverbial melting pot of electronic components. Yay, now you can tell a resistor from a capacitor! Life's complete.

Alright kids, it's time to go get your favorite cool-tasty beverage from 7-Eleven. That's right, Slurpees are FREE today. Why, you ask? Because it's 7/11 of course! The Slurpees are small, at just 7.11 ounces, but whose complaining - it's free, right? Start at the north end of town and hit every 7-Eleven within a 20 mile radius. But get down there quick, because the deal ends at 11pm (of course).

(Your local 7-Eleven may not be participating)

Though this post is considered an instructable (by virtue of the fact that it's posted to the instructables site) but it's more of an open-ended guide for dealing with and purchasing polymorphic plastic, which is a plastic that can be melted at a considerably lower temperature than boiling water.

Oh, consider the possibilities! Toys, holders, ZOO ANIMALS! Endless.

This book is something that most of our readers could get into.

Book features include:

• Written in a simple down-to-Earth style that’s easy to understand and won’t overwhelm the reader. Very little technical mumble-jumble (and any mumble-jumble that sneaks in is thoroughly explained)
• Includes complete instructions for 8 different projects (2 versions of each of the 4 systems), plus general-purpose information on hacking the consoles that can be used to create custom projects of your own design.
• Hand-built projects are designed to use basic, common tools such as soldering irons, screwdrivers and X-Acto knives. Advanced projects use CNC machinery as well. The book covers both types so there’s projects for everyone.
• Drawings and practical photographs of the all wiring you’ll have to do - no schematic reading skills required!

As they say in Total Recall, "get your ass to Mars!" Buy it. Give it as a gift. Use it. Hack crap. High five.

This is an inspirational site that doesn't necessarily have to be brought up for the craziest usage of a bottle cork, including a recliner (which makes you wonder why winos go unfurnished in the streets) and a car. It can go to show that using non-traditional decorations in our spaces can be impressive as hell, which I'm sure we all know to an extent, but this serves as a reminder to keep DIY with you always. Like herpes, but not so gross. Food for thought!

[NOTE!] The cork/CD coaster combo is awesome. And easy to make.

If you've ever had a really late night, full of insomnia and crappy television, you've seen informercials about natural remedies, common cures, and things THEY don't want you to know (it's always THEY, isn't it?). Kevin Trudeau, Calcium salts, homeopathic remedies, ayurvedic remedies, YOGA, all kinds of buzzwords and glossary-needing situations. If you don't have medical insurance and you have a big splinter - cut some banana peel and stick it on the affected area, tape it and call us in the morning. No, don't, but you get the idea. There are a whole pack of wild remedy websites, and we're always here for ya, babe. It's all about figuring out what works for you, and what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? Or sicker. Whichever.

Home Remedies:

Herbal and kitchen home remedy site, A-Z index, and causes of ailments under each category. Seems like "oil of clove" is the all-purpose panacea. Maybe we should invest.

Granny remedies, this is an extremely hilarious site. I can have frighteningly smelly armpits (hey, I'm a mother of an infant, I don't have time to slather myself with lavish deodorants, only DIY projects and raising child!), and I read from this site that rubbing potatoes on the stench will make them smell good. Wow. That seems like adding fuel to the fire. Potatoes and B.O. = Axe? I think not.

Homemade medicine, does not list pot as a treatment for glaucoma. Makes you automatically suspicious, doesn't it?    

Common Terms, defined:

Homeopathy - Treatments developed by the process of "like treating like" to 'cure' or lessen the wrath of an illness/malady. If you eat raw belladonna, you'll get a migraine and probably a rash, but administered in tiny doses, it can treat those symptoms. I don't know what universe uses that logic system, but Homeopathy reigns there.

Avurveda - Ancient Indian health care. Involves healthy living, various therapies, and panchakarma (which is basically five treatments for broad ailments), which are then separated by the type of person you are, and broken into various methods of treatment. Since regulation of Ayurvedic medicine is common here in the US, generally it's limited to herbal supplements, massages with oils, incense and all that jazz. Nothing fatal, damn! Use this site to figure out whether you're a pitta or a vata. Or maybe you fancy yourself a kapha.

Holistic Medicine - Combination of treatments based on the idea that everything which is microcosmic, relates to, but doesn't completely sum up a whole. Very alternative, and groovy man. Usually involves acupuncture, ayurveda, Siddha, chiropractic, naturopathy, yoga, aromatherapy, homeopathy, massage, Tai Chi, Chinese herbology, medicinal herbs, and Prolotherapy. New agey.

These are just a few references that can interest you in DIY alternative medicine, if needles and prescriptions aren't your thing. Not to mention insurance, copays, specialist fees, premiums, it's messy business folks!

{NOTE!}  You should consult a professional before getting yourself into something, but there are resources to do that for free on the web, so look into that if you're intent on going completely DIY on this one. We don't advocate anything but safety and knowledge in practicing DIY living, so use your brains! According to the FDA, nothing cures anything, so approach any of these sites with caution and a fat bag of "Fair Use" clauses in mind.