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DIY Maven

(Featured Writer)
 
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11/07/06
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Self-proclaimed Maven of DIY, I'm up for anything from gonzo rehab to dressing a room.

Although I'm a writer by education and profession (MFA Hamline University, BA University of Minnesota), I have a not-so-secret DIY addiction. I love perusing the latest catalogs (PB, C&B, etc.) and art fairs, where I try to find items I can recreate for a fraction of the cost. The three R's--Reusing, Repurposing & Recycling--make me a little giddy.

When I'm not writing for Curbly, I write fiction under the name J. Michlitsch. For examples of such, check out the Sept/Oct 06 issue of Futures Mystery Anthology Magazine and the June 07 issue of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. You might want to check out my blog on Uncooped, where I persue another passion of mine as 'campergirl'.


Blog

12 Quick Around-the-House Fixes

By DIY Maven 1-squeaky-floors

Sometimes we're so busy around the house with the big stuff that we disregard the little stuff. Follow This Old House’s advice to fix the latter to bring harmony home. Take the Squeak out of Squeaky Floors and Stairs Unclog a powder room sink. Clean your stainless and keep it spotless. Hide scratches in woodwork. Tighten a loose set screw. Mask a musty smell (via your furnace!). Tighten loose chair legs. Tighten a drafty window. Quiet a bathroom fan. Steady a loose toilet. Pop a wallpaper bubble. Reattach loose laminate countertops. »MORE

July 03, 2008
Viewed 137 times
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Quick and easy hardware updates!

By DIY Maven Wb307-hardware01

This month's Workbench Magazine has a nice tutorial on how to refinish hardware. BUT you don't have to buy the mag to get the details. Just head on over to this Workbench page and then click on the 'online extras' that appears to the left of the article. Of particular interest is the process of making shiny brass hardware look bronze with brass aging solution. »MORE

July 03, 2008
Viewed 52 times
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Rss_blue Comments

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divaTV

July 01, 2008

Don't tell me the grass isn't greener on the other side...

Suze Orman lives in South Beach with her gf.

Long awaited Maven interview questions:

how many kids do you have, what's your zodiac sign?

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divaTV

July 01, 2008

A fiend of mine moved from CO to SC, she loves her home and her job and her new bf, in the Greenville area... but 365 days a year, she has to take tylenol... she never did in CO...

IN, VA, NC, SC, KY, OH, WV, are all the top migraine allergy hot spots... and allergies are also bad in FL...

But it's so cheap and tasy there... best air quality... worst allergens...

I don't know if I'll suffer or not. It's Russian Roulette... Great home, horribles migraines? ee

Am I answering my questions for myself? Maybe, wow, just watch me move to NC, and write you saying, HEY I'm having horrible allergies, I'm an idiot, why didn't you warn me? hahahaha

Flagstaff is a little bigger and still close to Sedona and Prescott. The the microstock sites, I met a photographer, who ended up with an autoimmune disorder, called, hypo-eosenophil. He is allergic to mold, and tons of foods. He was on his death bed 2 years ago. And his doctor said, try dry land... He explored, CO, NM, So Cal, and AZ... he made his home for life in Prescott and he is 98% healed.. Precott is about 1 hour from Sedona. So there is a lot of truth to it being a healing place...

Dry or Humid is my big issue now!

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divaTV

June 27, 2008

when you have time, My favorite writer Maven, visit my food story, missbelle.com

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divaTV

June 27, 2008

eventually, I'll figure it out. I'll look into your idea. Maybe I need to look into better parts in CO...

maybe I need to adjust my attitude. it might take another 32 years... I'll figure it out eventually.

 

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divaTV

June 26, 2008

Thanks Maven!!! I researched Sedona with a 600mm lens. 10 rich plastic-surgeried psychic-obsessed women for every man. I would spend my life at Whole Foods, spending a fortune on wheat grass shots, and being bamboozled for free psychic predictions by psychic-friendly man-hungry native Sedona vegans.

I love CO too. Nice and arid extra dry. Do a search on the Boulder Pearl St downtown mall strip club. lol. Boulder, seems like a breeding ground for perverts doesn't it? And a boulder is expected to drop on Boulder one of these days...

Denver suburbs are great. I liked what I found too. I've been there a ton of times, it feels good there to me too. 

 

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divaTV

June 10, 2008

Hi Maven, I hope you're ok during the storm. It's nice and rainy and gloomy here, which is so weird for me, being from California. But I just heard horrible things about Minneapolis on the news. Is it ok? Do you have a basement to hide in?

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berryberr

March 11, 2008
Thanks for adding me as your friend!;P
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ModHomeEcTeacher

February 22, 2008

Maven,

I sent an upholstery project to another blog which posted it last evening.  Is there a time lapse that I should adhere to before I post it here or send it on?

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Runeshai

February 22, 2008
Thanks for the comment!  Glad you liked my personal description, heh.  I never got much into Star Trek or TNG, probably because I never watched much of it, but I kind of feel now like it's the kind of thing where there are so many spin-offs, I'm not sure what I should watch and don't want to be poinsoned by the wrong thing (like The Crow series, or the newer Star Wars movies).  I also just watch less TV than movies, so that's another reason.  Thanks for accepting though!
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Chrisjob

January 31, 2008

Thanks for your thoughts. Janomes is apparently a Japanese company (Ja-NO-me means "eye of the snake" which kinda creeps me out). I have no idea where they're made...but I'll ask when I test drive them. There are 4 Janome dealers that are within 15 miles of my house, so I'll make a visit when the next mail from Bruno comes.

I never visited a sewing shop...I bought my first one at Jo-Ann's. Is as stressful as car shopping? Bermina's scare me, plus when I went to the Bermina shop near me (like 4 blocks away) to ask a few questions, they were really mean and condescending because I didn't already have them. 

I'm not worried about spending $1000, but I'm currently messing with 3 machines, and all the different bobbins are driving me crazy, and I just want one machine that works and that I won't outgrow. I'm not gonna use it everyday, but when I do, I want it to work. I'm sure I don't need Porter-Cable tools, because I only run them a few hours a month, but when I use them, they work perfectly. Same idea...I'm sure you understand. 

I'm still digging on the Decor Excel model: I like that it comes with all the feet for overcasting and overstretching (should I be impressed by that?). I read somewhere that a walking foot is really helpful for home decor projects and thicker fabric: the manual doesn't use that language...I guess I don't really know what that is. I did figure out was feed dogs were...kinda like bench dogs, right? Kinda...

Best,

Chris