How to Make a Folded-Paper CD Case

Instead of paying good cash for cd cases, which eventually break and end up in a landfill, how about creating your own, unique folded-paper cd cases that are biodegradable and take up a fraction of the space?

The Props:

8 ½" by 11" paper

a cd

a computer (optional)

labels (optional)

The Procedure:

1. Center a cd, which you’ll be using as a guide, at the top of a sheet of paper, as shown.

2. Fold in sides of paper to sides of cd.

January 08, 2007

17 comments  |  318048 views

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How To Make An Upside Down Tomato Planter

Have you heard the buzz about these upside down (inverted) tomatoes? You can buy pricey containers and plastic bags in an effort to try this inverted growing technique, but here’s a really inexpensive and, I think, more attractive method than the other DIY how-to’s I’ve seen.

First, find yourself a large (I used a 12") plastic hanging planter and a tomato plant. I chose a smaller fruit producing variety. Tomato Chello, specifically.

Us » READ MORE

May 18, 2007

37 comments  |  171098 views

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25 Alternative Uses for Olive Oil.

Nutritionists will continue to tout olive oil for its high content of healthful, monounsaturated fats, like oleic acid, and polyphenols. The fruit oil practically propelled the entire Western world in antiquity, and is mentioned in nearly every sacred text this side of the Tigris and Euphrates. As a cooking fat, it’s high up on the heart-smart  list…which works out, ‘cause it tastes darn good. 

June 13, 2007

17 comments  |  137481 views

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Top 10 Uses For Used Coffee Grounds

10. Deodorizer. Dry them out on a cookie sheet and then put them in a bowl in your refrigerator or freezer, or rub them on your hands to get rid of food prep smells.

9. Plant food. Plants such as rosebushes, azaleas, rhododendrons, evergreen and camellias that prefer acidic soils will appreciate the leftovers from your morning cup. Also, grounds can add nutrients to your compost bin.

8. Insect repellant. Sprinkle old grounds around places you don » READ MORE

June 22, 2007

19 comments  |  136777 views

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How to Fold a Paper Rose

Make twelve of these roses for your Valentine and you'll know what it's like to suffer for love. If the instructions on Wikihow leave you scratching your head, try Bloom4Ever's tutorial. And if that doesn't work, check out the video of a very nimble-fingered fellow below.

And if, or when, you decide to give up, go to Bloom4Ever's home page where you can order bouquets of paper roses for your honey.

January 24, 2007

10 comments  |  115388 views

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DIY Shrinky Dinks.

My parents are both science teachers: which means they always ruined the secrets to magic tricks, they forced me to identify every tree by leaf and bark type, and we always created our own versions of ‘science-y’ toys. We used to cook our Easy-Bake Oven meals with foil and a light bulb, and created our own slime with cornstarch and food coloring.

    And, when we wanted our own shrinkable art, did we get the sweet pre-printed HeMan or Strawber » READ MORE

August 08, 2007

32 comments  |  114518 views

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Easy Photo Wall on a Shoestring...er wire Budget

A couple years ago I attended a play at The Theater in the Round in Minneapolis (really bad site) and in the lobby they had this cool system for hanging cast bios and other info that consisted of wire, pulled taut across a span, in this case from floor to ceiling, with small hardware holding some photos and glass in place.

I inspected it and it seemed like something I could do at home.  So next time I was at the hardware store I picked up some ver » READ MORE

November 15, 2006

20 comments  |  108221 views

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Fusing Plastic Bags: A Tutorial from Etsy Lab

Are your plastic bags all dressed up with nowhere to go? Fear not, Etsy Lab teaches us the latest DIY trend:

What you'll need

Plastic bags (thin, flimsy ones work best)

Parchment paper, freezer paper or plain old copier paper

Iron (and your favorite ironing surface)



Making it



Flatten out the bag and trim the bottom seam and handles off. This allows the bag to be opened up into a larger rectangle of plastic.



Turn the bag inside-out if it has printing on » READ MORE

September 18, 2007

15 comments  |  86720 views

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How to Antique Paper

I saw Martha "antique" paper a few years ago, and although I don’t remember her technique, I do remember that it was complicated. I played around with the general idea, though, and came up with an easy way to get the same aged look.

A piece of paper you want to age. (I used regular 24lb laser paper. Of course, print your poem, passage of writing, and etc. to the page before you attempt to antique it.)

1/4 cup of hot, black coffee. (A » READ MORE

February 02, 2007

20 comments  |  74287 views

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Clean like a maid!

Let's talk about cleaning. Cleaning is a drag. I hear there are people out there that actually like to clean, but I am not one of them, even though I used to work as a housecleaner. The good thing about having that job is, I learned to clean very quickly and efficiently. Now, I pass that knowledge along to you, Curbly readers!

The mantra of the company I worked for was top to bottom, left to right.  This way you could easily walk into any room a » READ MORE

February 21, 2007

22 comments  |  73172 views

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