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Spacy bed

Just imagine, at the push of a button you can turn one room into another: Simply transform your bedroom into your livingroom. If you live in a very small apartment this might be the solution you are looking for. A bed that you can hide in the ceiling when it’s not in use. http://www.liftbed.com/  

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Avery Labels = Magnetic Poetry Words

Grab a sheet of Avery Labels, one of those thin magnetic calendars you received in the mail over the holidays–generally from a mortgage company or a realtor–and make your own magnetic words. For my Curbly-themed terms, I used Avery return address labels, #5267. I formatted them using Times New Roman, size 19 font, and aligned […]

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How to Mix Your Own Pottery-Barn-Bronze-Colored Paint

If you’ve ever gone into a craft store looking for antique bronze-colored paint, like the antique bronze in a Pottery Barn catalog, you won’t find it. The bronze craft stores do have looks more like bronzed baby booties bronze. Not my favorite look. So, I did some experimenting and came up with a ‘recipe’ that produces a […]

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Hide the Trash Can

I bought all the kitchen cabinets for the house I just finished a few years ago and basically forgot the exact layout.  I sat in the kitchen for some time and treated it like a logic puzzle, the sink and stove were roughed in so they served as reference points and from there I could […]

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Wheelbarrow, bucket, or mixer: how to mix up a batch of concrete

You don’t really need an industrial mixer like this one to mix up a batch of concrete. Or mortar. Or tile grout. When it comes to mixing any cement-like material, the process is essentially the same. If you’d like the thrill of renting a big mixer, I don’t blame you. They’re bad ass. But there […]

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Formica kitchen cupboards painted over.

I’ve hated my formica kitchen cupboards for a few years now and i’ve finally changed them this past year,here how I did it: Before pic: Step 1. Get this special kind of Primer called “UMA” for hard to paint over surfaces. Step 2. Wash your cabients, especially if they are greasy. Unhook all hard to […]

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Wrapping Paper and Bow Conservation

Running out of wrapping paper and bows and need more FAST? I saw this on Martha yesterday and put the Curbly spin to it. Supplies Newspaper What little wrapping paper you have left Scissors Tape Martha’s Wrap Wrap your present in newsprint. I like the stock quotes as they make a nice, uniform background. Cut […]

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How to Make a Pillowcase Envelope from a Greeting Card

This is a great and easy way to recycle greeting cards (Christmas or otherwise) into gift card holders or small gift boxes. The Supplies: Greeting cards Scissors Pencil Straight edge blade Glue Ruler The Procedure: 1. Print out figure below as template, adjusting size to 7 ½” by 6 ½” to fit standard gift card, […]

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Discover your inner plumber: how to solder copper pipe

If you’re thinking about doing the water lines in your home remodel, you’ll first need to learn how to work with copper. Copper pipe skills really begin with being able to solder a viable joint, one that is relatively clean and doesn’t leak. Here is how to do just that. To work with copper you’ll need the right tools. […]

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Word Wrapping Paper

Are you stuck at work just before the holidays? Do you have a lot of small gifts to wrap? Do you have MSWORD on your computer? Got a printer? That’s all you need to make cool graphic wrapping paper!!!   Step 1:  Choose some clip art, in this case, snowflakes. Choose ‘Insert’, then ‘Picture’, then ‘Clipart’. Search […]

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Star Light Star Bright, Let’s Fold a Paper Star Tonight

I found instructions for these beautiful folded paper stars in an old magazine called The Workbasket. Not only were the directions indecipherable, the picture illustrations were misidentified. Although your first attempt might be a challenge, it’ll be worth it as the final product will impress your friends and family. Use them to decorate your trees […]

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Bathroom sink is clogged again? Replace that p-trap!

Standing by in frustration to watch the water in a clogged bathroom sink drain will not make it go any faster. There is a clog, and it needs to be dealt with. But before you make that call to enrich your local plumber, try replacing the p-trap under the sink yourself. Most likely the clog is there, and when you […]

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Countertop Greenhouse

    It all started when I decided to get my mother a herb garden for Christmas.  I had a vague memory of a countertop greenhouse I saw at an Ikea store about 5 years ago.  It was made of thin wood and thin plastic.  I decided that a plain old herb garden starter kit […]

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Hanging Bookshelf

See: http://www.curbly.com/martha/posts/259-bookshelves-with-cable It got me to thinking about how to build a bookshelf with my poor carpentry skills.   Mostly this consists of hardware store parts. Total $42-45   Just measure out your studs (or borrow a stud finder) mine ended up about 4ft apart, or 3 stud spaces. just right for my 5ft shelves. […]

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Deco vs. -n-Crafts: How to tell apart your Arts

Art Deco and the Arts and Crafts movement were quite popular during the early part of the 20th century, with the Arts and Crafts movement lasting from approximately 1890 to 1915, and the Art Deco movement taking the stage from 1910 to 1939. Both aesthetics are quite relevant to today’s design sensiblity, but you don’t […]

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Ivy – A Coat Rack for People Who Hate Coat Racks

This innovative coat hanging system caught my attention: totally organic and self-assembled, and looks way better than those bras-plated things you get at the hardware store. It’s for sale at the Cooper Hewitt Museum Shop (although apparently not yet on their online store).  

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Cheap Christmas Decorating: Gift Wrapped Door

Although we don’t see it often up in the northland–probably because of the snowstorms and such–I’ve heard down south it’s quite popular to gift wrap your front door for the holidays. A novice at door-wrapping, I consulted the experts. Here’s a blow by blow to get the job done. Supplies Needed The same stuff you’d use to […]

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