DIY Life

These days, it's easier than ever to accumulate great art prints, but where to hang them all? And do you really want to pay to have them framed? If they're an odd size or shape, it could become expensive.

Yesterday, an easy solution was posted at Apartment Therapy Chicago. Salvage, thrift, or purchase a plain board at least a few inches bigger all around than your artwork, and stain it, if necessary. Then nail two Boston Bulldog Clips to the board -- they're sometimes just called Bulldog Clips, and are available at most art supply stores. Put your print in the clips, hang it on the wall, and you're all set!

If this isn't your style, you can always try using a nicer board, cut to your specified dimensions and painted a neutral color like black, or a color that coordinates with the art, matte or glossy. You could even consider spray-painting the Bulldog clips with some kind of finish, like metallic black model enamel.

When you're done, you'll have a funky custom display solution, like a giant clipboard that allows you to change your art out on a rotating basis. Pretty cool, huh?

Who doesn't like free? Especially when it comes to cameras. Yup, you read me right! If you have unused film laying around and some extra time on your hands this rainy weekend, you can print yourself some free camera paper designs.

Corbis has come out with a line of free printable pinhole cameras, designed by various talented illustrators, and all you need to do is choose your desired design, download and print out the design, and take some time to build the camera via the easily understood directions.

Using a cereal box and a film canister to make your pinhole camera is a great way to recycle each item. Plus, if you accidentally break your digital or need a project for the kids to complete, this would be an easy way to introduce them (or anyone) to photography, and teach them what makes a camera tick, er ... click.

[via:Photojojo]

Have you signed up for a flickr account yet? It's such a great tool. Not only is it a great way to share photos online, it's also a good method for backing up the photos you keep on your hard drive. And now, flickr.com has teamed up with other online vendors to offer some really cool tools.

When you sign in to your flickr account you'll see a section entitled "Do More With Your Photos." You can click over to other sites that will use your flickr photos to create books, frame photos, design calling cards, and more. HP is one of vendors available. Among other great options, they have this simple photo cube. Best of all, it's free!

Check out the gallery for step by step instructions.

When I spied the title "Guard your Laptop with Electric Rings of Death!," well, I had to check it out. And what did I find? Awesome pics of what looks like a bright electric force field circling a laptop! What is this? A DIY electric fence to keep unauthorized sticky fingers off your keyboard? Is it for real? Well, turns out this project is simultaneously very geeky and very cool.

Okay, so it's not a real force field. No, it will not zap your roommate for attempting to access your passwords file. However, creator TeslaDownUnder, says that, yes, the photos are for real and not Photoshopped. It's all done, he says, using a gadget involving rotating electrodes, which was then photographed in a dark room on a long exposure. Voila! Instant force field. Nope, it won't harm a fly. But it looks cool!

Tattoos are fun and a beautiful artistic way to express yourself. I believe it gives other people an image of who we really are as individuals. While I dearly love my two tattoos, I didn't appreciate the pain that I had to endure to be marked for life.

If you love tattoos and want to forgo the pain of the needle, you can make your own temporary tattoos and print them out on your inkjet printer. Crafty Computer Paper has step by step instructions for you to follow, or you can download their instruction sheets. Their temporary tattoos are water based and non toxic, making them friendly for all skin types.

The company recommends that you try a very small practice tattoo on kids before applying a larger one to make sure that their skin doesn't negatively react to the ink. To remove the temporary tattoos ,just scrub the tattooed area with hot soapy water, or if you want to strut your stuff, the tattoos can be left on your skin for up to a week.

Are you as tired as I am of modern easter egg decorating? No, I mean coloring them is still cool; the thing I don't get is putting stickers on them and calling it creative. Huh? That's just wrong. Plus, the sticker is probably made in China, and who knows what's in that adhesive? Lead? Anti-freeze?

Anyhow, I got this great tip from Kodak tips and projects. The kiddos can still get their sticker fix -- and be creative and process-oriented at the same time. Hey, that's three birds with one stone! For this decorating project, you'll need:

• Eggs (of course!)
• Paint brush
• Decoupage glue
• Regular printer paper (not photo)
• Photos (Let your child get creative here)
• Scissors
  

Let's get started!

1. Let your child go wild with the digital camera.
2. Print the pictures on printer paper.
3. Center the egg on the photo.
4. Trace around (rather, a-oval) it and cut it out.
5. Make snips around the edges so it will conform to the shape of the egg.
6. Brush glue onto the egg and smooth the photo onto it.
7. Apply a thin protective coat of glue over the photo.
8. Get pumped up to go a-huntin'!

These photo pencil covers are a creative way to spice up regular pencils, personalizing them with your own photos.

You can use one picture so that each pencil has a piece, coming together to reveal the whole image. you can also do separate images for each pencil, try pictures of lemon for your yellow pencil crayon, grass for the green and lavender flowers for the purple. There are no rules here. A set of photo pencils would make a great gift for your artist pal, or a fun back-to-school project.

You'll want to use regular paper as opposed to photo paper. Basically, you mark out and cut the photo strips, cover the back with glue, and wrap it around the pencil. Secure the edge with matte scotch tape, and you're ready to more on to the next pencil in your series. You'll find the full tutorial and other creative ideas at Photojojo!

I would be lost without my camera. I have hundreds of pictures of my daughters, and love to look at them every once in a while to see how they have grown. I wish I could be able to take my camera with me on rainy or snowy days, but I am so afraid of water damage, I miss special moments that should have been caught on camera.

Thanks to a wonderful tutorial from Tim, who shows us how to make our own waterproof camera enclosure, water damage to our precious camera can be a thing of the past. All that is needed to make the bag enclosure is a piece of clear urethane, an iron and a piece of aluminum foil. To make the internal camera bracket, you'll need a 1/2 inch piece of polypropylene plastic. You'll also need a piece of plastic to make the outside bezel, a piece of glass to make the window, and a gasket to make a tight seal.

Reading the comments on Lifehacker and Make has me wondering if a person might just be better off using condoms for waterproofing a digital camera. I think maybe I'll stick to the safe bet right now, and not use my camera in the rain, underwater, or the snow.