This is a cute way to reduce Paper Towel Use: use a snapping paper towel set instead. Shaped like a roll of paper towels, each sheet snaps together, like so:

You get 12 towels in a roll. They are machine washable and will sit in a paper towel holder.

But for $52 a roll, you’d better be using a lot of paper towels to make this save you money. Actually, I find that overpriced for glorified kitchen rags, but I love the idea.

Why look, here’s a tutorial to make one for yourself. And another. And another.

This Comic Shelf is so cool.

The other day, I was in a mall. I hadn’t been in a mall for over two years! I hadn’t realized how much shopping has fallen away for me.

Anyway, I went into a fancy children’s store and they had Hand-Cut Children’s Silhouette Art for $159. Here they are:

They were cute, but I thought, I could make that.

Well, I guess I wasn’t the only person who thought of making children’s silhouettes, because Lindy at Cottage Hill did that very thing using her own children’s profiles–and what’s more she shares how to do it on her blog.

It looks like she first took a picture of her children against a light wall, enhanced the drawings, and cut them out of black paper. Then she put them against gray-blue fabric and framed them.

I think they look pretty great. And they cost a lot less than $159.

I can see why I don’t need the mall any more.

I use a magnetic strip to hold my kitchen knives and I love it. It keeps them out of the way and yet within easy reach. But there’s no reason this useful gadget has to be relegated to knives. Here are four other ways to use a magnetic strip:

Attach it to the bottom of a counter and use it to store spices.

Put in the medicine cabinet and use to store bobby pins.

Use it to store metal bobbins for sewing.

Use it to display a collection, like these antique metal knives.

[Image]

Last year I suggested making Cheesy Mushroom Pull Apart Bread for the Super Bowl. This year, I say go with the Mac and Cheese Cups.

The idea is simple, but brilliant. Make your macaroni and cheese–I have a good recipe–and scoop into muffin tins. Then just cook at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. You end up with little “cupcakes” of macaroni and cheese that are bound to be a hit.

This tutorial on how to make a Mountain Pillow is neat. I’m a fan of making surprising pillows, especially ones you make yourself.

If you have to wear a skinsuit while riding a bicycle (and some of us wish you wouldn’t), this Pee-Wee Inspired Skinsuit is clearly the way to go.

It’s inspired by Pee-Wee Herman riding his bike in Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure:

[Boing Boing]

Here’s a great idea to stow away for springtime: Build A Bean Teepee for the kids.

What an awesome–and useful–fort.

The idea is to tie poles together in a teepee shape and then grow beans up the side of each pole. By mid-summer it should be covered with beans.

Here’s a more detailed tutorial on how to make a bean teepee.

This would look especially awesome with red beans, like these.

Anything that makes knitting easier to store is okay in my book. Here are three DIY knitting organization ideas:

Turn an old sweater into a knitting basket.

The yarn sack: a zippered pouch with a hole on the front to thread the yarn through. Keep all the yarn together and don’t worry about it unravelling.

A yarn basket with an insert that holds both the knitting needles and the yarn.

I’ve got some tin cans around. Here are 5 things I could do with them:

Make a lamp shade.

Use it as a biscuit cutter.

Soap dispenser.

Turn it into a drum using a balloon for the top.

Make a wine rack.

How do you reuse tin cans?