Man Made DIY

This year, I've watched a total of twenty-one Christmas movies and Christmas specials. So far. There are still three essentials to come in the next few days.

I don't normally watch that much TV in three months, but there's something about seasonal specials that turns me into a couch potato, with a candy cane in my mouth, festively lit by my spinning light wheel.

I guess like I feel it's okay, cause I presume everybody does it. 

So, I'm hoping you'll prove me right, and I wanna give you something to say thanks. So, between right now and 11:59pm on December 25th, 2010, just tell us your favorite Christmas movie or television special, and you'll be entered to win one of five free copies of one our publications, Make It! Hardware Store Decor.  … read more

Over the past few months, I've been working on co-authoring the third installment of the Make It! Series, Make It! Hardware Store Decor. It features twelve, very ManMade-ish projects that show you how to create furniture and home decor pieces using only items from your local, big-box home improvement center.

Here's a peek at some of the projects:

To celebrate, we're giving away five free PDF copies! To enter, simply leave a comment in the section below. You could show us something you've created with home center supplies, tell us a favorite hardware store story, let us know why you'd love to win this prize, or simply say "Hi t… read more

Hello, ManMade land! Last week, I mentioned I'd participated in a new publication,Make It! Secondhand Chic. I also mentioned that this week, we'd be doing the first of what I hope to be many ManMade giveaways, in which we'd give away five FREE PDF-versions, and so here we are!

To be entered, all you have to do is say hi in the comments below, making sure you enter a valid email address, so we can let you know if you win! And you can increase your chances by sharing the goodness on Facebook or Twitter. Just use the easy buttons below!

Below are the intro pages to two of the five projects I wrote and and photo'd. It's all about repurposing and reviving thrift-store and flea market pieces to make 'em fresh again, and I must admit, it's pretty cool.

   … read more

So, over the last few months, I've been co-authoring the second publication in the Make it! series from the Curbly Library (I was also a part of the first, Make It! Mid-Century Modern).

It's called Make It! Secondhand Chic, and it's all about repurposing and reviving thrift-store and flea market pieces and make 'em fresh again. I authored five of the fourteen how-to projects, which are organized by rooms, so you'll find budget-friendly makeover projects for every space in your home.

It's available as of this morning, in both download-able PDF form and in print. Next week, we'll do a ManMade Giveaway, offering five free copies, so be sure… read more

So, just before the end of 2009, I had the pleasure of collaborating on a publication with the writing team at Curbly.com. The outcome is Make It! Mid-Century Modern: a how-to manual for creating items that echo the era of Mid-Century Modernism, a design movement from the mid 1940s- 1960s that took advantage of changes in processes and manufacturing after World War II. One of the reasons this book is unique is that most of these pieces are decidedly difficult to make by hand, in that they use factory techniques like bent plywood, fiberglass molding, and the like. The book includes material and tool lists, and step-by-step photos, that attem… read more