Tag: diy

Hidden Database Gems: Chilton Auto Repair

- Callen Leave a comment

Once upon a time, there were big fat books in the library with CHILTON written on the side. You could come into the library and use these books to find any information you might need about repairing or maintaining your vehicle. Sadly, due to changes in publishing and library budgets, not many of these books are still on library shelves. But never fear, that information is not gone, it’s just moved online!

Your library card gets you free access to the Chilton Auto Repair database where all that repair and maintenance information is recorded and easily accessible. Here’s how it works: first, from our website, look under Research Tools and click on Online Resources.

Scroll down this list to the “C”s, and click on Chilton Auto Repair. You may be asked to enter your library card number. Once you’ve logged in, the homepage will look like this:

Select your vehicle by year, make, and model and click Select. Then choose what category of information you’re looking for: Repair, Maintenance, Labor Estimating, or Bulletins/Recalls. From here, you can continue to narrow down the categories until you find the information you’re looking for.

This database is very useful because it includes not only downloadable and printable diagrams but also step-by-step repair procedures, a labor estimating tool, and ASE test prep quizzes for popular certification exams. If you’re looking for robust vehicle repair and maintenance information, I definitely recommend you check out this database!

Homemakers by Brit Morin

- Ann Leave a comment

homemakersThe rules of homemaking have radically changed. Today’s generation is digitally connected 24/7 and often more focused on climbing the career ladder at the office than the stepladder at home. But the home “maker” evolution has just begun.

Thanks to advances in technology, tomorrow’s men and women will find themselves using new gadgets and apps to cook, clean, decorate, and even manufacture everything from decor to clothing, from right inside their homes. In Homemakers, Brit Morin, founder of the wildly popular lifestyle brand, app, and website Brit + Co, reimagines homemaking for the twenty-first century, making it as simple as possible to go from amateur to pro with easy charts, tips, recipes, DIY projects, and tech shortcuts.

Simple, beautiful, and stylish, Homemakers offers the digital generation a wealth of innovative ideas and how-tos for a more creative life. (description from publisher)

Materially Crafted by Victoria Hudgins

- Ann Leave a comment

materially craftedDesign enthusiasts are bombarded with beautiful inspiration at every turn, but many lack the foundation necessary to re-create their dream projects. Materially Crafted is a must-have guide for design mavens seeking to develop their DIY chops, even if they’re embracing their crafty side for the first time.

Victoria Hudgins, creator of the popular design blog A Subtle Revelry , uncovers the best and least intimidating ways to work with the most popular crafting materials–from spray paint and concrete to thread, wax, and paper–and presents more than 30 easy projects to get everyone started. Peppered with Hudgins’s tips for “merrymaking the everyday” (using simple DIY ideas to live life more joyfully) plus inspirational photos of projects created by other prominent bloggers, Materially Crafted is an indispensable guide for a new generation of design enthusiasts looking to DIY their own distinctive style. (description from publisher)

Guerilla Furniture Design by Will Holman

- Ann Leave a comment

guerilla furniture designGuerilla Furniture Design is an innovative collection that features 35 simple, inexpensive projects that you can make from salvaged and upcycled materials — cardboard, metal, plastic, and wood.

The projects include tables, shelving units, chairs, lamps, and more, in a variety of styles. Many are stackable and easily portable, most can be made in a weekend, and all include instructions for disassembly and disposal when you’re ready to repurpose the materials.

If you’d rather make than buy, these low-budget, high-style designs are just what you’re looking for. (description from publisher)

A Beautiful Mess Happy Handmade Home by Elsie Larson and Emma Chapman

- Ann Leave a comment

beautiful mess happy homemadeStep inside the world of Elsie and Emma, the sisters behind the décor blog A Beautiful Mess.  With tiny budgets and a crafty, can-do attitude, they overhauled each room in their first homes with DIY projects using family photos, vibrant fabrics, flea-market finds, and affordable furniture. Now, you can learn how to paint, craft, and decorate your way to a happy, bright space with distinct personality. In the same upbeat spirit and modern style found on their blog, you’ll find fresh, all-new projects including:

• An inspired geometric-pattern coffee table made of balsa wood
• A hand-lettered statement wall featuring your favorite quote
• A quick and easy electrical tape update for your refrigerator
• A set of beautifully designed serving dishes
And more!

Packed with bonus styling tips from hanging the perfect gallery wall to making mismatched furniture work, Happy Handmade Home is design inspiration for personalizing your own space. (description from publisher)

Handmade for the Garden by Susan Guagliumi

- Ann Leave a comment

handmade for the gardenThe DIY craze has moved beyond the craft room and into the garden!

Relying on easy-to-find, inexpensive, and repurposed materials, Handmade for the Garden is a treasure trove of original projects that not only make planting and growing efficient and successful but also add a personal touch to the gardenscape. Among the myriad projects in this hardworking book are mini hothouses; painted, stamped, and stenciled terracotta planters; hypertufa and cement pots and decorations; rustic and formal fencing and trellises; plant markers and stakes; and sieves and baskets.

With Handmade for the Garden to inspire them, gardeners of all skill levels will be empowered to experiment with form and function to discover creative, artful ways to personalize and beautify their gardens with handmade objects. (description from publisher)

Bright Bazaar by Will Taylor

- Ann Leave a comment

bright bazaarDive into a refreshing take on color from one of the world’s leading interiors bloggers, Will Taylor of Bright.Bazaar, West Elm’s “go-to blogger for color inspiration.” What began as a popular blog attracting over 400,000 readers a month is now a gorgeous, color-popping book sure to delight and inspire all.

As one of Pinterest’s top influencers with over 2.4 million followers, people are taking note. Praised by design star Jonathan Adler as “a true talent with a keen eye,” Will guides you through making the most of the cornerstone of your life – where you live. He starts by giving you jumping-off points for considering how to use color. Next, he arms you with the know-how needed to replicate the looks through using ten color cocktails, from soft and delicate pastel hues to bright and bold color statements. Each color scheme begins with Will sharing his personal photographs and the memories that inspired each palette. He then goes on to show how these inspirations can be used in real-life decorating via easy-to-translate examples, complete with color checklists, swatch scrapbooks, illuminating room analyses and nuggets of Will’s color secrets. More than 350 brand new color photographs invite you into homes both big and small across the world.

Bright Bazaar‘s take on color is packed with personality and heart, playful but informative, and brimming with useful decorating ideas to make any home more beautiful. (description from publisher)

Matthew Mead’s Backyard Style

- Ann Leave a comment

matthew meadMatthew Mead applies his trademark approach – deceptively simple, surprisingly affordable, and always stylish DIY – to the great outdoors in Matthew Mead’s Backyard Style.

With step-by-step photos clearly illustrating how easy it is to create a shady nook with sail cloth, or an elegant alfresco dining room with flea market finds, Matthew bring his styling tricks of the trade to readers, showing them how to make their own spaces magazine-worthy. Creative as always, Matthew suggests painting old furniture with chalk paint – what’s more outdoorsy than that? He gives tips on how to throw the perfect fire pit pizza party, as always accompanied by incredible photos, and he’ll walk readers through how to make a charming evening light lantern.

From small projects to large ones, Matthew offers ingenious suggestions on how to optimize anyone’s backyard space, making it both easy and fun, but most of all inspiring. (description from publisher)

Embellish Me by Laurie Wisbrun

- Ann Leave a comment

embellish meIf you’re anything like me, you spend an exorbitant amount of time on Pinterest pinning projects that you’ll never finish (who am I kidding, never even start).  Of course you have all the best intentions to create that mason jar vase or handmade soaps, but last time you created something it should have ended up on Pinterest Fail.  And while many of my own Pinterest mishaps are purely the result of my impatience or inability to follow directions correctly, some are simply because I’m following the directions of another novice that lacks an editor.

Austin-based fabric designer, Laurie Wisbrun‘s book Embellish Me removes that amateur obstacle.    A professional fabric designer, Wisbrun brings expertise to the world of DIY.  As a visual person, I found Wisbrun’s step-by-step photography easy to follow and the directions complete.  The instructions make clear the tools and materials that will be needed for each project, and the interviews with other professional fabric artists were interesting and it was a treat to see their lovely works.

With a mix of instruction, ideas, and artist introductions — this is a book for crafting rookies and experts alike.

Young House Love by Sherry Petersik

- Ann Leave a comment

With design ideas for every style, skill level, and budget, from the beloved couple behind the popular blog younghouselove, Sherry and John Petersik’s new book Young House Love is filled with hundreds of fun, deceptively simple, budget-friendly ideas for sprucing up a home.

With two home renovations under their (tool) belts, 5 million blog hits per month, and an ever-growing audience since the launch of their blog in 2007, Sherry and John are home-improvement experts primed to pass on a slew of projects, tricks, and techniques to do-it-yourselfers of all levels. Whether an experienced decorator or a total novice, on a tight budget or with money to spend, any homeowner or apartment dweller will find ideas for his or her own home makeovers here. Learn to trick out a thrift-store mirror, spice up plain old roller shades, “hack” your Ikea table to create three distinct looks, and so much more. With all new ideas (no repeats from the blog!) and more than 250 photographs and illustrations, this is a book that readers will return to again and again for the creative projects and easy-to-follow instructions in the relatable voice the Petersiks are known for. Adding a little wow factor to your home has never been more fun! (description from publisher)