How To

I set out to make Chicago a little greener a few weeks ago at the Chicago Northside Maker Faire thanks to my relationship with PURELL® Advanced Hand Sanitizer. With just a few simple supplies, I taught more than a hundred people how to make seed balls and beautify their neighborhoods with random acts of wildflowers. Now I get to show you.

This post is one in a series that I’m doing on behalf of the brand. Like me, the brand believes in the importance of hands-on experiences and letting kids be kids, even if that means letting their hands get a little dirty. We learn so much when we experience the world through our hands. As you make seed balls, you feel the tiny miracle of a plant seed and build fine motor skills as you smoosh the seeds, soil and clay together.

Read more

Inspired by something he found online, The Young Maker Teen set out to make a dog treat dispenser that would also be a fun puzzle or toy for our energetic dog. He went off to his computer and started designing a 3D plan in Autodesk Inventor.

When I checked on his progress, though, it was slow going. So I clicked on his browser history and saw that much of his “work and research” was in the form of Imgur visits and time on a favorite gaming site. After that I switched up the rules: use materials we have on hand and just make something.

So he did.

Easy DIY Dog Treat Dispenser

Read more

Making a book safe is one of those projects that I’ve long had on my to-do list, but put off.  How fun would it be to secret away something special and hide it in plain site in a book? In the end, it was simple and somewhat meditative. I can’t wait to make another one.

Read more

When my husband said, “I want to get you a $200 worm bin composter for your birthday.” The problem wasn’t the worm bin. I’ve been curious about vermicomposting since one of my boys’ teachers set up a class worm composting system back in the day. But to spend $200 on a classy set-up for worms? No thank you.

He threatened to buy it for me unless I made one myself. It was like a dare. I had been mentioning this project on and off for years. It was time to get making and to do it on a budget. With the help of Instructables and Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium, I did!

My DIY worm bin for less than $10

Read more