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Hand-making musical instruments is part of a growing trend that even celebrities such as Johnny Depp and guitar legend Jack White are taking part in.

It doesn't require a lot of money or an expertise in woodworking and electronics, all it takes is a little creativity. In Handmade Music Factory, handyman Mike Orr guides you through the construction of eight of the most unique and imaginative instruments found anywhere ... from a one-string guitar made from a soup can, to a hubcap banjo, and a stand-up lap steel guitar made from a vintage ironing board.

There are also directions for an amp that can be assembled using inexpensive parts from the local electronics store. There's no shortage of inspiration to draw upon in creating an arsenal of instruments that look good, sound great, and deliver some foot stompin' fun!

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Follow along with cool kid Dash Derby as he takes you and your child through seven easy steps to building your first pinewood derby race car together.

No woodworking skill required, just patience and fun! Unlike any other pinewood derby book, it's not about winning the race; it's about spending time with your child building a car you can be proud of...even if it isn't perfect.

With 12 patterns and paint designs to choose from, Getting Started in Pinewood Derby will help you have a stress-free good-time building a car that will get down the track. Maybe next year, you can worry about taking home first place.

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A compregensive introduction to the "nectar of the gods."

With increasing numbers of people ditching drugs for natural healing, Honey: Nature's Golden Healer is a timely look at how the beehive can help us look and feel better. Highlighted with hundreds of vivid color photographs, the book explains how honey is made and describes the complex lives of honeybees, beehive architecture and the sophisticated social structure of beehives. Novice beekeepers will find enough reliable information to get started on a small scale.

Honey examines the beneficial properties of honey and other bee products, such as propolis, pollen, royal jelly and beeswax, and explains how to collect and use them. The book includes recipes for homemade remedies, luxurious beauty formulas and delicious treats.

• The critical role of honeybees in agriculture
• The many types and colors of honey
• Raw Honey
• How honey compare to sugar
• Preserving with honey
• Honey's antibacterial properties and how they work
• Honey as a neutraceutical (a foodstuff with medicinal properties)
• Bee sting therapy
• Super-honeys
• The benefits of propolis, bee pollen and royal jelly
• Honey in cooking and baking

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How to save money, time, and the environment-on the urban frontier.

With The Complete Idiot's Guide to Urban Homesteading anyone can learn how to live sustainably and responsibly-and save money and time-in any urban environment. Expert urban homesteader Sundari Elizabeth Kraft shares her hands-on knowledge of: growing organic foods and preserving them; composting; raising small livestock and chickens; generating electricity and biofuels; and other ways to cut costs and live green. This book has all the information required to become a successful urban homesteader in any city.

• Practical advice on everything from composting to clean energy.
• Sundari Elizabeth Kraft is an expert in urban homesteading.

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A striking how-to guide and four-color visual tour presenting design possibilities using a range of salvaged materials.

Sustainability and conservation are buzzwords in the construction and renovation of homes today. It's therefore no surprise that "salvage design"-reusing old building materials and other types of recycled goods- is becoming a popular technique, both for its environmentally friendly functionality and for its unique design aesthetic.

Here is an inspiring, practical guide that is also a striking visual tour of the full range of interior design possibilities incorporating salvaged materials. From using recycled wood as vintage flooring or accent beams to reclaiming stone as a kitchen island or fitting salvaged tiles into a bathroom backsplash, the book covers a range of materials and design concepts for different rooms and supplies technical information about what to keep in mind (size, shape, color, structural needs, etc.), how to use the salvaged materials most effectively, and where to go to find them.

For more information check out the Salvage Secrets blog to explore the online world of all things salvaged, recycled, upcycled, vintage and reclaimed.

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Using inexpensive, often recycled, materials and easy techniques, this lively collection of garden projects and practices will delight beginner and experienced green thumbs alike. Whether you have just five minutes or an entire weekend, this full-colour book is designed to delight and inspire. Here are step-by-step instructions and beautiful photography for lovely gifts from the garden, delightful recipes and cocktails and inspiring weekend garden projects, plus fun things especially for children to make and grow like flowerpot cupcakes and personalized pumpkins. With ideas on everything from gorgeous succulent sculptures and living willow fences to fresh ways to arrange flowers and plan stylish garden soirées, Everyday Eden maximizes enjoyment of outdoor spaces—from balcony-sized urban green spaces to rural acreages.

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Emergency Sandbag Shelter is a must-have manual for every home, as an emergency guide. Now for the first time this book is made available to people around the world by its inventor, award-winning architect Nader Khalili (1932-2008), whose specialty was skyscrapers and who dedicated his life to teaching others how to build shelter for humanity. This book, with over 700 photos and illustrations, shows how to use sandbags and barbed wire, the materials of war, for peaceful purposes as the new invention known as Superadobe or earth-bag, which can shelter millions of people around the globe as a temporary as well as permanent housing solution. This affordable, self-help, sustainable, and disaster resistant structural system is a spin off from Khalili's presentation to NASA for habitat on the moon and Mars, which successfully passed rigorous tests for strict California earthquake building codes. This book along with a small library of films and kits can guide anyone to learn and teach how to build a home or community.

About the Author
Nader Khalili, an Iranian-born California architect and author, is the designer and innovator of the Geltaftan Earth-and-Fire System known as "ceramic houses" as well as the Superadobe building technologies. He received his education in Iran, Turkey, and the United States, and has been a licensed architect in California since 1970. In 1975, he closed his successful practice in the United States and Iran designing high-rise buildings and journeyed by motorcycle for five years through the Iranian desert, where he worked closely with local villagers to develop his earth architecture prototypes. His impressions have been collected in his book Racing Alone. Mr. Khalili serves as a consultant to the United Nations and is a contributor to NASA on construction technologies for the moon and Mars. He is the founder and director of the Cal-Earth Institute, Geltaftan Foundation-dedicated to research and development in earth and space architecture technologies for the moon and Mars.

Khalili presently lives in the Mojave desert city of Hesperia, California (north east of Los Angeles). He has a son Dastan and a daughter Sheefteh. He continues to work as an architect, teacher, and author.

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Our forefathers and mothers knew how to keep their homes clean and homey — and live richer while spending less. Many of today's products are expensive, bad for the environment, and don't work any better than Grandma's methods, which only cost pennies.

The editors at Back Home Magazine have collected hundreds of formulas for effective cleaning, gardening and home maintenance — as well as ways our ancestors saved on heating bills, prevented costly repairs, and maintained a cozy, charming home with little besides ingenuity.

Drawing on the advice and techniques of contributors across the country, this indispensable guide shows you the best ways to take care of everything in your home from wood floors, to tile, to stainless steel appliances ... and how to get the longest life out of every household item from pots and pans to pillowcases.

The Country Almanac of Housekeeping Techniques That Save You Money is chock-full of solutions, recipes and how-to projects for living a simpler, cleaner life and keeping your home beautiful.

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You can cut energy costs – really! Everyone is talking about saving energy, but now The Energy-Smart House actually shows you how to make it happen with the collective experience of the professionals at Fine Homebuilding.

See the big picture like the pros do. It takes more than a Band-Aid approach to achieve true energy efficiency. And, you’ll get a complete overview from our experts, starting with how to do an audit through evaluating heating and cooling systems to choosing new thermostats.

Upgrading an older home? Our pros will show you how to beef up old insulation without tearing into walls, install weather stripping, and choose replacement windows. Or remodeling? Learn all you need to know about house wraps, options for solar hot water, how to design an energy-smart kitchen, select the most efficient appliances, and much more.

With so many advances in technology and product choices, you’ll want The Energy-Smart House to help you make effective changes that go beyond lip service. It’s your answer to workable strategies for reducing waste and making your home as energy efficient as possible.

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Paint and creativity are all you need to add color and personality to any surface — fabrics, furniture, walls, and more. The experts at Do It Yourself magazine have compiled their favorite paint projects into this must-have collection. With page after page of inspiration and detailed directions, 100+ Paint Projects will have you painting like a pro in no time. Inside you'll find:

• More than 100 doable paint projects
• 22 fresh paint palettes
• 31 original patterns
• Too many tips and tricks to count