I hope all you Shakhammer readers have a fabulous and safe New Year's Eve and your 2008 is awesome. Next year we'll be ramping up with lots of great posts and projects- keep an eye out!

Say goodbye to the old-fashioned incandescent lightbulb, because they're being phased out by 2012. Ah, the good ol' US of A, legislating, well, everything. Don't get me wrong, I use the CFL bulbs in my own home and I think they have saved quite a bit on our electric bill. And I am all about reducing greenhouse gases, but I'm not a huge fan of legislating every little thing, either.

Either way, I must recommend that people change over to the CFL bulbs, it does save money!

Photo: Money Saving Mom

This power block is a fabulous idea for hiding your power cords. At 115.00 €, it's a bit pricey, but I think it would be easily DIYable with coroplast, cardboard, or even thin wood. What do you think?

There are several things I never considered possible to DIY. Like building your own television, small appliance repair, and dentistry. Thanks to the magic of the internet, you can, indeed, DIY nearly anything.

But it never even occurred to me that you can make your own vinegar. Yet, you can. Rhonda Jean at Down To Earth shows you how to make your own vinegar. Now I'm convinced, you CAN DIY *everything*.

We here at Shakadoo would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued support and friendships. Each and every one of you have brought us to where we are, and inspire us daily. Thank you for all of your suggestions, comments and loyalty. It has been a pleasure getting to know so many of you, and we look forward to the opportunity to make even more friendships through out 2008.

We wish you a joyous and safe Holiday and of course a prosperous New Year!

Kathy, Kathylynn, and Bill

Ooooh! I can see all kinds of awesome ways you can use light emitting wallpaper to brighten up a room. The wallpaper uses LED lighting, so it's not going to be hard on your electric bill, either.

Via Craftzine

If you're going away for the holidays, keeping your home safe and secure is a top priority. There are several steps you can take to make sure your home is safe while you're away.

Check your plumbing and wiring to make sure everything's cool before you go. There's nothing worse than coming home to find your house has burned down or your house has been flooded. If it's going to be really cold while you're gone, make sure the inside faucets on outside walls are turned on so they will slowly drip.

This will save electricity and can possibly save you from a fire- unplug all nonessential items. Obviously, you will want to keep your refrigerator and freezer plugged in, but unplug your computer and televisions and any lights you plan to not leave on while you're gone.

Put a temporary stop on your mail, or have a trusted friend or relative come over and check your mail.

Walk through the house before you go and make sure all windows and doors are locked and blinds are closed. It's easy to forget about a random window not being locked, but a burglar might think of checking that window.

That's what I've got. What do you do before you go?

[photo: nathangibbs on flickr]

Need to save time and energy moving furniture around the house? Cool Tools has a review of Lay-It-Out furniture templates.

HT: Craftzine

I can't wait to see everyone's homes on the Christmas Tour of Homes at BooMama's! I can't decide if I can get my house clean enough to take pictures in time or not. But I'm darn sure going to try.

What I'm most excited about is seeing everyone else's homes.

If you're crafty, you know the costs for crafting can add up. How can you make it pay so you're not spending a fortune on your hobby? WiseBread has the answer.

In the midst of the real estate slowdown, more and more home owners are deciding to stay in their homes and remodel rather than trying to sell in a challenging market. The 2007 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report has recently stated that three of the four projects with the highest national percentage of costs recouped this year were exterior upgrades.

The most profitable project on the national level was upscale siding replacement, recouping 88 percent of costs upon resale.

Our friends over at CALFINDER agree. They say in their post Fiber Cement Siding: Why It Stands Up to Wood and Vinyl that

"home improvement projects are not all created equal. Some garner a higher return on your investment. Installing fiber cement siding is one such project. According to Remodeling Magazine, an average of 88.1% of the cost of installing fiber cement siding can be recouped after resale. The magazine’s 2007 Cost Vs. Value Report identifies fiber cement siding replacements as the consistently highest paying midrange and upscale remodeling investment in several U.S. regions. In addition, Industry News reports that fiber cement siding demand will rise at an above average rate through 2010".

Read more about Fiber Cement Siding and request Free General Remodeling Estimates here.

The other two exterior remodels that rated high for cost recovery were wood deck additions and wood window replacements also returning more than 80 percent of costs.

Moving inside the home, according to the same report, remodeling trends tend to be the most costly upscale remodeling projects consisting of master suite additions and major kitchen remodels. Those projects can reach costs well into six digits. As it turns out, these major projects are also among the most popular.

Find Kitchen Remodeling Contractors for Design and Renovation  and receive free estimates through our friends at CALFINDER

Now here are some novel Christmas decorations. If you have a handyman in your life who wants to have a bit of his (or her) hobby in the Christmas decor, check out these tool lights! They're on sale for $14.80 at ChristmasPeople.com.

HT: Nerd Approved

My friend Heather reports this morning that the changing from carpet to hardwood in her bedroom is going well- but there was an injury. It seems someone had left a hammer laying around where one of her kids could get to it, and her kid put the hammer into the laundry where the hammer and Heather's foot had an unfortunate meeting.

Heather's fine, but home improvement is not without its injuries, that's for sure. We have a family story that is the stuff of legend.

My grandfather was a general contractor and even when he wasn't working, he would do woodworking at home because he just liked to build stuff. One day my grandmother was washing dishes when he came ambling up behind her and said, very calmly, "Could you drive me to the hospital? I just cut off the tip of my finger." She turned around and saw the bloody towel and FREAKED OUT. "I'll drive myself," he said, "if you're too upset."

So when you're doing your home improvement and DIY projects, make sure you're being safe!

Casa Sugar wants to know what your favorite architectural style is. They list several choices, but you can even narrow down the styles more than they have. I'm a big, big fan of the Craftsman bungalow. It's a late-period Arts and Crafts style- there are also California bungalows, Mission style, Prairie style, etc.

What kinds of houses are you drawn to? Do you like older styles or the more modern styles?

Would you like a Christmas craft that is eco-friendly? Recycle your plastic bags and make a pretty wreath! Two Peas In A Bucket has a great tutorial here! I think you could make these a lot smaller and have some great ornaments as well.

Via: Craftzine

Does the lost storage space under your stairs bother you? I have always thought that's such a waste of space, but never knew what to do about it until now. Canadian Home Workshop Online has a DIY project for turning that lost space into storage drawers. Ingenious!

HT: Freshome

Designer Matthew Meade's Holiday page on his site has both great ideas for holiday decorating inspiration and some fabulous DIY tutorials. I'm in love with the stylish purple and blue look he's got going on. Simply wonderful.

Thanks to Amy at the Motherload for the link to this awesome designer!

Jennifer at The Felt Mouse is totally my hero for her awesome holiday display. Not only does it look fabulous, but she's bought most of her decorations at discount stores. The pink tree? Big Lots, baby! I know another Big Lots fan that would heartily approve.

Head on over to The Felt Mouse for more yummy pictures of her holiday display.

Picture: Jennifer at The Felt Mouse

My kids love the Charlie Brown Christmas tree so much, they always make their own from whatever they happen to find in the yard. This year, it appears to be some sort of unidentifiable tall weed pulled from the creek behind my house. Well, it keeps them busy, anyway.

But I saw on Casa Sugar today that my kids can have their own real Charlie Brown Christmas tree. The joy I felt at the thought of owning that was nearly too much, I almost bought one. Then I remembered how broke I was. Even so, what a neat idea! Get your own Charlie Brown Christmas tree for $24 at Urban Outfitters.