Crafts
Not Martha
There are loads of crafts-oriented blogs, so it was difficult to recommend just one, but here goes: Not Martha is written by Megan Reardon, who lives in Seattle with Scott and a clover plant ("which I might have killed last week"). The entries are frank and funny, with titles such as "adventures in making lip balm," "funny hat" and "hostess snack cake sushi." This Megan is a problem solver, creative yet practical, and considerate: she details mistakes she's made along the way so you can avoid making the same. Lately she's been writing about her various efforts to fix up a new house. For more chatter about the wide world of knitting and other pursuits, try Craftster, a community forum with an edge. Do-it-yourselfers will appreciate Instructables, with its step-by-step instructions for making things you never knew you wanted, such as a pinball coffee table, a light tent, a giant steel skeleton hand/coat rack and a wobble bike. For more techie DIY projects, go to MAKE magazine. And the collaborative How-To manual at wikiHow offers solutions to everyday problems, from How to Cut Open a Coconut to How to Call In Sick to Work.