Making Stuff & Doing Things

Making Stuff & Doing Things is a collection of DIY guides gathered by Kyle Bravo. Based on Bravo’s How2 Zine and the Tree of Knowledge’s collection of DIY articles, this book is a meaty volume. A lot of the stuff you'd expect to find in a DIY guide appears in here, including bookbinding, gardening, silk screening, sewing, making stencils, wheat pasting, composting, dumpster diving, etc. There are also a load of articles on topics you wouldn’t expect to find, like juggling, fixing toilets, basic electrical wiring, making a quill pen, and DIY lice treatment. There’s definitely something for everyone in this book. For instance, I’m into natural health care for my cats right now, so two of my favorite pieces were those focusing on making cat food and holistic treatments for pet ailments. The categories on the table of contents can be a bit confusing when looking for something specific, but the index in the back of the book makes up for it. And, since the articles are culled and reprinted from various sources, there is no consistency in style or usefulness of directions, but the variety adds to the overall DIY appeal. There are also twenty blank pages in the back for notes, so readers can add their own DIY tips or alter directions published within. Definitely a worthwhile and useful read!

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