The Latest from WonderHowTo: Page 376

Nothing decorates a dinner table better than a napkin swan. It's cute and it makes dinnertime feel like a celebratory event. So, if you want to learn how to make a napkin swan, just follow the folding instructions in the video. Follow along and see what your napkin swan looks like!

With a few meters of fabric you can do this strapless dress. For a cocktail party, to wear it with jeans. You will be the more chic and stylish girl in the room!

Come on baby light my fire! If you're going to be a survivalist, the first thing you'll need to know is how to start a fire. This simply video shows how to use a piece of quartz and a piece of steel to build yourself a fire and stay alive! In addition, the video shows how to pack it all together in a nifty little Altoids tin.

You're in the wild, without rope or string and you need something to tie down your tent. What do you do? Well, if you have that ever handy roll of duct tape you're in luck. This survival tip shows how to turn a piece of duct tape into a handy length of cord to use however you please.

Spark it up and learn how to light a fire with steel wool and a ferro rod. This is another method of fire starting which is simple, easy and effective. With your ferrocerium rod, some dry brush, leaves and a gentle breath you'll be on your way to heat, warmth and survival.

If you're going to survive in the wild you're going to need something to eat. This video shows how to build what's called an Asian monitor trap, ideal for catching small animals. With a few tree branches, some cord and bait, you could be dining on squirrel tonight!

Lighting a fire in the wilderness can be tricky, but having a piece of charcloth can make the task easier. Charcloth is carbonized cotton fiber, which lights easily when exposed to a spark, making your task of lighting a fire in the wild, much, much easier. You'll need a fire, a metal container with a lid and a piece of cotton fabric. Voila, charcloth!

When building a fire in the wild you'll need some hard steel, a sparking tool, such as a ferrocerium rod and something to actually light on fire. If you have access to it, cotton wood is a great choice. It's dry fibers light easy when exposed to a ferro rod spark and this video shows you how it's done.

Building a fire in the wild is key to survival. A simple way to get the job done is with a piece of charcloth (carbonized cotton fiber). Charcloth makes for a highly effective piece of tinder to ensure you'll have a warm fire tonight. You'll need your hardened steel, your sparking stone, dry leaves or sticks and of course your piece of charcloth. Get cooking!

Originally used by Spanish cowboys for rounding up cattle, the bola is a simple and effective hunting tool. This video shows how to construct and use this weapon so that you can defend yourself, or hunt something, while trying to survive in the wild. You'll need a piece of cord and two equal weights, like some heavy lug nuts.

When you're surviving in the wild there's no running to 7-11 to grab some snacks. It's all up to you. This excellent instructional video teaches you how to build and set an Asian trail spring trap. Primarily, this trap would be used for medium sides animals as they make their way along a forest trail. The trap requires a heavy object near the trail (ideally a rock, or fallen log), a length of fine, strong cordage, a 4ft piece of sapling and several small branches for this device's triggering...

OK, your flashlight just died, but wait, don't throw it out! In this quick and simple video, you can learn how to use the parabolic lens from that dead flashlight to start a fire in the wild. You'll need a parabolic lens, some dry ignition material for kindling and you'll need a bright, sunny day.

Think you're knot interested? Knot for long! This little video will show you a clear and easy way to tie a 3 lead x 7 bight turk's head knot. This lovely little decorative knot is a joy to look at and a pleasure to give to friends as well. You'll need 4ft of 1/4 inch solid braid nylon. Knot so hard is it?

All North American birds are edible and therefore a good source of meat if you're trying to survive in the wild. This detailed video shows how to construct and bait an Asian bird trap snare. You'll need some 150lb test bankline, some twigs, an available young sapling and something to bait your trap, such as wild berries.

There are a multitude of traps you can set when hunting in the wild, but you've got to understand proper trigger theory or you won't be bringing home the bacon, or the grouse. This informative how to introduces you to the dog-bone trigger, which can be used in ten or more different traps. You'll need a sapling, some bankline cordage, a t-bone stick and a handful of twigs. Learn it up your chances of survival.

If you're looking to remove those nasty nicotine stains without actually quitting smoking, here's a great Photoshop trick for you. In this nifty little photo retouching tutorial, you make make those pearly whites shine. This trick will work with Photoshop, GIMP or any other photo manipulation software.

If you take a lot of photos with your smartphone or cheap digital camera, you can see the difference compared to results from a pro camera. So, if you want to get a professional camera look without dropping the money, check out this video to learn how to enhance your pics. This trick works with Photoshop, or any photo editing software that has a selection tool, a gradient tool and a gaussian blur filter.

If you're a Mac user, you know the keys to the castle are literally knowing how to use the shortcuts and hot-keys. But, what if you don't like the predefined OS X setup? Well, simple answer, change them. This is a quick guide to remapping any keyboard shortcut in any application running in Mac OS X.

If you need to take control of your Windows 7 start menu, you're going to want to watch this. Step-by-step instructions on how to personalize your start menu with a nifty little program called, Handy Start Menu. Then, you can see the programs you want, and hide the programs you don't want to see. That IS handy!

If you're not satisfied with your out-of-the-box version of Windows 7 or Vista then get ready to tweak it up good! With this video, you'll see how to use a little program called Ultimate Windows Tweaker to wrestle your software to perform the way YOU want it to. This software lets you get into the registry in a safe and easy way if you're not a computer wizard. Remember to always back up your system before toying with the registry.

If you want to take control of the themes and styles of Windows 7, you're going to want to get your hands on a little program called UxStyle. This program works for 32 and 64 bit systems and gives you great control over the look of your system. Don't forget to back eveything up first!

The world of decorative knot tying is a compelling place and few sinnet cords are as compelling and beautiful as the corkscrew crown sinnet. This elegant step-by-step video shows you how to achieve one of the most desired knot cords out there.

This is one of my favorite pastimes, to watch lectures from the top universities in the US. I have watched videos from MIT, Carnegie Mellon, and other great universities. Check it out!

Tips, tricks and examples about the fifth stage, do, go here. More will be coming soon.

Tips, tricks and examples about the organization stage go here. As I stated in the Process post earlier, I am still at stage one. I will get back here later.

Tips, tricks and examples of the processing stage. I confess to still be in the collecting stage, so I don't have any real tips yet, but feel free to add your own until I get that situated.

Ideas for the collecting stage go here. To start, what works best for you? An "in" basket, a tablet, a smart phone? What are you using to collect the "loops" that are hanging out in your mind. I am currently using a program called Makagiga, which is a neat program concept that is cross-platform compatible. However, it seems to hang on Windows 7 after not being used for a few minutes. I will be trying out Remember the Milk.

BumpTop Pro 2.0

When it comes to Valentine's Day presents, let's face it: Non-handmade is best. It's not that we don't want that hand knitted heart sweater, but it's nice on the romantic holiday for a sweeter and couple-centric treat like a couple's massage or tickets to a play.

These wee 3X3 cards may be small, but they sure do make a charming impact when sent to friends as Thank You cards or small "Just Because" notes. Made from craft supplies that can all be found at Michael's for $1 each, these mini blank cards are also wallet-friendly.

We've always thought that supersized everyday items were cool, like a 4 ft. tall pencil or scissors so large they could cut a posterboard in half in one snip. But few of these supersized notions are practical.

Got a case of the wintertime blues? Then use a snow day or just a boring Sunday afternoon to put together this simple and inexpensive skinny notepad. Yeah, we realize you can purchase notepads at just about any office supply store, but these pretty, beribboned notes will cheer up your day every time you write on them.

We thank and bow down to whoever invented gift cards. A great way to give your recipient what he/she wants without having to slave over whether the turquoise cashmere sweater or the navy blue cashmere sweater looks best, gift cards are the way to go for procrastinators.

Is your dog the apple of your eye? Then integrate some doggy decor into your life by crafting this useful and highly cute binder clip. Embellished with an adorable scalloped stamp featuring a teeny blue bone in the center, this binder clip is possibly the chicest we've seen.

The newest Need for Speed game is out, Hot Pursuit. Play as either a drag racer or the police trying to catch them. Get the Power Spike achievement when you lay a spike strip for someone trying to throw an EMP at you.

Go back inside the grid and find all the hidden items (like files and Abraxas shards) in levels five through seven of the Tron game, Evolution. Some of the itmes are pretty easy to find, but a few are a bit tricky - and that's what this video is for!