Awesome How To

Here’s a fun family project if you live somewhere the temperature stays below freezing for days on end. The ABC Allred Family shows us how easy it is to build your own backyard igloo from blocks of ice and a dash of food coloring for extra flair. You can make the ice bricks in aluminum foil trays and then cement them together with a mixture of snow and cold water.

Syracuse University Libraries’ Preservation Department shows us how to save a water-logged book and restore it back to its original condition. All you need is some paper towels, a fan, and some weights. You should also store it in the freezer if you can’t work on it right away.

When you’re out in the woods and need to assemble a sturdy shelter, knowing how to connect sticks in a cross shape can be really useful. Mark the Braider shows off one of the more clean and elegant ways of joining perpendicular poles, using a Japanese square lashing technique.

Never got your Pioneering merit badge as a Boy Scout? No worries. InnerBark Outdoors shows us seven knots that are easy to learn but are very useful. Most of these knots can come in handy camping, boating, and even at home.

“You make the lyrics with your mouth. But you cannot use your vocal cords.” Ever wondered how musicians like Daft Punk make their voices sound like robots? Lorenz Rhode provides a lyrical instruction sheet for creating the electro-funk sounds of talkbox vocals. We think every “how-to” video should have a song.

Bobby Duke Arts takes a page out of Toy Story 4 and digs his latest art project out of the trash. In this clip, he shows us how he melted down and manipulated pieces of plastic cutlery and turned them into a dragonfly and a praying mantis. He calls the video a tutorial, but you’re gonna need some serious skills to follow along.

Most paper airplanes have straight-edged wings that stick out from their center. But this peculiar paper flyer looks more like the core of a toilet paper roll than something that can get airborne. WIRED and paper airplane expert John Collins show us how to make one of these surprisingly aerodynamic paper planes.

HomeMadeModern wanted to find a cool use for glass blocks, so he set about making an outdoor LED-lit glass deck. It’s definitely not a project for everyone – it takes a lot of expertise and work – and not everyone has a freakin’ mountain, but the setup is pretty sweet.

I Like to Make Stuff shares this home renovation project that he worked on with a friend. They turned one long room into two rooms, with the second one hidden behind a wardrobe. It even has a secret switch and a smart lock.

After making bowls out of a variety of materials, Peter Brown’s viewers have been asking him to make a cereal bowl made of cereal. He finally gave in to their requests. The process is simple, but it takes a lot of time and skill. The end result is beautiful, but it’s questionable if it’s food-safe.

Shmoxd shows us how to make recycled paper using readily available materials. He then adds texture and color to the new paper by adding different bits like plants, food and even shredded electronics. But will it blend?

PCs housed inside desks are nothing new, but they are interesting at best, and tacky at worst. But DIY Perks shows us that it’s possible to make one that’s tasteful and space-saving, while still showing off the computer’s components.

Prop maker David Guyton made a replica of Iron Man’s Nano Gauntlet from Avengers: Endgame. Rather than cheap materials, he built it out of steel, brass, and glass. But he will upload a template on his website so you can make it out of different materials if you want.

HeroTech’s DIY take on Spider-Man’s web shooters. Instead of being sticky, the thread from each shooter has a magnet attached at the end. They’re great for taking down evil sheet music holders. Seriously though we love how clean they look. Build video here.

YouTube’s premiere mechanic ChrisFix shows us how to make a hidden kill switch for your vehicle. When switched on, it interrupts the flow of electricity to the vehicle’s fuel pump relay, preventing it from starting, even with a key. It takes a bit of fiddling, but it costs only $10 in parts.

Odin Makes built a replica of Thanos’ sick double-bladed sword from Avengers: Endgame out of his usual craft and found materials. He used PVC pipes, an old fiberglass rod and of course craft foam to make a lightweight 7ft sword.

We’ve seen how jelly beans are made, and they’re not made from beans. Still, How to Make Everything figured it was possible to make the candy from actual beans such as mung beans, peanuts, coffee and chocolate that he either grew or picked himself.

Keith’s Test Garage has been making organizer trays for his collection of router and Dremel bits. He started out by drilling holes that fit the bits, then he thought of a much simpler method: intersecting dadoes. The grooves take only five minutes to make with a table saw.

“How hard can it be to make a cracker?” It turns out it’s pretty hard. But is it impossible? Watch Bon Appetit’s resident pastry chef Claire Saffitz try to recreate the color, texture and of course the flavor of original Cheez-Its snack crackers.

There are ready made kits for iron-on or heat transfer printing. Shmoxd tried out two of them, then at 5:24 shows us how you can make ones just as good using screen printing and heat transfer powder. This method is cheap and good for low volume production.

Binging with Babish shows us how to cook the Swanson, a turkey leg wrapped in bacon that Ron Swanson casually showed off in Parks & Recreation. As expected, it takes a lot to make just a couple of these bad boys, especially when turkey’s not in season.

How to Make Everything gathered or made various cleaners from scratch – pumicite, borax, baking soda, vinegar, oxalic acid, bleach, lye, acetone, and ethanol. But before that, he had an interesting conversation with someone who cleans crime scenes for a living.

Circle Line Art School shows a relatively easy way to draw buildings that look like they’re going through the page. The optical illusion is simple enough for the most part. The finishing touch is quite tricky though.