The Secret Yumiverse — Illustrated tips and tricks from the mind of Yumi « The Secret Yumiverse

How To: Make Your Own DIY Watercolor Coffee Mug

Using water, nail polish, and a white ceramic mug, you can easily create your own artsy DIY coffee mug with a "watercolor" effect colored on its surface.

More Than Just Candles: 12 Practical, Surprising Uses for Beeswax

Beeswax is a natural wax produced by honeybees and can also be used for your home. Commonly associated with making your own DIY candles, beeswax is the perfect DIY product for making your own lip balm, non-toxic crayons, mustache wax, and more.

How To: Make Your Own Sweetened Condensed Milk at Home

To make your own sweetened condensed milk at home, all you need are milk, sugar, butter, and about two hours of your time.

How To: Make an Easy No-Bake Watermelon Cake

When it is too hot to use an oven but you want to have a dessert for a summer party, you can very easily make your own no-bake cake out of watermelon, whipped cream, chopped almonds, and fresh fruit.

How To: Make Your Own DIY Leaf Skeleton

Making your own leaf skeleton is a fun, DIY project where you strip green leaves of their outer coating and tissue, leaving behind the "skeleton" of delicate veins underneath. Leaf skeletons can then be used as framed art pieces, or delicate decor for homemade cards or ornaments.

How To: Make Your Own DIY Snow Cone Syrup

Making your own snow cone syrup requires only three ingredients: sugar, water, and a packet of your favorite Kool-Aid flavor. Simply combine sugar and water until it's boiling, then let it simmer for three minutes. Gradually add a packet of Kool-Aid until it's completely dissolved, then pour the syrup with a funnel into a separate container, which can then be chilled in a fridge until it's ready to use.

How To: 6 Clever Ways to Hide Your Spare Keys Outdoors

If you're ever paranoid about locking yourself out of your house, the worst thing you can do is to hide your spare key in an obvious spot, like under the doormat, under a planter, or anywhere near the front door.

How To: 5 DIY Frozen Dog Treat Recipes to Keep Your Pooch Cool During the Summer Heat

If humans love to eat frozen treats during the summer, then it should be no surprise that dogs also love the same. Show your favorite pooch some extra love during hot days by putting together some DIY frozen doggie treats during the summer.

How To: 9 More Unusual Uses for Your Hair Dryer

If your newly purchased shoes are feeling too tight, you can use a hair dryer to add more wiggle room for your feet. Simply wear your shoes with socks, and then direct the warm currents of a hair dryer at your feet, focusing on the areas that feel pinched.

How To: 6 DIY Ideas for Keeping Your Earbuds Tangle-Free

If you always carry earbuds with you in your purse or backpack, you can use simple household objects to prevent the cords from tangling up into knots.

How To: 6 Unexpected Beauty, Health, & Home Uses for Rice Water

Rice water refers to the cloudy water that is leftover after washing rice in a bowl, or the excess water drained from a pot used for cooking rice in boiling water. Whichever method you prefer, rice water can be saved in a separate container once cooled, then used for a number of beauty, health, and home uses.

How To: Make Your Own Summer Slurpee at Home

On days when it's too hot to even drive to the convenience store in an air-conditioned car to get an iced Slurpee, it's better to stay indoors and make your own summer Slurpee at home.

How To: Make an Easy No-Sew Pet Bed for Your Cat or Dog

Want to treat your furry best friend to a new pet bed? All you need are two identical pieces of fleece, batting, and a pair of fabric scissors. The best part is that there is zero sewing involved.

How To: 9 Surprisingly Toxic Foods

Tin cans have resin linings that contain bisphenol-A (BPA), which has been linked in animal lab testings to a number of ailments that include reproductive problems, heart disease, and obesity. Tomatoes are high in acidity, which means that the content of canned tomatoes eats away at the resin lining, which causes BPA to leach into what you eat. Long story short: avoid canned tomatoes at all costs.

How To: 11 Surprising Things You Should Never Throw into the Recycle Bin

While it is common sense to toss empty water bottles into the recycle bin, most people do not know that it is also important to remove the plastic bottle cap before recycling. Plastic bottle caps and plastic bottles are made up of different plastics, and the plastic found in bottle caps are not as useful for recycling centers as the plastic found in bottles.

How To: 9 Essential Uses for Clove Oil

Clove oil, an essential oil extracted from the clove plant found in India, is truly an essential addition to your medicine cabinet and home. One of its most popular uses is for relieving a toothache, which can be done by adding a few drops of clove oil to a cotton ball and applying it directly to the affected area.

How To: Grow an Avocado Tree at Home

While it is convenient to buy avocados from the local supermarket, you can also start investing in the long-term goal of having free avocados coming from your own backyard by growing an avocado tree straight from the pit.

How To: 9 DIY Home Remedies for Neck Pain

If you are like most people and spend most of your day hunched over a computer, you may be experiencing soreness and pain in your neck muscles. Before you schedule an appointment with a chiropractor or massage therapist, try some of the DIY home remedies below to alleviate the pain.

DIY Cat Repellent Spray: 3 All-Natural Recipes That Are Safe for Indoor & Outdoor Cats

Whether you want to prevent your cat from scratching up the couch or deter stray cats from using your front yard as their personal litter box, a DIY cat repellent spray can go a long way in keeping unwanted furry guests away.

How To: 21 More Miraculous Uses for Coconut Oil

Coconut oil can prevent grass from sticking onto your lawn mower blades and revive your old leather goods. It can also provide sunburn relief, heal cracked heels, remedy chapped lips, and remove eye makeup.

How To: 9 DIY Home Remedies for Treating Cracked, Dry Heels

Now that we are in the thick of flip-flop and sandal weather, it is important to make sure that you are taking good care of your feet. Specifically, to treat the bottom of your heels if they are starting to get cracked and dry.

How To: Lower High Blood Pressure (& Keep It Low)

High blood pressure (hypertension) is a common medical condition that can eventually cause serious health problems such as heart disease, kidney failure, vision problems, stroke, heart attack, and more.

How To: 9 Easy Ways to Remove Moles from Your Skin at Home

While you can go to the doctor to have an unsightly mole professionally removed, there is a good chance that a DIY home remedy can reduce or completely eliminate the appearance of your mole using items found in your kitchen or medicine cabinet for a much cheaper price.

How To: Make Your Own Rainbow Flowers Using White Roses & Food Coloring

Whether you want to avoid the cliche of expressing love through red roses or simply want to engage in a fun and simple DIY experiment, making your own rainbow roses using white roses and food coloring is a very simple project that will result in beautiful and unique floral eye candy in a matter of days.

How To: Make Your Own Non-Synthetic Citronella Candles to Keep Mosquitoes Away Outdoors

To prevent mosquitos from bombing your next outdoor summer party, make your own DIY citronella candles using soy wax, glass mason jars, citronella oil, candle wicks, and a little superglue.

How To: 9 Home Remedies for Toothaches

If you ever find yourself in the unfortunate situation of nursing a painful toothache, you can easily find many DIY home remedies in your kitchen or medicine cabinet before your next scheduled dentist appointment.

How To: Delicious One-Pot Dinner Recipes Using 5 Ingredients or Less

If you can't stand the idea of using multiple pots and pans for preparing meals because of all the dishwashing that would be required, check out the one-pot recipes below that require minimal cooking equipment and use only five ingredients or less (excluding cooking oil, water, salt, and pepper).

How To: Make a DIY Light Bulb Aquarium

Add new life to your old light bulbs by transforming them into a DIY light bulb aquarium. Using needle-nose pliers, a screwdriver, and a small hammer, you can remove the copper connector and other inner components from the light bulb to create a clear opening from the stem to within the bulb.

Overcome Fears & Phobias: 4 Effective Cognitive Therapy Techniques

While many of us have general fears and anxieties about public speaking or sitting in a plane during a turbulent flight, having a full-blown phobia for a specific object or situation can be detrimental to your career, relationships, social life, or day-to-day well-being.

How To: 6 More Easy Recipes for Removing Nasty Stains from Clothes

If you ever find yourself in the unfortunate situation of dropping greasy strips of bacon onto your pants, you can remedy the oil stain right away with a paper towel and blue Dawn dishwashing soap.

How To: 5 Detox Drink Recipes for Reducing & Eliminating Toxins from Your Body

Detoxing with natural drinks made out of organic fruits, vegetables, and spices is a great way to help your body eliminate toxins and absorb vital nutrients that will help you feel healthier and more energized throughout the day. Making them yourself at home will save you both a trip to your local health smoothie bar and money in your wallet.

Elimination Diet: What It Is & How It Can Change Your Life Forever

If you suspect that you have some sort of food sensitivity or allergy that is giving your body negative symptoms (such as skin breakouts) or bringing down your overall well-being, you should, try going on an elimination diet.

How To: Make a DIY Warming Rub for Sore Muscles

Need a remedy for your sore muscles after going the gym? Rather than spending money on expensive warming rubs, you can whip up your own DIY, all-natural warming rub concoction in the comfort of your own kitchen using a double boiler, olive oil, beeswax, and various spices.

How To: Find the Best Sunglasses for Your Face Shape

With summer officially starting in less than two weeks, now might be a good time to brush up on your sunglasses game. Specifically, what is the best style of sunglasses for your unique face shape?

How To: 15 Uses for Household Bleach

Commonly associated with cleaning and disinfecting items around the home, bleach can also be used as a water sterilization method in an emergency situation when you do not have access to clean, running water. Simply add 6 drops of bleach to a gallon of water and wait for 30 minutes before drinking.

How To: 12 Things You Must Do to Make Overnight Guests Feel at Home

Hosting your friends or traveling family members for an overnight stay may as straightforward as providing a bed or a spare couch for them to sleep on. But to be a truly hospitable host, prepare and plan ahead with the tips below to make your guests feel extra-comfortable in your living space.

Survival 101: 6 Ways to Purify Water in the Wild

Whether you are camping for the first time or you find yourself stranded somewhere due to a natural disaster or zombie apocalypse, it is important to know how to purify water in the wild if you don't have immediate access to store-bought water bottles.