Do it yourself. or How to Succeed in Your Day to Day Life Without Money. or How to make it without ikea.
Texts & Drawings Volume 2 Thomas Billas
Do it yourself. or How to Succeed in Your Day to Day Life Without Money. or How to make it without ikea.
First Edition, 2011 collaboration Plus-tôt te laat & Thomas Billas
Acknowledgements Translation : Guillaume Bokiau & Assia Djoudi Mechouek Original copy-editing : Fanny Legru Publishing : Laurence Langlois & Axel Claes Caroline, Laurent, Benoit. Special thanks : Pianofabriek Grateful acknowledgement to the everyday designers without whom this project wouldn’t have existed.
Third volume available soon.
www.pttl.be www.dame-celestine.com www.flickr.com/photos/howtomakeitwithoutikea/ kijkmama.tumblr.com/ www.pianofabriek.be
Creative Commons BY-NC-SA
Index
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39
adhesive labels barbecue bellows belt bib candle holder canteen ceiling lamp chignon pin cigar box cigar cutter cookie cutter correction tape curtains door stop draught excluder drum fishing rod float fly swatter football hand fan hands-free kit hook ice pack knitting needles letter rack megaphone mittens motorcycle helmet nail cleaner
40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70
non-slip hanger palette paper glue pencil sharpener piggy bank planter box rolling pin ruler salad spinner sanitary napkin shave brush shopping bag shower-shelve sieve sledge slingshot softener storage box toe separators toilet paper dispenser toothbrush holder toothpicks touch screen pointer trivet tweezer urinal walker wallet washing machine wasp catcher whistle
Adhesive labels. - tape - scrap of paper
9 Write the wanted text on a piece of paper and place it with the written side facing up under a transparent tape. Put the tape where needed.
Barbecue. - barrel - chicken mesh
10 Remove the lid of the barrel. Fill with some coal and set on fire. Put the chicken wire on top. Use as a conventional barbecue.
Bellows. - dust collector (volume 1)
11 Tease the fire by using a dust collector like a fan.
Belt. - rope - bungee strap
12 belt.
Use a rope or bungee strap as a regular
Bib. - paper towels
13 Take a piece of paper towel, grab a corner and stuck it inside the collar of your shirt.
Candle holder. - glass
14 Place your tea light in a sufficiently large glass.
Canteen. - empty water bottle
15 Use an empty plastic bottle as a conventional gourd.
Ceiling lamp. - cardboard bag - metal hanger
16 Cut the cardboard bottom of the bag and hang it above the bulb. Bend the coat hanger in half. Place it around the bulb so as to avoid the carton from touching the bulb.
Chignon pin. - pencil
17 Use a pencil as a conventional chignon pin. Prefer a pencil to avoid staining clothes with ink. As an alternative, one can also use a paintbrush.
Cigar box. - wooden box - potato peel
18 Put a potato peel in a wooden box. Put the cigars in the box in a way they can’t touch the peel. Renew the peel once it has dried out.
Cigar cutter. - utility knife
19 cigars.
Use a utility knife to cut the tip of your
Cookie cutter. - glass
20 cutter.
Use a glass as a conventional cookie
Correction tape. - white paper - glue (page 42)
21 Cut a strip of white paper about the size of the word to be corrected and paste it upon it.
Curtains. - newsprint - adhesive tape
22 Unfold each sheet of paper and tape it on the window surface to conceal it.
Door stop. - cork - screw
23 Screw the cork in the floor in the wanted place to stop the door.
Draught excluder. - towel
24 Wrap a towel and place it at the bottom of a door to keep wind and draught from entering.
Drum. - empty paint can - sticks
25 Turn an empty paint bucket around so as to have the bottom facing you. Hit the bottom rhythmically with the two sticks.
Fishing rod. - branch - string (volume 1)
26 Take a sturdy branch and bind the string at one end. Refer to page 27 for the float and page 32 for the hook.
Float. - empty ink cartridge - string (volume 1) - lollipop stick
27 Place the lollipop stick through the empty ink cartridge’s hole. Fasten the whole to a string. Refer to page 26 for the rod and page 32 for the hook.
Fly swatter. - newsprint
28 Rol some newsprint around itself and use it to crush annoying flies.
Football. - tape
29 Wrap tape on itself to get a ball with the size of a balloon.
Hand fan. - magazine
30 Take hold of the magazine by its binding and use as a conventional fan.
Handsfree kit. - cap
31 Stick your mobile phone halfway into your cap so it is well positioned to make a call.
Hook. - needle
32 Twist the needle so as to obtain the shape of a hook. Insert the fishing line in the eye. See page 26 for the rod and page 27 for the float.
Ice pack. - empty water bottle - water
33 Fill two-thirds of an empty water bottle with tap water and place in freezer. The block of ice is ready for use when the water has turned into ice.
Knitting needles. - wooden spoons
34 To facilitate the insertion in mesh, make the handles of your spoons pointy by cutting them. Use them as conventional knitting needles.
Letter rack. - empty milk carton
35 Cut the milk carton in length and keep one half. Cut out strips so that they remain together. Then remove one in two strips. Use as a conventional letter rack.
Megaphone. - traffic cone
36 Speak in the narrowest part, direct your voice in the desired direction.
Mittens. - pair of socks
37 Cut the tip of the socks and use as a conventional glove.
Motorcycle helmet. - stockpot - cloth - string (volume 1)
38 Put the cloth into the pot, bind the string to a lid. Put the whole on your head and bind the other end of the string to the second lid in order to hold the whole in place.
Nail cleaner. - paper clip
39 Unfold the paper clip and use it as a conventional nail cleaner.
Non-slip hanger. - hanger - elastic
40 Wrap rubber bands on both edges of the hanger. Use the set as a conventional hanger.
Palette. - piece of white cardboard - plastic sheet protector
41 Place the piece of cardboard in the plastic sheet protector. Take hold of it with a single hand and use it as a conventional palette. To renew your palette replace the plastic bag.
Paper glue. - egg white - brush
42 Spread the egg white with the brush on one of the two surfaces, then assemble the two parts.
Pencil sharpener. - utility knife
43 Take an utility knife and cut bits of the tip of the pencil until ready for use.
Piggy bank. - jar of mayonnaise
44 Make a slit in the lid of the jar of mayonnaise. Thoroughly clean the pot, and place the lid on. The piggy bank is ready.
Planter box. - milk carton
45 Remove one side of the brick. Fill with the soil. Plant flowers in the soil and water.
Rolling pin. - glass bottle
46 Choose a glass bottle with the edge as flat as possible and use it as a conventional rolling pin.
Ruler. - stick of wood
47 Carry a stick with a flat surface and use it as a rule.
Salad spinner. - cloth
48 Place the wet salad in the cloth. Take hold of the cloth by its four endings and spin it around with large circular motions.
Sanitary napkin. - handkerchiefs (volume 1) - adhesive tape
49 Put tape on both sides of a handkerchief. Place in the underwear.
Shave brush. - trimming and edging paint brush
50 Use the paint brush as a conventional badger. For shaving foam, see the shaving foam entry (volume 1).
Shopping bag. - scarf
51 Tie the four corners of a scarf to obtain a shopping bag.
Shower-shelve. - plastic bag
52 Hang the plastic bag on the showertap. Store shower gels or soaps inside.
Sieve. - cloth
53 Place the cloth over the pan. Maintain it good in place while reversing the pan to drain the water.
Sledge. - shopping bag
54 Open a shopping bag by cutting both sides. Spread it open on the top of the hill, sit on it and grasp the handle. Revel in the snow.
Slingshot. - empty water bottle - balloon
55 Reclaim the neck of an empty bottle of water. Cut the thin part of the rubber balloon and place the other end on the bottle’s neck. Secure the assembly with the remaining part. Place a stone in the balloon, pull it and release to make the throw.
Softener. - tennis balls
56 Place two to three tennis balls in your washing machine instead of your usual fabric softener. It is possible to replace the tennis balls by golf balls.
Storage box. - shoe box
57 Keep your home tidy by using your old shoe boxes as storage. The storage boxes can be combined with shelves (volume 1).
Toe separators. - peanuts
58 Put peanuts in between the toes to facilitate the use of nail polish.
Toilet paper dispenser. - door handle - two nails
59 Fasten the door handle with the first nail. Place the second one under the handle so that it is blocked horizontally. Raise the handle and slide the roll of toilet paper on it.
Toothbrush holder. - glass
60 Use a glass as a conventional toothbrush glass.
Toothpicks. - match
61 Use the wooden tip of the matchas a conventional toothpick.
Touch screen pointer. - match
62 Use the wooden side of the match as a regular touch screen pointer.
Trivet. - cloth
63 Fold the cloth two or four times and place it on the table. The hot pan can now be layed upon it.
Tweezer. - pair of glasses
64 Bring a pair of glasses. Put the hair between the branch and the main part. Open the branch to catch it. Pull to remove.
Urinal. - empty milk bottle
65 During your recovery, use the bottle of milk as a conventional urinal.
Walker. - chair
66 During your recovery period, leaning on the back of a chair to get around.
Wallet. - empty cigarette package
67 Use the cigarette pack to carry your spare change.
Washing machine. - bathtub
68 Place the laundry in the bathtub. Add water and lye (volume 1). Mix everything with your feet. Empty water and detergent, then rinse the same way. Then wring out by twisting the laundry.
Wasp catcher. - empty water bottle - syrup
69 Cut a plastic bottle in two, screw the top part downwards into the bottom part. Put the syrup in the bottom of the bottle. Wasps and bees find themselves trapped in the bottle when trying to reach the syrup.
Whistle. - rubber balloon
70 Cut a balloon in two. Place the thin end of your little finger and exhale through the mouthpiece.