Multi-Book Secret Storage Compartment

You are probably already familiar with the classic "Secret Book Compartment" project. You can find variations of this project all over the internet. The basic concept is simple. You hollow out a large book and you use the cutout space to hide stuff. But what if you want to hide something that is larger than all of your books. Well, you can hide larger objects by combining multiple books into one large multi-book container. It's a fun way to reuse those old reference books that you never read.

Instructable: http://www.instructables.com/id/Multi-Book-Secret-Storage-Compartment/

Swiss Army Key Ring

Most people have to keep track of at least a few keys. The easiest way to do that is to just keep them all on one key ring. But the more keys that you have, the more they fan out on the ring. If you have a lot of keys, then your key ring can get pretty bulky and impractical to carry in your pocket. Here is an alternate design for holding and organizing your keys that is a little more efficient.

The design of this key holder is very similar in construction to a Swiss Army Knife. The keys are arranged on two parallel bars. Each key can be rotated into the handle for compact storage and rotated back out for use. So here is how to make a Swiss Army Key Ring.

Instructable: http://www.instructables.com/id/Swiss-Army-Key-Ring/

Magnetic Magic Wand Toy

Do you know a kid that likes to pretend that they are a wizard or a fairy princess? How would you like to give them a toy wand that can turn on/off electronic devices like magic? You may even be able to teach them a thing or two about electronics in the process.

In this project, I show you how you can make magnetic switches that can be used to activate a circuit just like a regular momentary switch. This lets you add magnets and magnet sensitive switches to toys so that they can interact with each other

Instructable: http://www.instructables.com/id/Magic-Wand-that-can-turn-Electrical-Appliances-On-/

How to Get Emergency Power from a Phone Line

What do you do if the power is out but you need to charge your cellphone to make an emergency phone call (or play Angry Birds). Don't worry there are plenty of power sources all around you that you can tap into. One of them is phone line. Even when in a blackout, there is still electricity in the phone line. This is because the phone company has their own independent backup power system. All you need to tap this power is a simple voltage regulator. Here is how to set it up.