Crafts book offers projects to be shared

Now's the time for parents to prepare themselves for long winter days and long, bored faces. "501 Fun-to-Make Family Crafts" just might be part of your emergency-response plan.
The book is a compilation of craft projects designed to be shared. Editor Carol Field Dahlstrom, however, takes the book a step further by adding suggestions for family discussions and activities related to the crafts as well as ideas for adapting some of the techniques to other uses.
The projects are more stylish than what you find in many craft books for kids. Still, the book has plenty of simple projects, so little artists can be successful.
"501 Fun-to-Make Family Crafts" is published by Better Homes and Gardens Books. It's priced at $24.95.
Weather sealantcan be peeled off
Protection from wintertime drafts doesn't have to come in the form of a plastic sheet.
Cleveland company Macco -- the maker of Liquid Nails -- has developed a clear weather sealant that works somewhat like caulk but can be peeled off when it's no longer needed. The product, WindJammer, comes in an aerosol can that's designed to be easy to use.
WindJammer can create draft-tight, waterproof seals around windows, vents, electrical boxes and other spots where air leaks into the house. It can be used outside as well as indoors.
The sealer peels away without harming most surfaces, the company says.
Suggested retail price is $4.97. It's available at Home Depot and some other home centers and mass merchandisers.