The Computer Arts magazine is so resourceful when it comes to showing you how to design and make your own trendy things. Such as their tutorial on how to make your own plush toy. Pretty much you use a simple digital process and a variety of sewing techniques to make your own soft toy character…

I recieved an email from IKEA announcing their 1 year anniversary celebration! The email included coupons (shown below) that allow you to save money and get something for free. The discounts and freebies are only for this Friday, Saturday and Sunday (Nov.14-16, 2008). In addition the IKEA coupons are only for the Orlando Florida IKEA store.

In order to get the terrific IKEA savings simply click the image and print out the coupon but, don’t forget to take it with you in order to get the freebie and discount.

They are also having a special that is Friday Only… The first 100 people in line at IKEA Orlando on Friday, November 14, 2008 will receive a free POÄNG armchair! please note as stated: Armchair giveaway for adults 18 years and older. One per person.

And get this…! The first 50 people 100 people in line at IKEA Orlando on Saturday, November 15 and Sunday, November 16, 2008 will receive a free mystery IKEA Gift Card. The Mystery IKEA Gift Card giveaways for adults 18 years and older. One per person. IKEA Gift Card values vary from $10-$250.

Well I mentioned about a month back that I was only 85% complete with the installation of my IKEA laminate flooring. As of this past weekend I have completed about 98% of the full floor installation. I’ve added the baseboards and finished painting the walls. The only 2% of work I have left is connecting the area where the laminate floor hits the tile or carpeted areas (which shouldn’t be too bad).

My experience with the installation of the SLÄTTEN IKEA laminate floors was pretty good. However, I over bought when it came to the boxes of laminate floor planks. I purchased 28 boxes and only needed 15 + 1 for later use if needed. So I ended up having to return the other 12 boxes which wasn’t too bad.

When it came to the padding under the laminate floor I opted for Fiberboard… the NIVÅ Floor liner. Only for the simple fact that I recently put in laminate floors in my home office and used foam padding under the laminate flooring and in my opinion the foam padding made my floor echo a bit more.

Below is a video that I found to be a bit detailed on how much work goes into installing IKEA laminate flooring the Do it Yourself way. Looking to buy some IKEA Laminate Flooring for yourself..? Get a $500 Gift Card to shop at IKEA!

As I mentioned before I’m in the process of installing IKEA Laminate flooring (link). I started the DIY process this past Friday night (May 9th). Below are the steps that I’ve taken so far as well as what I have left to complete the job… I’m probably about 85% complete with the laminate floor installation project.

Step 1.) I moved as much furniture out of the room. [complete]
Step 2.) Pull up the base boards around the room. [complete]
Step 3.) Pull up and cut the carpet into sections small enough to place into large trash bags. [complete]
Step 4.) Pull up and cut the carpet padding into small enough to place into large trash bags. [complete]
Step 5.) Tape board spacers onto wall to guide the laminate wood along the wall (seen in photo w/blue tape). [complete]
Step 6.) Place installation / padding board onto floor then tape them together. [complete]
Step 7.) Start to lay down laminate flooring from one side to another and cut where needed. The angle in my living room suck to cut as well as around door ways! [incomplete still needs about 1/4 of the room to fill]
Step 8.) Place the trim /border along the bottom of the floor. I’m going to go with a 4 inch version this time. The previous owners had the cheap 2 inch stuff throughout the whole place. [incomplete]

To fully complete steps 7 & 8 I must continue my IKEA laminate floor installation project next weekend. So be sure to check back next weekend to catch a glimpse of the completed laminate floor.