HOT TIPS : OH, THIS OLD RAG? (NOW IT'S A RUG).

Finally. There's a use for that old stack of souvenir T-shirts you got as consolation prizes when family and friends returned from exotic trips.

You can shred them to pieces and walk all over them - as rag rugs.

Artist Juju Vail explains just how simple the reincarnation can be in her new book, ``Rag Rugs: Contemporary Projects in a Traditional Craft'' (Firefly Books; $19.95).

As the subtitle indicates, this craft is nothing new. Nineteenth-century Americans too poor to afford carpets imported from Europe made rag rugs out of cloth remnants and burlap sacks to cover drafty floors.

But now, on the eve of a new millennium, the old art form has found a new audience among the environmentally conscious, who would cringe if you tossed that stack of T-shirts in the trash.

Vail is a patient teacher who walks readers through the process, from how to make rags out of old clothing to proper finishing stitches for a project.

She includes templates and instructions on how to re-create 20 of her original rug designs, a few in each of the four basic techniques: hooking, prodding, braiding and applique.

The pictures will inspire you. So will the thought of making something useful out of that old stack of T-shirts.

- Betty Kwong

Rub-a-dub-dub in a colorful tub

Ever since daily bathing became a social expectation, parents and their children have been pitched in a battle of wills over that cleansing ritual.

``Take your bath!''

``I don't want to!''

And so it went, until modern man got smart and invented tub toys.

Now, there's another way to trick your kids into the bath: Tub Tints.

Toss the tablets in the tub and, a few fizzy moments later, ordinary clear bath water suddenly has been transformed into an adventurous red, blue, yellow, or your own creatively mixed-hue sea.

The fizzing tints are available in various sizes, from mini-packs containing three tablets to jars of 21 tablets. Prices range from 99 cents to $6 at most toy stores, drug stores and mass-merchandise stores.

- Betty Kwong

When skates give you that certain glow

Nightowls on wheels: This one's for you.

Street Glow, makers of Skate-Neon accent kits, say their new neon tubes are just the things to promote safe skating at night.

But chances are these glowers will be more of a hit among skaters who like to stand out in a crowd than the safety conscious trying to prevent an accident.

The battery-powered neon tubes come in nine colors: red, green, pink, purple, turquoise, yellow, orange, white and blue.

And a simple Velcro strap will fasten the glowers to the sides of in-line skates or to the bottom of quad skates. They fit on both kids' and adults' skates.

Find them for about $25 at roller rinks, skate shops and sporting-goods retailers. Or order them directly from Street Glow at www.streetglow.com on the Web, or by calling [phone].

- Betty Kwong

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PHOTO (1 -- 2) no caption (rag rugs)

(3) no caption (Tub Tints)

(4) no caption (child in bathtub)

(5) no caption (rollerblade with Street Glow)