YOUR PLACE.

RUB-A-DUB: Any product called Magic Eraser is just begging to be put to a test. The Mr. Clean foam sponges, sold two to a box, are said to be good for a wide range of cleaning needs, from scuff marks on walls, shower soap scum and car wheel grime to toddler-created crayon murals. We wet one down and gave it a try in the newsroom. It was not very effective on inky fingerprints on an enamel door (of which there is no shortage here), but it did take scuff marks off textured walls, fingerprints off light switches and, yes, red crayon scribbles off flat paint, enamel paint and even the nubby plastic back of an office chair, leaving the surface color intact on each. A sponge can be used three or more times before disposing. Suggested retail price: $2.19 a pair.

- Valerie Kuklenski

CUTTING EDGE: From the happy accident file comes a new line of cutting boards made from bamboo. Tom and Joanne Sullivan design and manufacture custom director's chairs from bamboo in their North Hollywood studio. Joanne once took home a leftover plank to use as a kitchen cutting board and found it to be very resilient over time. Their company, Totally Bamboo, has since branched out - or should we say started an offshoot line? - in bamboo cutting boards, from the tiny Anacapa bar board ($8) and the mosaic-looking Tonga ($59) to the 18-by 24-inch Big Kahuna ($190). The boards, lighter weight than their hardwood counterparts, are assembled with a specially developed nontoxic glue and get their color from the heat-curing process. The Sullivans see their boards as a beautiful addition to a kitchen and a blessing to maples and other trees that grow much more slowly than abundant timber-grade bamboo. See totallybamboo.com or call [phone] for information.

- V.K.

GET OUT YOUR SCISSORS: A scrap of colored paper here, a stencil there, an old wooden button, a photo of Mom sitting at the sewing machine. Paste it all down in a keepsake book and you're scrapbooking or preserving a little family history with pizazz. Sound interesting? Four million scrapbookers think so. They've made it the third-most-popular craft in America. Whether you're an expert or beginner, maybe you'd like to pick up a few tips during DIY cable television network's all-day scrapbook marathon starting at 9:30 this morning. If the channel isn't available on your cable system, you can log on to DIYnet.com and still take part in a chat with the experts and and find some scrapbooking projects. Snip away.

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(1 -- 2) no caption (Totaly Bamboo cutting boards)