INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Go to your local bank to redeem your savings bond. If you are a customer, you may only have to have an active account and proper identification. If you are not a member of the bank, the bank may not redeem the bonds, or they might place restrictions on them, like limiting the amount they will cash. Contact your bank before redeeming them. Find out if they redeem savings bonds, what their dollar limit is, and what documents you need to redeem the bonds. If the bank won't redeem your bonds, try the Federal Reserve Bank. You can do this electronically or by mail. Bring proper identification, such as a driver's license or a social security card. When redeeming the bond at your bank, the name on the bond, the name on your account, and the name on your identification need to match. You may have to have an account at the bank for at least 6 months. If you do not have an account, you will have to show a photo ID and provide a signature. You can also have an identifier take you to his bank where he has had an account for 6 months. The person with the account must have a legitimate connection to the person cashing the bond. For example, it cannot be landlord-tenant or a patron from a business. You both will be required to give name and address, relationship, and length of acquaintance. You will have to sign the "Request for Payment" section of the bond. Your signature will have to match the signature on file. If you are at the bank with someone with an account, he will have to sign the "Request for Payment." The bank will write your account number on the back of the bond. They may also write the type of identification or your address on the back. If you are in a situation where the owner of the bond needs a Power of Attorney, such as the owner of the bond is in the hospital or home-bound, you can fill out the Power of Attorney form (PD F 5188). This form authorizes the person whose name is on the form to sell or cash the bonds. Another way to do this is to submit a certified copy of the power of attorney to the bank. The Power of Attorney document must state explicitly that you can cash the savings bonds. The document must be notarized. If you do this, only a Federal Reserve Bank can cash the bonds. This form is located through the Treasury Department website. If you are the parent of a child too young to sign the request form, you must provide proper identification that you are the parent. On the back of the bond, you will enter something like this: I certify that I am the parent of John Doe with whom John Doe resides/to whom legal custody has been granted. He is 3 years old and is not of sufficient understanding to make this request. Nick Doe on behalf of John Doe. If a child is old enough to sign his or her own name, they can go to the bank and sign the bonds while accompanied by an adult. To redeem your bonds electronically, go to the United States Treasury online marketplace, TreasuryDirect.gov. TreasuryDirect.gov gives individuals the ability to redeem their electronic savings bonds online and transfer the proceeds to a bank account. You may also request a check for the proceeds. TreasuryDirect.gov also provides a service which allows you to convert your savings bond certificates into electronic savings bonds for easier filing and tracking. This will relieve you of the burden of storing your certificates. It makes redeeming bonds significantly easier. Savings bonds earn interest during each year of ownership. For Series E/EE bonds, there is a choice for how to report interest as taxable income. Interest can be reported every year, but if this is done for one year, it must be reported every year until it reaches final maturity or until the bond is redeemed, whichever comes first. Otherwise taxes on all interest can be deferred completely until either the bond reaches final maturity or the bond is redeemed, whichever comes first. That means that taxes on accrued bond interest may be due before the bond is redeemed. Interest is reportable as taxable income on line 8a of the federal Form 1040.

SUMMARY: Visit your local bank. Have the proper identification. Fill out a Power of Attorney form if you need to. Put in writing the child is too young to cash if cashing for a minor. Redeem the bonds electronically. Claim earned interest on your tax return.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Making a crocheted cell phone case is much easier than it might seem. You just need a few things to do it. You will need: Yarn in the color and type of your choice A crochet hook appropriate for the type of yarn you are using. Be sure to check the label of your yarn for recommendations on what size hook to use with the yarn. Scissors Button Needle and thread to wrap around your cell phone. You don't need to worry about measuring your phone to get the right measurements for your cell phone case. All you need to do is to make a chain long enough to wrap around your cell phone width-wise. The chain should be snug, but not super tight. If the chain is too tight, add a chain or two. If it is too loose, take a couple of chains out. Leave a long tail of about 10 to 12 inches (25 to 20 cm). You can use this yarn to sew the bottom closed after you finish making the case. Next, you will need to connect the beginning and end of the chain to begin crocheting in rounds. With the loop still on your hook from the last chain you crocheted, insert the crochet hook into the first link in your chain. Then, loop the yarn over the hook, and pull it through both stitches to secure them together. Your chain should now be connected in a circle. Once the chain is a circle, you can begin single crocheting around it. Start by inserting the hook into the first stitch in the round. Then, loop the yarn over and pull this yarn through the first loop. Loop the yarn over the hook again and then pull this yarn through both stitches on the hook. This will complete your first single crochet stitch. Single crochet to the last stitch in the round, and then slipstitch to connect the first and last stitches. If you prefer to use a different type of stitch, then you can. For example, you could try the double crochet stitch, popcorn stitch, or cluster stitch. Be careful not to twist the stitches. You will need to continue to single crochet all rounds until the case is long enough to hold your cell phone. Once it looks like you are getting close, try slipping your cell phone into the case to see how far you have to go. Keep going until your entire cell phone fits in the case. . After you have achieved your desired length for the cell phone case, you will need to bind off your work. To do this, cut the free end of the yarn a few inches away from the hook, and then pull it out through your last loop to secure it. To deal with the tail, you can either weave in the end using a darning needle, or tie it in a second knot and cut the excess. Use the tail that you left at the beginning of making the case to sew the bottom of the case closed. If you did not leave a long enough tail, then tie a 10 to 12 inch (25 to 30 cm) piece of yarn to the tail and thread it through a darning needle. Then, stitch along the bottom of the cell phone case to close it.

SUMMARY:
Gather your tools and materials. Chain enough stitches Connect the chain with a slipstitch. Single crochet around the chain. Continue to single crochet all rounds. Bind off Sew the bottom closed.