For simplicity sakes, try Quirky.com

For DIY: first step is being afraid of sharing your ideas. Research has proved that ideas are a revolving cycle among many, before you had it chances are a few people already did and didn't pursue it or failed at it. It seems people don't typically steal ideas, because they are hard to pursue, they don't instantly mean wealth, and thus don't.
But what is guaranteed is that if you don't share your ideas with others, you will too fail in bringing them to life.

Parenting in itself costs a lot of time and money, depending on the idea or "invention" you might better off producing and implementing with a growth hack marketing effort for quick adoption and sales and through sales fund your patenting. Is risky but is often done. First to market goes a long way, sometimes more than parents themselves because a clever firm will always tweak to work around that. - take a what's going on with GoPro right now...

God bless and best of luck!
Humberto Valle
www.unthink.me