CraftsArchive: Crafts

November 5, 2009

Halloween on Berkeley's Russell Street

Our very own Michelle Hlubinka, MAKE's Educational Director, is quoted in this Daily Californian piece about the celebtrational insanity of Russell Street, in Berkeley, known for it's elaborate decorations and large, costumed crowds.

Below is one of the yard decorations Michelle's family put together. Their theme was "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes." I love the Dixie cups for monster teeth.

russellSt2.JPG


Halloween Revelers Flock to Russell Street

Posted by Gareth Branwyn | Nov 5, 2009 02:00 PM
Crafts, Halloween | Permalink | Comments (2) | Email Entry | Suggest a Site

Beautiful scrap wood butcher block table

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I love this. Instructables user wholman has gathered together a bunch of scrap wood from "dumpsters, back alleys, vacant lots, abandoned buildings, recycling yards, and architectural salvage centers" and laminated it together using all-thread. Then he's very carefully smoothed and polished only one side of the finished block, leaving the underside rough to show off the process. Beautiful.

Posted by Sean Michael Ragan | Nov 5, 2009 12:00 PM
Crafts, Furniture, Green, Instructables | Permalink | Comments (2) | Email Entry | Suggest a Site

November 1, 2009

CRAFT weekly recap

Here are some of my favorites from CRAFT this week:

CRAFT Video: Hemming Pants

Meatloaf Hand

Cocktail: Dark and Snow-Stormy

Favorite Halloween Costumes from the CRAFT Editors

Laser Engraved Skull in Dollars

Posted by Becky Stern | Nov 1, 2009 02:00 PM
Crafts | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email Entry | Suggest a Site

Pac-Man pumpkins

pacmanproj.jpg mspacmanpumpkinsunderregularanduvlight.gif

Reader Dave Adams submitted this cool Pac Man pumpkin display, complete with ghosts, dots, and fruit. Shown immediately above under regular and UV light. [Thanks, David!]

Make: Halloween Contest 2009

There's still three days left to enter the Make: Halloween Contest 2009! Deadline is November 3rd. Show us your embedded microcontroller Halloween projects and you could be chosen as a winner.

Posted by Sean Michael Ragan | Nov 1, 2009 08:10 AM
Crafts, Halloween, Made On Earth | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email Entry | Suggest a Site

October 30, 2009

Katamari Costumes

katamari.jpg

Halloween wouldn't be complete without a Katamari costume or two. Donovan and Ashly show off their Katamaris in preparation for the ensuing festivities. [Thanks, Donovan!]

I'm in the June [polka dot] outfit. Ashly is the Prince [in green]. I made the heads and my outfit. Ashly was in charge of her own dress. The primary materials are foam, posterboard and foamies, these 2mm thick colored foam sheets. That's what I used for the dots and the coverings on the heads. I liked the dimensional quality it gave rather than just using paint or paper.

More:

Posted by Adam Flaherty | Oct 30, 2009 04:00 AM
Crafts, Gaming, Halloween | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email Entry | Suggest a Site

October 29, 2009

Minimalist nativity set

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Halloween is so two days from now. Which might as well be last week on the internet. I'm moving on to Xmas. From Berlin artist Oliver Fabel. [via Neatorama]

Posted by Sean Michael Ragan | Oct 29, 2009 09:00 AM
Crafts, Holiday projects, Made On Earth, Makers | Permalink | Comments (6) | Email Entry | Suggest a Site

In the Maker Shed: Creepy CRAFT Bundle

CreepyCraft.jpg The Creepy CRAFT Bundle from the Maker Shed teaches you all about making creepy adorable hand-sewn mini monsters. Before you know it, these little creatures will overrun your entire house.
Start out your monster-making experience by reading the DIY hand-sewn, free-range, monster tutorial found in CRAFT, Volume 06. Next, crack open the DIY Mini Monster kit and make your first adorable little monster. When you're all done, use the included Maker's Notebook to sketch out some new designs.

Posted by Maker Shed | Oct 29, 2009 01:00 AM
Crafts, Maker Shed Store | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email Entry | Suggest a Site

October 28, 2009

How-To: Spider web balloons

spider_balloon_halloween.jpg

So, the stuff inside the balloon that makes the web is called HI-FLOAT, and it's a commercial product actually sold for injecting into helium balloons to make them retain their helium longer. It forms a skin on the inside of the balloon and keeps the helium from diffusing out so quickly. The "web" effect is created by applying the HI-FLOAT and letting it dry at one pressure, and then deflating the balloon, stressing it, and then re-inflating to a higher pressure, causing the film to detach from the walls (which, of course, means it's not working as a sealant anymore, but whatevs). I'm pretty sure this trick was developed in-house, by the company that makes it, to sell more HI-FLOAT. Still, it's pretty cool.

Make: Halloween Contest 2009

Microchip Technology Inc. and MAKE have teamed up to present to you the Make: Halloween Contest 2009! Show us your embedded microcontroller Halloween projects and you could be chosen as a winner.

Posted by Sean Michael Ragan | Oct 28, 2009 07:24 PM
Crafts, DIY Projects, Halloween | Permalink | Comments (2) | Email Entry | Suggest a Site

How-To: Cast concrete tombstones

EMSL tombstone tute 01.jpg EMSL tombstone tute 02.jpg

Fast, easy tutorial from Lenore of Evil Mad Scientist Labs. I wonder whether you might not use polystyrene beads as an aggregate to reduce weight?

Make: Halloween Contest 2009

Microchip Technology Inc. and MAKE have teamed up to present to you the Make: Halloween Contest 2009! Show us your embedded microcontroller Halloween projects and you could be chosen as a winner.

Posted by Sean Michael Ragan | Oct 28, 2009 06:02 AM
Crafts, DIY Projects, Halloween | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email Entry | Suggest a Site

October 27, 2009

A visit to "Her Majesty's Secret Beekeeper"

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Here are some photos from my visit to Cameo Wood's "Her Majesty's Secret Beekeeper" a wonderful beekeeping and honey shop in San Francisco, CA...

Established on June 29th, 2009, HMSBeekeeper focuses on local honey, gourmet single source and infused honeys, pollen and propolis, locally made soap, candles, balms, and lotions, as well as exceptional yet economically priced beekeeping equipment.  If it is made from the hive, we are likely to carry it.  We also hold classes periodically. Our most popular classes are Mead Making, Soap Making, and Introduction to Urban Beekeeping.  Please consider signing up to our mailing list to keep informed of our offerings. We also sponsor a monthly SF Beekeeping Meetup, please consider joining!
After chatting for awhile with some makers there it appears there are a few dozen embedded projects that would really help out the beekeeping world, I expect to see a Beeduino in a few weeks.

Posted by Phillip Torrone | Oct 27, 2009 10:36 AM
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Meticulously cut paper maps of NYC

NYC mapcut 00.jpg NYC mapcut 01.jpg

From Etsy seller studiokmo:

four paper panels, each panel measures approximately three feet by four feet (overall dimensions, six feet in width x 8 feet in height) and exposes city blocks of brooklyn, manhattan, queens, and the bronx. the panels fit together like panes of a window and all four pieces must be sold as a set. image one would located in the lower left pane. image two located in the upper left pane. image three in the upper right pane and image four in the lower right pane. image five shows the delicacy of the pieces.

[via Dude Craft]

Posted by Sean Michael Ragan | Oct 27, 2009 08:58 AM
Arts, Crafts, Paper Crafts | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email Entry | Suggest a Site

October 26, 2009

How-To: Fake fire baskets

beelce fire baskets.jpg


Very detailed build thread
from Haunt Forum user beelce describing the construction of these awesome simulated fire baskets from mostly dollar-store stuff--cheap baskets, out-of-season holiday lights, LEDs, a fan, some nylon fabric. The results look great.

Make: Halloween Contest 2009

Microchip Technology Inc. and MAKE have teamed up to present to you the Make: Halloween Contest 2009! Show us your embedded microcontroller Halloween projects and you could be chosen as a winner.

Posted by Sean Michael Ragan | Oct 26, 2009 07:01 PM
Crafts, Electronics, Halloween | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email Entry | Suggest a Site

Make robot parts with papier-mâché

papier_mache_robot.JPG

What do you do if you don't have a vacuum former, and need to make a part for your robot body? Well, Vadim Ryazanov over at lets make robots has a simple solution: make them with papier-mâché! By using paper and a 1:1 mixture of wood glue and water, he was able to make a hemispherical shell for an upcoming project. Great idea!

Posted by Matt Mets | Oct 26, 2009 10:00 AM
Crafts, Robotics | Permalink | Comments (2) | Email Entry | Suggest a Site

October 25, 2009

CRAFT weekly recap

Here are some of my favorites from CRAFT this week:

Janet Echelman's Her Secret is Patience

Shoe Repair Tips + Interview with Vince Pacheo

Headless Marie Antoinette Costume

Chocolate Human Skulls

Fairytale Fashion: Deployable Structures

Posted by Becky Stern | Oct 25, 2009 02:00 PM
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October 24, 2009

Muybridge Zoetrope papercraft


MuybridgeZoe.jpg

Grant Thomas, of Making Visual Narratives, pointed us to this free, printable papercraft Zoetrope, featuring the famous motion photos of Eadweard Muybridge.

Free Printable Papercraft Eadweard Muybridge Zoetrope


More:
Laser cut & animated Muybridge horses
Grotesque Menagerie

Posted by Gareth Branwyn | Oct 24, 2009 06:01 PM
Crafts, Paper Crafts | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email Entry | Suggest a Site

Laser-cut ouija board looks authentic

lasercutOuija_cc.jpg lasercutOuija1_cc.jpg
From the MAKE Flickr pool

Daniel sends pics of his laser-cut/engraved ouija board - the hand-painted fills add a nice touch!

Posted by Collin Cunningham | Oct 24, 2009 05:00 AM
Crafts, Toys and Games | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email Entry | Suggest a Site

October 23, 2009

A better way to slice a pumpkin

Perfect Pumpkin Cut.jpg

Subscriber Michael Williams wrote in with this clever modification of the traditional pumpkin incision. He explains the logic:

For years now I've been unhappy with the choices for cutting open a pumpkin for Halloween. If you cut the top off in the traditional manner, you end up with singed hand hairs (at best) when attempting to place/light a candle. If you cut the bottom off, you can get the candle in OK but you're stuck picking up nearly the whole pumpkin each time and it never sits quite right. This year is different - I've found the perfect pumpkin cut!

Thanks Michael!

Make: Halloween Contest 2009

Microchip Technology Inc. and MAKE have teamed up to present to you the Make: Halloween Contest 2009! Show us your embedded microcontroller Halloween projects and you could be chosen as a winner.

Posted by Sean Michael Ragan | Oct 23, 2009 12:08 PM
Crafts, Halloween, Toolbox | Permalink | Comments (20) | Email Entry | Suggest a Site

D-Build: Finding parts from old homes

Here's what looks like a great, culturally sensitive way to tear down old buildings. D-Build, a project started in Syracuse, NY, is aiming to document and catalog entire decommissioned buildings as they are taken apart.

All well and good, but what does this have to do with makers, you ask? Well, the other half of their equation is to provide a market where you can purchase the raw materials taken from the houses, and even sell things back that were made with them.

This seems like a excellent way to recycle usable building materials, that would probably otherwise just end up in a dump. [via core77]

Posted by Matt Mets | Oct 23, 2009 10:00 AM
Crafts, Green | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email Entry | Suggest a Site

October 22, 2009

Orrery based on Ferguson's "mechanical paradox"

paradox_orrery_one_tina_buescher.jpg

Beautiful photographs by Tina Buescher of Jim Donnelly's orrery based on the mechanism known as "Ferguson's mechanical paradox." Good information about the orrery is provided by Ian Coote's page. As for the "paradox," well, it boils down to this: the three apparently-identical stacked gears on the end are driven by a single gear, yet move at different rates, which, of course, would be impossible if they were truly identical. News flash: They're not. But I'm sure it was harder to fight boredom in the 18th century than it is now, and the build is undeniably gorgeous.

Posted by Sean Michael Ragan | Oct 22, 2009 06:53 AM
Crafts, Made On Earth, Retro, Science | Permalink | Comments (3) | Email Entry | Suggest a Site

How-To: Papier-mâché gargoyle

papier_mache_gargoyle.JPG

Or is it "carton-pierre?" Anyway, it wins. "Ghostess" Deanna did a great job documenting the process of building "Goliath," who is based on the eponymous character from Disney's Gargoyles cartoon. Hard to believe he started out as glue, craft paper, and PVC pipe.

Make: Halloween Contest 2009

Microchip Technology Inc. and MAKE have teamed up to present to you the Make: Halloween Contest 2009! Show us your embedded microcontroller Halloween projects and you could be chosen as a winner.

Posted by Sean Michael Ragan | Oct 22, 2009 01:00 AM
Crafts, DIY Projects, Halloween | Permalink | Comments (2) | Email Entry | Suggest a Site

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