I started working on the costume shortly after last Halloween, by making a paper pattern, but I set the project aside for the following 9 months or so. But with Halloween creeping up, I thought that I’d better haul it out and work on it again.

I got some fabric on sale at Wall-Mart for $1/yard and dyed it green. Then I cut out and stitched together the front and back panels to form the torso. I sliced the sleeve pattern into 3 strips in order to form the 3 panel sleeves that are customary for chimpanzees. I spaced out the 3 pattern pieces to account for seam allowances before I traced and cut out the 3 sleeve pieces.

HOW TO be makin' a sturdy pirate-style cannon

Aye, a wee bit fancy now eh? Paper Pirate Hat Panache

Oh now, ye can never have enuff of o' these - Make a pirate eye patch for your kids or masquerade (er when ye lose yer eyeball!)

Fer help in strategizin' those ... err ... 'special events' - Pirate Plunder! Design and Plan a Costumed Raid

But should ye find yerself needin' navigation fer proper way-o-speech - avast, Ol' Chumbucket and Cap'n Slappy are at the ready.

If that don't fill yer sails, set yer nets out to this 'ere Pirate Speak contraption.

And what manner o officiality be this? Would seem ye mighty google even thought us seafarin' folk worthy of translation!

Evan whipped up this USB illuminated and fan-propelled flag for the occasion of Patriot Day, as well as an instructable for making your own. Use a USA flag, or replace with the flag of your choice. Via fffffat.

Natalie at CRAFT points out an easy project for kid-friendly patriotic fun.
Just print, cut, fold and fasten - Patriotic pinwheels [via CRAFT:Blog]

In case you didn't know, Instructables has been running a BBQ/grilling contest. Deadline for entry is July 6, so if you want to entry, you'll need to hurry. You can see all of the entries to date at the link below.

BBQ PDQ Contest

Want to make the best dang chicken you've ever eaten? Try a beer can chicken on the grill. It's pretty simple. You first cover the chicken with your favorite spice rub. I use Steven Raichlen's basic BBQ rub of brown sugar (1/4c), sweet paprika (1/4c), pepper (3tbs), sea salt (3tbs), garlic powder (2tsp), onion powder (2tsp), cayenne pepper (1tsp). Then, you shove a can of beer (you can also use a soda) up the chicken's butt with half of the liquid left inside. Poke extra holes in the top of the can and put a few spoons of your rub inside the liquid. The bird is then placed on the grill, resting tripod-style, on the base of the can and its two legs. And yes, it does look like it's sitting on the toilet, and yes, your guests, your kids will get a good laugh out of how goofy it looks (but they won't be laughing after they start eating).

Place the chicken on one side of the grill with the opposite side burners on (i.e. indirect heat). Cook for about 1-1/2 hours, or until 180-degrees internal. You'll need to turn the chicken around every 1/4 hr so so that it cooks evenly. Some people like to use a drip pan underneath to catch and revaporize all of the liquid. Also: If you're concerned about the aluminum can and its paint, etc., you can use a soup-type can with the paper label removed (just make sure it's the kind that doesn't have a white plastic lining).

Note: Some people stuff the neck cavity of their chicken with meats (sausage) or fruit/vegetables (onion, apple). To me, this diminishes the chimney effect that the beer can method is designed to take advantage of. The organic chickens I get usually have a big skin flap at the neck. I use that to close off most of the hole so that all of the juices don't vent away.

Below is one Instructable for beer can chicken. There are others and lots of other resources online about it. Everyone has their own variation.

Beer Can Chicken

For those without a good view of the traditional pyrotechnics - consider a more modest electronic approach.

Ooooh ... Aaaaah!

Fourth of July fireworks might seem tame to Matt Stromberg via Gizmodo.

The Savannah College of Art and Design professor of foundation studies and sculpture uses rocket fuel, explosives, pyrotechnics, propellants and munitions to create earth-shattering art. These energetic materials are used to manipulate metal, wood and paper -- using destruction to create art.

Stromberg's creations include sculpted metal panels. He's also used a submachine gun to create pigment-infused solid rocket-fuel paint that is literally shot into stone.

"I think it stems from a long-term interest in energetic materials," Stromberg says. "Recently, with the birth of my daughter, my wife and I were thinking about what we are going to teach her. I want to encourage her to seek out things in life she finds interesting.

"I've always liked energetic materials," he says. "I think the risk-taking is a big part of it, which is probably a key element of being an artist."

Stromberg first began experimenting with energetic materials last year. It's not something for the faint of heart. "I would say it's very dangerous," Stromberg says.

Here's an idea I got from Alton Brown on Good Eats that I sketched up in my Maker's Notebook. It's for throwing a self-serve shish kabob party using a temporary fire pit made from bricks, sand, and charcoal. You make the width of the pit so that your skewers fit over it and the handles rest on the bricks. You then have a table with skewers and all of the components and let people fix and cook their own.

For dessert, you can serve grilled fruit skewers over pound cake. In case you can't read my recipe for the dessert glaze, it's:

1 vanilla bean (stripped)
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 - cup juice of lime
Pinch of salt

Heat until sugar melts. Let cool and transfer to squeeze bottle.

Father's Day is Sunday, June 15, 2008. Started by Sonora Dodd to honor her father who raised five children alone after the Civil War, President Coolidge supported the idea, Lyndon signed a proclamation, and in 1972 it was official.

The MAKE team has put together some fun gifts to make, buy, and give this Father's Day - have a great story about making things and your Dad? Post it up in the comments, at the end of the day I'll pick a few and send you the new coveted Makers Notebook! Click on through to read our massive guide!

Whoa. Check out this cool cylon "robbit" posted to the Make: Flickr Pool.

Cylon Animals

Make: Blog reader Ed Hunsinger saw the packing peanuts cubicle prank on Hack N Mod (where we found it) and executed the prank.

A quick trip to the UPS store to purchase 28 cu ft of biodegradable packing peanuts (cost: $65), office supply store for paper and tape ($12), and a few beers later we were quite successful.

The glass corner adds another degree of believability to illusion. Really cool.

Filling an office with packing peanuts, how to fake it

Think Miller Time meets the LED Throwie.

LED Frosties

Related:

• LED Throwie coverage on Make: Blog

How to Fill an Office with Packing Peanuts [via

As you know, tomorrow is April 1st. So be prepared to prank and be pranked. Instructables is running a contest (through the 13th) to find the best in April Fools shenanigans. Check out the entries so far -- you might find something worth torturing friends and coworkers with tomorrow.

April Fools' Speed Contest

When I was a teen rocket geek, I had an almost fetishistic fascination with launch controllers. In our rocket club, we could afford only the most basic single button/key/light controllers wired to a car battery. But we could dream... about devices such as this beauty, a fully tricked-out 12-channel wireless control system for fireworks.

DIY wireless firework control [via]

Hamentaschen, or Hamen's hats, are triangular cookies to celebrate Hamen's defeat at Purim (see the Book of Esther). In Hebrew, they are called Oznei Haman - Hamen's ears. They are eaten at Purim and included in mishloach manot, the Purim mitzvah of giving food to the poor and friends. Traditionally, Ashkenazi hamentashen are triangular (hat shaped) butter cookies stuffed with prune, apricot or poppy fillings, although variants are widespread. In Sephardi traditions, they are sometimes fried circles (ear shaped)...

Homemade easter egg anemometer.

HOW TO - Easter Eggs dyed with onion skins.

HOW TO - Make Ukrainian Easter Eggs.

Laser-egg-etching.

Egg art from Makers.

Egg City.

Naturally dyed Easter eggs.

Electrocuting Peeps.

Mark Rehorst and his son Alex had a Cub Scout cake auction fundraiser to attend, and decided to make something a little less traditional than a cake. Mark writes:

I've had a few microbiology classes and cultured many different types of bacteria on different media, and I happened to have a case of pyrex Petri dishes from an old surplus buy (relax, they were unused) so I thought it would be fun to make dessert that looked like bacterial cultures served in Petri dishes! I prepared the media (jello, tapioca pudding, and lemon pie filling) and Alex did most of the decorating. This should be good for a Halloween party or a creepy movie night with friends. They might go well with bowls of gummy worms served on ground-up Oreo cookie dirt.

Bacteria culture Jello desserts!

A time-honored tradition on St. Patrick's Day is to drink green beer. But Brooklyn Brewery won't partake in the ritual. Instead, the brew pub serves up beer that's honey-colored or amber gold. In terms of environmental impact, however, its beers are as green as they come.

Brooklyn Brewery, located on Brewer's Row in Brooklyn, New York, is one of a handful of breweries around the country that uses sustainable energy when producing its beer.

Here's my eleventh hour Valentine's Day find: These LED people blink in each other's arms. Project schematic included - Link.

Dr. Bleep sends out heart-day greetings with this romantic shot of a Thingamagoop getting snuggly with a Casio SK-1. -Link

From the MAKE Flickr pool

Member Oskay, not content with defacing his candy hearts, has resorted to melting them into a distorted, oozing mass of Valentine's Day cheer. Click the link for his full how-to. -Link

Related:
How to stamp your own Valentine's Candy -Link

"Peggy" A light emitting pegboard kit - Link.

The Evil Mad Scientist strikes again with another fun and simple how-to. This time adressing the official candy of the impending holiday -

Last year as Valentine's day approached we suggested writing new messages on your conversation hearts and loading up your trebuchet. We still advocate catapults for Valentine candy distribution and disposal, but we've upgraded the presentation a bit. With a rubber stamp kit and a food-safe pen, you can stamp your messages so they look nearly authentic, but have much more appropriate messages.

Related:

Scientist Valentine's day cards -Link

Related:

A Valentine for your Maker Sweetie! - Link.