Make: Online: Paper Crafts Archives

Archive: Paper Crafts

February 8, 2010

Papercraft Surrogate iPad

Can't wait to cozy up to the new Apple iPad? Why not try your hand at constructing this handsome papercraft surrogate? Here's links to the front and back. It may not have access to your iTunes or eBooks like the real thing, but it does share its good looks and lack of multitasking, GPS, and camera. [via MacRumors]

More:

February 6, 2010

Matt Cottam's talk on Heirloom Electronics at interaction10

Matt Cottam at interaction10

Matt Cottam, founder of Tellart, presented Wooden Logic: In Search of Heirloom Electronics at interaction10 yesterday. Here are my running notes on his discussions of sketching with tangible objects, physical interfaces to the iPhone, and heirloom technology.

February 5, 2010

Paper model of expanding 6-bar Bricard linkage

YouTuber 36AM3B has lots of cool deployable-structure models in his channel, including an expanding frame (visible to the rear in this video) made from 5 of the 6-bar linkages shown here. I got interested in Bricard linkages because of this recent model from Thingiverse user raju, which purports also to be a 6-bar Bricard linkage but looks, to me, an awful like what I've always called a kaleidocycle or flexahedron. And I don't really know enough about any of them to understand the fine distinctions. Can somebody help me out?

January 29, 2010

Electroluminescent papercraft

Rob Ryan makes papercuts. It's an art, and he's good at it, and maybe it's slightly unfair that it took the gimmick of mounting one over a piece of electroluminescent sheet for me to sit up and pay attention. Still, it looks great. Kudos, Ryan! [via Dude Craft]

More:

January 21, 2010

Clever die makes biodegradable seedling pots from newspaper

The "PotMaker," from Toronto herb gardening specialists Richter's, is a two-part hardwood die that makes it easy to manufacture free biodegradable pots for starting seedlings. The pots are made from strips of newspaper and don't have to be removed before planting. Anja Bartlett has posted a good phototutorial demonstrating its use; if you're interested in buying one please consider getting it through her site!

January 18, 2010

Awesome/morbid Cold War era Civil Defense poster

This wall-mounted flyer titled IN CASE OF NUCLEAR ATTACK was produced by the city of Portland, Oregon, some time between 1981 and 1985. Thanks to step #7, I now know the international stick-figure symbol for "Comfort the dying." Those were the days, eh? [via Geekologie]

January 15, 2010

Penny-shooting business card

Thingiverse user clide made this awesome folding business card that can be loaded with a "magazine" of 10 US pennies and will shoot them out one at a time under rubber-band power.

January 14, 2010

Still lifes in toilet tubes

I love these little cardboard dioramas inside of toilet paper tubes, crafted by artist Anastassia Elias. Spotted on Boing Boing. I was touched by part of Cory's post:

Empty-loo-roll-day is always fun around our place, the cue to get out the stickers and markers and decorate the empty tube with Poesy [his daughter], then run around the house playing kazoo or telescope. Maybe we'll level up to tiny still lives in a couple of years.

*I* wanna live at Uncle Cory's house!

Anastassia Elias - Illustrations collages dessins peintures - Galerie

January 7, 2010

Laser-cut skeleton

Thingiverse user powerpants shares plans for making the above seen corrugated skeleton on a laser cutter. Definite cute addition to any desktop in need of cool.

January 4, 2010

Paper airplane flight time record achieved

Yesterday, engineer Takuo Toda, president of the Japan origami aeroplane association, set a world flight record for a traditional-origami paper plane of 26.1 seconds. He's had longer flights, but they involved the use of scissors, tape, or other non-traditional materials. [via Neatorama]

December 27, 2009

Flexible furniture

Part card trick, part slinky, the Flexible Love chair seems like it could be more than a novelty. The end pieces look shopbottable, but the bellows seems like it would take a lot of patience to cut, fold and glue.

FlexibleLove™ furniture incorporates an 'accordion-like, honeycomb' structure to create durable furniture pieces produced from widely-available recycled materials. FlexibleLove furniture, such as FlexibleLove Earth 16, are made from recycled paper and recycled wood waste, and are produced using pre-existing manufacturing processes in order to reduce their overall impact on the environment.
The name "Flexible Love" was derived from the concept of a 'flexible love-seat' - seating that could hold from one to as many as sixteen individuals; changing length and shape with a simple pull at each end. A honeycomb structure, used throughout the entire Flexible Love line, produces an accordion-like result that allows each piece to be extended and collapsed with ease.

December 21, 2009

AXM Paper Space Scale Models

Our own Rachel Hobson spotted this awesome collection of papercraft real-life spaceship models from AXM Paper Space Scale Models, which are freely available for download. [via CRAFT]

December 16, 2009

Paper stars for Christmas lights

Recently, Ben Light, of BLight Design, did a workshop at the Museum of Art and Design in NYC on turning manila envelopes into stars to decorate holiday light strings. He has the star pattern and pics (as well as pics of the event) in his Flickr sets.

Building Star Light Minis

December 14, 2009

Theo Jansen papercraft walker

It's amazing how much the work of Dutch artist and kinetic sculptor Theo Jansen continues to inspired people. Here's one of his "Strandbeest" walking mechanisms done in paper.

More:
Theo Jansen-inspired Arduino walker
Interview with Theo Jansen...
Reader mail: Theo Jansen signs MAKE!
Desktop "Strandbeest" walker

December 9, 2009

Downloadable papercraft Elder Thing

British video game artist Wayne Peters has a downloadable fold up pattern (PDF) for his 28mm paper model of one of Lovecraft's master baddies from At the Mountains of Madness. [via Propnomicon]

December 7, 2009

Cardboard taxidermy

If, like me, you've been stressing out about where to find a cardboard rhino head before Xmas, I bring glad tidings: Ye need look no further than Cardboard Safari. They also have cardboard moose heads, deer heads, whole rhinoceri, and, predictably, rocket ships.

December 4, 2009

Vintage book hardware blog

Closure is a blog, by jeweler Joycelyn Merchant, about the restoration, reconstruction, and replication of vintage book clasps, hinges, and other hardware. And although it has not been updated since April, there's tons of cool photos and good info already there. [via Propnomicon]

December 3, 2009

Paper City

There's something simple and beautiful about the construction of this paper city from Australian design firm Qube Konstrukt. The paper city was built entirely from folded paper to fit within a 2.5 meter square. It looks a modernized version of a model train city.

You can see the paper city come to life in this clever 30-second animated TV spot, which advertises what you can do once you have your own piece of paper -- that is, your diploma.

November 30, 2009

Origami Soma cube blocks

Although it can't be a terribly accurate way to make polycube puzzle pieces, I must admit I am charmed by Qiao Chang's origami soma cube blocks. [via Neatorama]

November 24, 2009

Amazing origami mushroom video

I'm not sure if this isn't more rightly called "paper sculpture" than origami. True it uses only one sheet of paper and there are no cuts, but, well...watch the video and you'll see what I mean. Besides getting to see the mushrooms themselves, which are almost photo-realistic, it's worth it to see how a master with 20 years of experience moves his hands. [via Boing Boing]