naturalmaterial

Extracting Squid Ink

How-To: Extract and Use Squid Ink

On the tail (or rather tentacle) end of Natural Materials month here on Makezine, we couldn’t leave the mighty squid out of the mix. Instructables’ own Christy Canida shared her easy technique for extracting squid ink and using it for printing or cooking in CRAFT Volume 04, and we’ve just made it available for you […]

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How-To: Tell Mammoth Ivory from Elephant Ivory

How-To: Tell Mammoth Ivory from Elephant Ivory

Whatever the larger implications of the mammoth ivory trade may be, it has created a practical forensic problem for law enforcement. Buying mammoth ivory is, generally, legal, while buying elephant ivory, generally, is not. But when you’re a customs official staring at a crate full of tusks, how do you know which is which?

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Heirloom Technology Stone Bowl MAKE Volume 24

How-To: Carve a Stone Bowl

Want to make a gift to eternity? Nothing says forever quite like a hand-carved stone bowl.

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Papermaking 101

How-To: New Paper from Old Paper

Though we’re constantly moving toward more electronic and less paper-based communication, we’ve all got paper we don’t need laying around, be it junk mail, newspaper, receipts, magazines, paper bags, books, or whatever else. If we’re lucky, it ends up in the recycling bin. What about giving old paper new life by making it into new […]

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The Lost Art of Lashing

How-To: The Art of Lashing

If you can tie things together securely, you can make almost anything from practically nothing.

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How Gemstones are Faceted

How Gemstones are Faceted

Ever wondered about how gems are cut and polished? Here’s a great 6-part video series that covers the basics of “meetpoint faceting,” as it’s known, from jeweler John Bailey.

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