During World War I, skilled craftsmen stuck in trenches would fashion useful items from spent bullets and other war materials. Watch Canadian maker Steven from the Steven's Fix YouTube channel restore a century-old bullet lighter back to working condition. Read the rest
This looks like a fantastic way to have some fun with electronics while safely staying at home during the coronavirus outbreak. Read the rest
This thing looks so clunky and brutal and fantastic. Read the rest
Ian Hubert is the host of the "Lazy Tutorials - For Lazy People, By Lazy People" YouTube channel, which has 60-second videos of Hubert using Blender to create 3D models and textures of various things like air conditioners and bulletin boards. He makes it look easy (I know it's not), and he's also funny.
It's creepy and it's kooky. Also kind of spooky. Read the rest
Wow. This is a thing of great beauty. A giant 3D topographic wood map of Westeros, the world of Game of Thrones, by IMGURian @ARUNK55. It's 60"x35". Read the rest
Okay, now THIS is a quarantine crafting project. Read the rest
Brilliant. Read the rest
IMGURian @zikikki1 does wonderful “nerdy crochet,” and this Doctor Who 'dalek' is a fantastic example of their work. Read the rest
What a fantastic project.
“I made a 'banned-book' bookshelf with a hidden compartment,” says IMGURian @honestworkdesigns. Read the rest
Wow. That's all I can manage to get out of my keyboard, I'm so astonished by how gorgeous and dedicated this wonderful crafted popsicle stick house is. Read the rest
Seung Lee double knit this blanket based on data about his son's sleep patterns during his first year of life.
"Each stitch represents 6 minutes of time spent awake or asleep," Lee tweeted.
The blanket is 42" x 45," contains approximately 185,000 stitches and took around 300 hours to make. From Twitter:
The original plan was to crochet the entire blanket but I switched to double knitting because the data was much more clearly visualized and the color changes (of which there were literally thousands) were significantly easier..
The sleep data was collected with the BabyConnect app which lets you export to CSV. The CSVs were filtered and converted into JSON (using Google Apps Script and Python) which could then be used for visualization and tracking...
I built a tool in HTML/JavaScript so I could position stitch markers for the color changes and track overall progress. I made it browser based so I could pull it up on any device wherever I was...
(via Kottke) Read the rest
Embroidery master Rayna created this exquisite hand embroidery of Homer Simpson disappearing into the bushes. This follows on her Lisa Simpson "true crime" embroidery and other fine Simpsons stitchery available at her Etsy shop HermitGirlCreations.
(via Kottke) Read the rest
Oh, I am seriously here for this DIY-maker-recycling project that's all about giving street kitties safe homes. Wow this is cool.
Making feral cat shelters from an old cooler.
Says IMGURian @petsncharge, “Cat Tested and Approved Shelters.”
We designed and built these durable cat shelters-Donating to the many Rescues that need them for the Homeless Cats they care for...TomTom Tests each new Design
So cool. Watch the whole video.
This is the QA tester!
During the early 20th century, Kutol Products was the world's biggest manufacturer of wallpaper cleaning products. But once coal heating in homes was replaced with oil, gas, and electricity, dirty wallpaper became less of a problem and Kutol was in trouble. So in 1956, they pivoted. From Smithsonian:
Read the restJoseph McVicker was trying to turn around the struggling company when his sister-in-law read an article about how wallpaper cleaner could be used for modeling projects. Sister-in-law Kay Zufall, a nursery school teacher, tested the nontoxic material with children, who loved molding it into all kinds of shapes. She told McVicker of her discovery and even suggested a new name: Play-Doh...
Originally available in white only in 1956, Play-Doh soon expanded to include basic colors red, blue and yellow. It is now sold in a panoply of hues, including Rose Red, Purple Paradise, Garden Green and Blue Lagoon. The Putty line includes metallic and glittery tints. The recipe has gone through minor modifications over time. At one point, the amount of salt was reduced so the product would not dry out so quickly. But, for the most part, the mixture has remained the same.
“I like to design complex paper sculptures by combining mechanisms,” says Paul DeGraaf. Read the rest
Seriously impressive game-inspired stitching project right here. Read the rest
