Favorite Instructables of the Week December 3, 2009

Looking good this week. There are some great gifts, weekend projects, and some gift-wrapping ideas. Enjoy!

- Expandable Christmas Stocking – All right! A stocking just my size! And it’s great for growing kids. What would be even better is if they could change the decorations on it each year. Just add snaps (or velcro, but I think snaps are better) and then put the other side of the snap on little decorations.
- In-Wall USB Charger – Sweet! This guy is smart! It’s always a pain when I run out of USB ports on my computer, and half of the devices are only there to charge. Plus my blankity-blank phone has issues and won’t charge from a regular USB port. This would be perfect for it. But instead of replacing the outlet, I’d just add the USB charger.
- Gaming Coffee Table – Finally!!! I now have a good reason to have a coffee table! (If you want to prop your feet up get an ottoman, and as a table it’s much too short.) And this looks so much better than those gaming racks.
- Bathroom Status Indicator Light – All right!!! In my office the bathroom is around the corner and you have no idea if it’s available until you’re right up at the door (and everyone knows that you need to go). With this handy-dandy indicator I could see if someone’s in there before even leaving my desk. Nice! And if you put it in your house, perhaps you could add a timer so you know if the kids are hogging the bathroom.
- Bookcase Door! – Sweet! I’ve always wanted one of these! That would be so cool! And I know just the room to put it on…
- Make a Glove Work With a Touch Screen – Wait, you mean these things don’t work with gloves? Hmmm, I never even tried. But now I know how to fix it.
- Gift Wrap Ideas – People are starting to amass their Christmas presents and it’s time to start wrapping (okay, only some people). Here are some great ideas for wrapping including fabric, newspapers, duct tape, and even how to make bags from old maps, and how to make those big fancy ribbon bows. There’s even an Instructable on the Japanese tradition of wrapping gifts in a scarf. They can get pretty fancy with it.

The Fashionable Artist – Sketching Your Own Fashions December 2, 2009

Woohoo! I recently found on Threadbanger a video talking about how pattern companies draw up their new fashions. They start with something called a Croquis (that’s pronounced Croakey). It’s like a basic sketch of a person that you can draw your fashions overtop. This would be great for the comic strip I’m developing since one of the characters is a fashionista who creates her own fashions.

Of course the video didn’t have a link to any Croquis (in fact I’m lucky they put the word up or I could never have quessed how to spell it), so I found some for you guys: Croquis Templates

I can’t wait to try these out!

Sorry. I’ve Been Sick. December 2, 2009

My apologies. I was sick yesterday so I was not able to post anything. Luckily I’m back and things should be getting back to normal.

Thanks for coming by anyway.

What I Did This Weekend! – Drawing, Family, and Cookies! November 30, 2009

Wow, it was sure a nice looooooong weekend. I got a bunch of stuff done (mostly laundry, drawing, and visiting with family). Most of the time was used up with my drawing homework. I’ve been drawing my face, so I’m getting really tired of my chin and teeth. I’m really amazed how great they’re turning out (they look almost photographic!), but wow are they taking forever. Don’t worry, I plan to post them to DeviantArt when the class is done.

I baked some cookies on Friday. I made Oatmeal Pistachio Pudding Cookies with White Chocolate Chips! YYYYYYuuuuuuummmmmmmmmyyyyyyyy!!!!!! Most of my family are now big fans especially my little nephew who doesn’t eat much (he’s been eating a lot lately though, so that might account for his really liking my cookies, we’ll have to see). My Dad’s work didn’t think much of them though. Probably because I forgot to tell him what flavor they were so the guys were leery about the green stuff. I’ll have to remember that.

Saturday I was back to drawing. Sadly it took me too long so I didn’t get much else done. I did get my chores done, and I looked for my favorite BBQ sauce recipe – Eastern South Carolina BBQ Sauce! – but I didn’t find it. T_T (If anyone knows where I can find another copy… – I got it from a Macey’s Little Theatre Class a few years ago.)

Oh, and I finally got the last part of the Christmas presents! (Sorry, I can’t say what they are in case one of the recipients is reading this.) I just need to sew up some caddies for them, assemble them, and wrap them up and then the biggest part of my Christmas list is done.

Changes to Business DIY November 30, 2009

Okay, so you may have noticed that the past few weeks the Business DIY segment has gotten a little off topic. Sure it’s still associated with business, but it has little to do with DIY or crafts or stuff like that. I’ll keep posting the Business DIY segment, but it will be much more sparse and only have relevant content for this blog.

That said, I think I’ll start a new weekly segment for my Mondays – What I Did This Weekend! The idea is simply that I keep talking about all these cool things I COULD do, but the question comes up what AM I doing?

Enjoy!

Get Some Attention With These Cars! November 28, 2009

Okay, my Mom is, um, interesting. She made the comment the other day that a PT Cruiser looks like a Scion. Probably simply because they are both somewhat boxy.

Although I don’t think PT Cruisers and Scions look that much alike, I still think there are waaaaaaay too many cars that look the same. All the sedans look the same. All the SUVs look the same. All the trucks look the same. If you’ve seen one compact, you’ve probably seen them all.

To rememdy this, I found some fun (and very unique) cars:
- Cupcake Cars – Hehe. These are fun. (And tasty )
- Snail Car – Talk about unique! I love the shell, plus it shoots fire. >:) And you can even rent it for events! Sweet!
- Wood Cars – Hehe. Never mind airbrushing my car with a wood grain, just make it out of wood. But this would work so much better with an electric engine instead of a cumbusting engine.
- The Victorian House Car! – Some of you may have seen Howl’s Moving Castle, well, this is the same kind of idea (only much smaller, less cluttered, and uses wheels).
- The Hillbilly Motorhome – Hey Joe! Don’t go forgetten’ Grandma’s rockin’ chair for da front porch.
- Ride a Cow Motorcycle – I can’t wait to show this to my Mom. She loves cows.
- The Iron Duck! – This is Iron Man’s webbed friend. (I know. Bad joke.)
- Hybrid Cars That Run on Hay – Forget the electric car. How about the horse-drawn car?
- Star Wars Cars – Gotta love the land cruisers, and the car version of an H-Wing Starfighter, complete with an R2-D2 unit, is pretty cool.
- Electrobite – A metal trilobite big enough for an adult to ride.

Weekend Project(s) – Toy Box for Christmas! November 27, 2009

Okay, I have Christmas presents for all the adults, but what to do for a couple of nephews? One is 1 1/2 and the other is 5 months. I was talking to the mother of the older nephew about what I might get or make for little Mr. inquizitive. She suggested blocks (the big lego kind), long shirts (he’s a tall skinny boy), or better yet – a toy box. Right now his toys are in a cardboard box in the living room. Yep, this boy definitely needs a toy box. Come to think of it, the other nephew is getting to the age of playing with stuff so he’ll be needing one before too long.

Here are some great toy boxes I could make:
- A Castle Toybox Chair – This would be fun! 1 1/2 may be a little too young to care if it’s a castle, but being a chair would be perfect for the living room.
- A Pirate’s Treasure Chest – What’s more classic boy-ish than a pirate’s treasure chest? In fact, I should make one of these for me too (for all this pirate stuff I’m gathering for my book).
- A Nice Big Bench Toy Box – Wow, this thing ought to be big enough. In fact, they could put it under the window for extra seating.

Now if I could find a car toy box. He loves anything with wheels and/or that he can push around.

Favorite Instructables of the Week November 26, 2009

Hehe. I love this pre-scheduling posts thing. I’m actually nowhere near a computer today, but I decided to post this anyway for your reading pleasure.

There are some pretty cool and geeky Instructables this week. Enjoy:
- Butter! (And Buttermilk) – Mmmm, real butter is so good, and it’s really easy to make. I just have one suggestion though: Do it while your watching TV or socializing (cause it takes forever).
- The Laser Monocle! – Sweet! Borg costume here I come! Or maybe steampunk.
- Sweet Potato Fries! – Oh sweet! I love sweet potato fries, and now I can change up the recipe to be either savory or sweet (just trade the salt for sugar and the pepper for cinnamon, or something to that effect). Plus they’re oven baked which is good cause I don’t like the idea of wasting all that oil.
- Secret Knock Detector – Oh man, talk about uber cool. Whoever came up with this was a genious. And this thing actually works too. Too bad I don’t have a secret hideout – yet.
- A Monster Business Card Holder – Kawaii! So Cute! >.< This fuzzy little business card holder is really cute and perfect for a creative business person. And the girl who made this Instructable has a cute blog (ALittleStranger.com) too including a new Instructable each week. (If only I had time I’d like to do that too.)
- Chainmaille Hacky Sack – I never was very good at hacky sack, but the balls are really fun. (Hmmm, I wonder if I can make one out of pop tabs. My coworkers have been gathering pop tabs to help me make a chainmaille tunic.)

Geeks + Fashion = FairytaleFashion.org November 25, 2009

On occasion I’ve talked about a few pretty geeky fashions – EL Wire, integrated technology (the keyboard pants), conductive ribbon, etc. – but they’re almost nothing compared to an online show I found called FairytaleFashion.org!

We’re talking deep-thinking fashion here! In one episode the host (Diana Eng) talks about Miura-Ori Structures – a kind of folding that happens in nature (like with flowers so they can open up easily). In another, she presents a Drawdio (like a pencil with a speaker attached) which was invented by an MIT student and how it might react with conductive thread. Talk about taking fashion and technology to the next level! Forget simply plugging your iPod into your sweater!

And at the end of each episode she asks the viewer to think about how they would incorporate such technologies into clothing. Wow, I’m not sure I’m ready for that, but one of these days…

Sweet! I’m On Fire, But I’m Not Burning! – EL Wire November 24, 2009

What is (arguably) more fun than painting onto clothes yet safer than sewing LEDs into the fabric? It’s EL Wire!!!

EL wire is a copper wire coated in a phosphor that glows when it’s hooked up to a battery – so it’s kind of like a thin, flexible neon light that doesn’t get hot. And, my favorite part, the light a continuous line unlike a string of LEDs.

You can simply sew it right onto your fabric, and you can often find it for only $1/foot. The only trouble is that you have to plan out your project before you order because you need a special box for the length of wire you’re using. The boxes tend to be about $3 each.

Check out these awesome projects I found for EL Wire:
- How to Add EL Wire to a Coat or Other Garment – A quick tutorial on how to use the stuff.
- ThatsCoolWire.com’s EL Wire Ideas – Sweet! I found some cool ones here including lighting on a bookshelf, decorative/safety lighting in a shower, and an awesome Tron costume!
- My Favorite – The Fire Skirt!!! – Now this is uber sweet! I would love to do this with an airbrushed dress. (Hehe, I could even add some smoke, and/or paint it to look like it’s a wood dress that’s burning.)
- Retrofit a Floppy Disk Bag – This would be a great bag for a laptop. Oops, almost forgot, this is just how to add the EL Wire. Here’s how to make the bag itself.
- A Baby Tron Costume – After you make Tron costumes for Mommy and Daddy, you just have to make one for little Version 2.0. Aw, what a cute little program.
- The Laser Bike for Night Riding – Oh if only I could get a law passed that required this. Then those poor night riders might have a chance against those big bad cars. Oh, and runners and pedestrians should wear it too.
- An Iron Man Arc Reactor – Okay, so this last one doesn’t use EL Wire, but man would it be even more awesome (and accurate) if they did!