The holidays are coming up – Presents to get – or better, make! Not everything has to have a microprocessor in it! Lots of ideas and free plans here. I think I might try and make a harmonograph is a pendulum-based drawing board that produces really neat “curvaceous” drawings. Thanks Rick! Link.
The art of origami is something so beautiful and yet so fragile. Most of the time it’s hard to find hip or interesting patterns on traditional origami paper. Never again! With the Printable Origami Papers site you’ll be able to download and print out on your computer some of the freshest patterns around. You can also check out the flickr gallery to see what others are making or sign up for the origami forum. Link.
Here’s a quick tutorial on how to design and make your own earrings from photo paper, packing tape and duct tape. Make your own dangly chandelier earrings or add some simple beading for embellishment. Link.
Make pal jason Striegel writes “I wish I could say I had a half-million dollar budget to put towards a Stanford style Grand Challenge vehicle, but I’m afraid I’ve already earmarked that money for thermoptic camouflage and bionic calf implants. Still, it seems like you just can’t be a self respecting hacker these days unless you have an autonomous Humvee or two. So, I decided it would be a worthwhile project to create a smaller scale robotic car. After a quick treasure-hunt under the sofa cusions and a trip to Radio Shack, I had everything I needed.” Link.
“From Ray Wilson, inventor of the Soundlab Mini Synth comes the Wacky Electronic Noise Maker Thingy. It’s a much simpler circuit, which produces surprisingly cool pulsing, bleeping type noises. You can hear sound clips here. It’s made with a handful of components, a few pots and switches and a 9v battery. There’s a very clear schematic, a PCB design and a stripboard layout.” Thanks Tom! Link.
Jim writes “Plans for a quarter-scale sized hot air balloon. Radio controlled propane burner quickly lifts the balloon into the air – and it is big enough to haul up a digital camera. Video of the balloon in action is downloadable from the site.” The plans cost money, but the freebie section has some good stuff too. Link.
Roland sent along this great DIY site for building Halloween settings “For Halloween 2004, we added a spooky crypt to our graveyard scene. This project requires a fair amount of work, but with a few helpers (at least one of which has some woodworking skills), you too can have a ghost haunt a crypt for your Halloween celebration.” Link.
