Craft & Design
From traditional crafts to modern crafts, we’re covering news and interesting projects to educate you and keep you inspired. Design trends and pop culture related projects are here to inspire.
Here are some LEGO man jewelry from Plastic Bat Jewelry – one set is a LEGO man head dangling from earrings, the other is a pretty nice bracelet complete with blocks and a full size LEGO dude. If you’re a crafty-maker type, you could likely make these on your own too. [As gadgets replace toys, what’s in it for kids?
Good NYT article on the changing face of the toy business – “Having failed to beat the electronics industry, the ailing toy business will join it in a big way in the year-end holiday shopping season, offering just about everything from cellphones for 6-year-olds (LeapFrog) to video projectors for 8-year-olds (Hasbro) in an effort to hold on to children who are casting aside Lego and GI Joe to play with their parents’ gadgets.” Link.
DIY Record Cleaner
Handy DIY project before you make digital versions of those vinyl’s…“Build your own high quality, easy to use record cleaner. This design can be built for less than $50 and will remove at least as much grunge as the expensive VPI record cleaners. The original concept was developed by Jay Amble.” [via] Link.
The 1 hour “marker” clock
This is a really clever clock, you pop it on a wall or whiteboard, add a marker and it marks out time on the wall, I think this would be a fun project to build. From the site – “Are you the sort of person who projects to those around you an affinity for temporal illustrations? If so everlab’s 1 HOUR CIRCLE is just the thing for you. Simply adhere to the wall, or set on a sheet of paper, and the 1 HOUR CIRCLE will be ready to fulfil its obligation.” [via] Link.
Urban Craft Uprising Event this Sunday 11/6 in Seattle
If you are in Seattle on Sunday be sure to check out the Urban Craft Uprising event. It’s a craft sale by indie designers and crafters. “Our mission: We are funky, independent designers with craftitude. We will bring to Seattle, Washington an annual juried show of over 50 vendors whose work is handmade and reflects the current DIY revolution. Our goal is to provide the optimal environment for vendors to showcase their creations and for the public to have the opportunity to buy unique, handmade, one-of-a-kind items.” [via] Link.
Patchwork Robot
Hillary Lang loves her robots. She’s tried felt and wee and now quilted patchwork. We love how this cute guy can stand guard next to anything and give you a happy smile. To create your own cuteness, check out Hillary’s tutorial on how to make your own “Wee”. Trust us, after you see all of Hillary’s work, you’ll see how she’s the ultimate crafty cute expert! Link.
Random Stripe Generator
Sometimes you just need to visualize it to get a better idea. Especially when it comes to mixing and matching color. Before you start your next scarf or sweater project, check out the Random Stripe Generator. It’s a great online tool created by a fellow crafter to help you see it, before you make it. And if you don’t like the patterns that are produced, just hit refresh, and you’ll get more options! Link.