Spray paint

Stationary Drumcycle

Stationary Drumcycle

A recent toe injury kept me from running for a few weeks, and I bought a stationary bike to keep in shape while recovering. The exercise bike has a lot to recommend it: it’s low-impact, safe, easy to scale up for harder workouts, and indoors out of the weather. It’s also as boring as watching […]

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LED Robot Ornament

LED Robot Ornament

Crafting under pressure is irresistible. This year the Craftzine gals suggested an ornament swap– 12 days before Christmas. With a lot on our plates we all agreed to make time for crafting eight handmade ornaments each, and the deadline made it even more intense. Cheers to speed crafting!

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Coffee Table MAME Console

Coffee Table MAME Console

By John Baichtal and Adam Wolf Do you remember those classic video game arcades filled with rattling quarters, 8-bit songs, and flashing lights? You can reclaim that excitement in your own living room with this Coffee Table MAME Console. In 1997, Italian software developer Nicola Salmoria released the first iteration of MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine […]

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Balancing Robot from Recycled Materials

Balancing Robot from Recycled Materials

Amaze your kids by transforming two old toilet rolls and a few other recycled bits and bobs into a cool steampunk-inspired robot. Amaze them even further by balancing your robot on the edge of a ruler, table, shelf, or even your finger. And then triple amaze them by rotating the arms and revealing the steel […]

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Chladni Plate

Chladni Plate

Use a broken speaker, bits of wire, and tape to prepare a coneless voice coil driver, then use it to generate standing waves on a sheet of metal, making sound visible. Magic! My knowledgeable friend Robin once said that you don’t need to worry about having too big an audio amplifier, because speakers are usually […]

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Mason Jar Terrarium

Mason Jar Terrarium

The crafting world seems to have come down with a major case of terrarium fever, and I’m no exception. It’s so much fun creating these verdant little worlds, and I especially like that my cats can’t get to the plants inside. I’ve been having a lot of fun making woodland-themed moss terrariums for friends, so […]

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