Ruler

Swing Shift Ruffles

Swing Shift Ruffles

This project is like learning to make a whole closet full of skirts and dresses. Follow the steps and you’ll have a simple dress or skirt that is endlessly alterable. For the dress, you can make it as a halter, with shoulder ties, with straps, or strapless. The skirt is made with a simple elastic […]

Patchwork Quilt from Clothing Scraps

Patchwork Quilt from Clothing Scraps

Quilt design and photography by Heather Cameron. Heather Cameron apologizes. Her spectacular patchwork quilt was not composed entirely from objects in roadside dumpsters — she supplemented with secondhand clothing from Swap-O-Rama-Rama, a semiannual event she produces in Vancouver, British Columbia, where she lives. A seasoned reuse artist, Cameron often challenges her own high standards. Her […]

Mini Diorama

Mini Diorama

I made my first diorama when I was in elementary school, and years later, I still think they’re fun to make. For me, the best part is that the possibilities are endless. Lately, I’ve been working with cut paper illustrations, and since my projects are mostly inspired by nature, it’s no surprise that I ended […]

The BeatBearing Tangible Rhythm Sequencer

The BeatBearing Tangible Rhythm Sequencer

The BeatBearing is an exciting and intuitive way to make music. Move the balls on a grid, and you change the beat. Music sequencing couldn’t be simpler. Like countless other musicians, I use a computer to create beats and sequence them into mixes. Pointing and clicking with a mouse is fine for a studio, but […]

Recycle Office Paper into Blank Books

Recycle Office Paper into Blank Books

Here I will give a simple bookbinding tutorial using a Japanese stab-binding technique for making blank books from paper that is printed on one side. These books are useful for all kinds of notes, and tell an interesting story about the place they came from. I work in the computer lab at my school, where […]

Ribbon-Tie Sandals

Ribbon-Tie Sandals

Nearly as long as humankind has roamed the earth, people have been wearing shoes. Ancient Egyptians, Indians, and East Asians began sporting wooden sandals thousands of years ago. Thankfully, inexpensive power tools have sped up the tedious process of carving ergonomic shoes from slabs of wood. Add a few interchangeable ribbon ties, and you’ve got […]

Teacup Stirling Engine

Teacup Stirling Engine

There’s energy all around us, just waiting to be tapped. Whether it’s a hot cup of coffee on a cold day, light from the sun, scented candles, or waste heat wafting from electronics, it’s all potential power waiting to be harnessed! This is the world of the Stirling engine. Have you ever tried this fun […]