Meh Community Crafts
28I have noticed a few comments where people showed off the cool things they make and I thought it would be cool if we just had a thread filled with our weird crafts and what not.
So I will start off with mine. I started refurbishing/refilling lava lamps a few years back when I realized all the ones sold in stores are made in china and just dont work right (They either dont flow, cloud up, or stick to the glass).
Here are some photos from the various stages of refilling them and dying them. I will save you from the glass cleaning portion as that is just a pain in the ass.
Before Dying
Just a little blue wax added
Green one that is all done dying
Orange one with a little dyed wax still mixing
Orange one mid wax
And my super huge grande one all finished. You can see the size of the other ones next to it. Its almost 3ft tall.
- 24 comments, 145 replies
- Comment
This is where I learned how. Its a general guide and it takes a lot of tweaking to get it the way you want. Kinda a nice relaxing thing I putz on.
http://oozinggoo.ning.com/page/goo-kits
@darkzrobe So that's wax that provides the "lava?"
@Teripie Yep, and the liquid is just distilled water. As for chemicals its pretty much soap and salt. The soap changes the surface tension so it gets gooey, too much makes it break in to many wax balls. The salt changes the bouncy of the wax so it floats better. The kits I get come with a pre made soap and other stuff to make it easier and I just slowly add that till it flows the way I want it to, that and a dimmer switch on the lamp.
I cant speak with what they use in the lamps when I buy them new, they say they are non toxic but they smell like lego crayon death.
@darkzrobe These really are great. Brings me back to my childhood, except these are waaaay nicer.
@mfladd thanks!
That is not a hobby I even knew existed but that's super rad!!
My 'night light' when I was a kid (and probably too far into my teenage years) was a lava lamp with green goop in it. Think the bulb eventually burned out and I never bothered trying to replace it, but I have fond memories of it.
Maybe I'll get a classy looking one when I eventually have a house and an office.
@JonT
So I had always wanted a lava lamp as a kid, I saw them on the kids game "Incredible Machines" and wanted one but could never save my allowance long enough.
Fast forward to about 3 years ago and I saw one on sale at walmart for a couple of bucks. It was a 20oz one and after a month the wax all stuck to the glass. So I exchanged it... Same thing.
Thought it might be the size as the ones I saw at spencers when I was younger were bigger. So I bought a 52oz. Several were really cloudy and the wax also stuck to the sides.
Sooo being a IT guy I thought I would google my problems for a answer and I found that forum. Long story short I have created a hand full and at one time they were all over my last job.
So go find a 52oz, if it works great, if not go rebuild it. They make for awesome office lamps for when you are waiting for pages to load and what not.
That's amazing! I'll round up some pictures later of what I do. And really, I never knew your hobby was a thing, and I'm really impressed.
@jaremelz Thats kinda the reason for the post, I was seeing people make things I have never scene before and want to see more.
Here's what I'm in to. I knit and take it a step further by making my own yarn. I'll buy local fleece and then wash it, comb it, blend it, color, and then finally spin it. It takes 2 days to wash, and is some dirty business. I also began needle felting last year and love it. It's essentially sculpture with wool and very tiny needles.
@jaremelz the first picture is a Shetland fleece I bought and am about to start breaking down. The green poofs are clean and colored and ready to be spun. The Totoro is enormous, about 3feet wide.
@jaremelz That Totoro is awesome. I had to look up needle felting and all I can say is you must have some skill not to poke yourself to death. Watching the video I found made me think I would have bleed all over the place.
@jaremelz I love the Totoro! And the felting is becoming quite the thing these days.
Where does someone go to buy a fleece? Not that I want one, but I'm curious. And what types do you buy and which do you prefer? I'm just full of awestruck questions!
@jaremelz And I thought trapunto was hard. Wow. I am in awe.
@darkzrobe It is a definite risk. The good thing is that the punctures are tiny. But the needles are barbed, so coming out is a little more painful.
@@Teripie, there are a number of fleece and knitting events around the area, the biggest one being in Oregon. My mom does this as well, so it's great having someone to do it all with. We do a lot of experimentation with dyeing, finding new things we can create dye with. The PNW also has quite a few farms, and we've been known to find a farm and just stop and ask if they sell fleece. And we usually score some. I love being connected to the yarn I knit with. And when a single skein of yarn can cost $15-$35, I can make nearly twenty skeins with that Shetland and it was $30. But my real love is alpaca! I've also spun possum from New Zealand. Sounds weird, and it is, but it is twice as warm as wool and lighter.
@jaremelz Geez, I got excited I suppose and double @ tted you @Teripie
@jaremelz that hat with the flower is beautiful..a friend talked me into going to a wool festival in ny last year..it was hard to walk away from the beautiful skeins of color, but i can't afford another hobby :)
@mikibell It really adds up. That's one good reason for the spinning, but the wheels hurt too. I'm trying to save for my dream wheel, it's $450. But life, she's been pricey lately. I just love all the pretty wools.
@jaremelz I'm jealous of your skill... and that roving.
@Thumperchick Thank you! Do you knit? I ask because most people don't know the word. My mom is an amazing artist when it comes to fiber. Her socks blow my mind. We each do very different things. I like making tailored mitts, miniature knitted toys, and hats. She'll rock out intricate socks or sweaters and then just pack them away.
@jaremelz Damn, girl - you got some skill'z. They are all amazing but the monster doll (with the eye hanging out) is absolutely my favorite! It speaks to me. And just what I would expect out of you. Well done!!!!
@jaremelz Nope. I make dryer balls and I've got some beginner's felting projects I want to get into.
@Thumperchick I came into a large quantity of wool that is too rough to make anything nice with. I've been toying with the idea of dryer balls.
@mfladd Aww, thank you! I really want to make a few Walking Dead felt characters. But until then, I'll settle for random weird shit. It's who I am.
@jaremelz They're really useful! I've got a dozen floating around my dryer, and they've made a huge difference. I don't even need heat on most loads and the drying time had been cut by 2/3.
@Thumperchick Excellent, thanks! It's one thing to read some site talking about them. But an endorsement like that I won't pass up.
@jaremelz let me know how yours turn out!
@jaremelz zombie need more brains!!!!
@jaremelz Those are very cool! I don't knit but I have many friends who do, but they mostly stick to mittens and scarves and occasional socks and sweaters, what with the families and the kids and the need to wear clothes and all that. One of my friends has toyed with the idea of making her own yarn, but the time she went to the alpaca farm, she was pregnant and all of the alpacas followed her around and it creeped her out a little. My favorites are the zombie and the hat, and I think you should teach @JonT to knit so someone can get a totoro in a fuku. Seems appropriate...
@editorkid The way they can just stand in a group and stare can be a little creepy. There's a farm here that sells fibre and she's let us go in with the alpaca. They are lovely and really odd. @JonT just needs to make sure mediocrebot doesn't get ahold of the needles. Things could get ugly.
@jaremelz do you do commission work?
@mfladd It really depends on the item being requested. I have a great deal of yarn already, but if what's requested requires spinning some or purchasing, it gets pricey. I prefer doing what I can to keep things reasonable, however.
But that willy warmer you requested for those cold Maryland winters is on its way! But seriously, why do you ask?
@jaremelz I was speaking with @starblind and showed them some of your work, specifically the monster/zombie. How hard would it be to do Tiny Tub Mummy?
not the butterfly
LOL willy warmer :)
@mfladd Would it essentially just be the gray form, white detail for the mummy, black eyes /mouth, and the red bow? If so, let me see what I can work up!
It is from starblinds contest and it is a fan favorite (especially @joelmw). starblind actually asked about the commission work. Yes, what you see is what I think it would be.
Well aren't you the best. My willy warmer better be in the mail! ;)
@mfladd @sohmageek has my email address and can give it to you (if they don't mind passing it along!) if you want it. It'll make it easier to keep in touch. I didn't have what I needed to start right away, so I'm washing and dyeing some wool. It doesn't add anything but a few days to the process.
@jaremelz So my hubby bought me this great new washer last year and I forgot that you shouldn't use steam with wool sweaters -- can you use pre-shrunken wool??
@jaremelz Got it. You are amazing. I will get your email from @sohmageek.
And why are you so amazing?
And then some!
@mikibell Oh no! Was it anything too terribly precious?
@mfladd I'm just hoping what I can make is worthy!
@jaremelz If I'm being an accomplice to this... I want to see TTM in a blender... (just take a pic before sending it out!) Or TTM riding a speaker dock (not SD pate
@jaremelz Please don't try to pull the humble act on me. I am the master ;)
Hey, I also like that gif for some reason. That chick kinda has the Fairuza Balk vibe going on (The Craft - great movie!)
@jaremelz no, thankfully..now i am trying to find a good use for the sweater..it might fit my daughter's doll :)
@mikibell You can also felt it further by washing it on hot and drying it a few times. Then you can actually cut it into shapes and hot glue or do what I did and use furniture tacks to affix it to something. I made a picture from by doing that with a dead sweater.
@mfladd I'm way better at being humble than you are! And that's because she looks like she could be a slightly sluttier Fairuza Balk.
@sohmageek That can totally be arranged.
@jaremelz That's probably why I like it!
OK - gotta add my craft thing. My granddaughter collects those "State Quarters" in one of those little blue cardboard things. Kept breaking it - too much duct tape - made a wooden collectors board for her.
@popsshop That's some beautiful woodworking!
@popsshop Purty, I had a state one and a penny one but a mover stole all the coins out of their containers :*(
@popsshop wow...
@popsshop More detailed photo? That's craftmanship at its finest.
What'd you use for the details? Almost looks like you used an electronic guided saw...
@popsshop I'd love to see a larger photo too. Nice work!
@juststephen More details on my web site ( gopopsshop.com ) Thank you for the compliments - means a lot from fellow crafters. "Electric guided saw"??? Nope - it's cut with a scroll saw - all eye hand coordination. Each state is cut out individually, stained and put the puzzle back together - make the frames - three coats of lacquer - ready for the client/buyer. Pop's Shop Woodworking
The holes in my maps hold the quarters tight. Only way to get them out is drill a hole in the back (or completely vandalize the front)
@popsshop Lighter fluid and a match.... Anyone who is so immoral about stealing a quarter collection is not going to care about the astounding craftsmanship. People can be horrible.
My wife is the crafty one - she makes felt "quiet books" for young children, as well as knit hats, caps, dresses, etc etc. I'm mostly limited to soldering/programming, though I have some well practiced lanyard/knotting/braiding skills & I did try to get into needle felting. Actually, I want to make a needle felt irk, but I still cant felt anything really recognizable yet.
@MrGlass That's my current needlefelt goal, Irk!
@jaremelz Since I do soldering, I really want to embed a button/chip that makes him say "you know what bothers me" when you squeeze.
@MrGlass That would be pure genius!
does it count as a craft if I have a big jug of kombucha growing in my kitchen? it's like... alive, mannnn
@Lotsofgoats I think so, I put it up their with brewing beer or making wine. Now post your pics of your setup!
@darkzrobe ok, but warning that it's basically a huge jug with a big booger in it. I'll take pictures after work.
@Lotsofgoats I have had friends make it and they are fun to see. Also I am weird.
so here's the general setup: a big ass jug with some tea, sugar, and magical cultures in it
that baby floating there is called a SCOBY (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast) which is cool cuz IT'S ALIVE BRO
it floats there on top and does magic. basically the yeast does what yeast does, eats sugar and turns it into alcohol. but then the bacteria here turns that alcohol into acetic acid. what you get is a fizzy, tart-to-sour drink that tastes like an apple cider vinegar. or if you just want vinegar, you let it riiiide.
so anyway, I use these beautiful Italian pop top bottles. they're nice.
I fill it up from the big boy with some tubing and the magic of siphoning (seriously we still aren't exactly sure why siphoning works but it does how cool is that). PS ignore my ugly raisin fingers, I just took a shower ok sheesh.
and yay! we're full! now you seal this sucker up and let it do more magic, depending on how much fizz you want to generate.
now we just gotta top off the jug with new tea and sugar. use good tea. good tea makes good kombucha. WARNING: GRAPHIC TEA PORN AHEAD
😍
and that's that. oh and make sure you let the tea cool before putting it in with the colony UNLESS YOU'RE A MURDERER.
Sheesh! My gluing mirrors to fishing line seems pathetic compared to the amazing talents here.
But keep 'em coming! This thread is great!
@Teripie I think they're pretty!
@Teripie Pics or it didn't happen
@darkzrobe Posted this pic in another thread. Not the best picture. I'm too lazy to move them out out the window, so the back light kinda sucks. And all the ones outside are half hidden in plants and such.
@Teripie How do you put the beads on? Are they glued too?
@darkzrobe I lay out the look I want, beads, plastic jewels, and mirrors. Then I string the beads, looping the line back though each bead so they're sort of stationary, but you can still slide them up and down. Now the real secret to making these is clay. Roll out some clay in a long line and press the beads into the clay to hold the line taught. Then place jewels and mirrors where you want them along the line, glue the 2 backs together and wait a couple days for the glue to dry. Viola! A bunch of sparklies on a string!
@Teripie Nifty
Here are some of the paperweights I've made at the glassblowing studio:
You can't really tell with them mixed up like that, but I did a little series based on some superheroes:
Superman
Batman
Flash
Superman's colors are all at the top to represent flying, Batman's blue and black swirls around like his cape, and the Flash has a little tornado inside.
Glassblowers kind of look down on paperweights and other baubles, but I love making them because you can really play with form and color. You can see some of the other stuff I made during my first few months of glassblowing at my site and you can also see some of my nature and urban photography on the other pages.
@editorkid My brother does lampwork beads. His wife turns them into jewelry, very high end jewelry. It's amazing how beautiful glass is in all it's forms.
Your stuff is gorgeous.
@editorkid Your photos are great too!
@editorkid Awesome sauce. I really would like to try glass blowing sometime. I kinda want to make a lava lamp from scratch.
@Teripie Thanks for the nice compliments! A couple of friends have taken beadmaking classes and say it takes a lot of concentration to get it right -- more than they have, anyway, so they got bored and/or frustrated and moved on. Your brother must be pretty good if he's sticking to it and it sounds like your SIL is doing some really nice stuff with them too. The more traditional ornaments on my glass page were lampwork and you can see that even with those, I have a lot to learn. But my mentor/teacher's been glassblowing for nearly 15 years, and the best lesson she's taught me has been that sometimes glass just does what it wants.
@editorkid Glass artistry is fascinating. We live not too far from the Museum of Glass and I love watching the work they do!
@editorkid super heroes - yes! dear to my heart. (I collect comics) My favorites here are Batman and Flash. Awesome!
@darkzrobe I took a paperweight-making class on a whim and got hooked instantly -- it really is a ton of fun and a good teacher will instill very safe techniques without you even realizing it. A few people from that class ended up splitting weekly classes with our teacher to learn to make glasses and plates, and now we're in individual sessions with her as our interests and talents have diverged. If you know of any studios near you, it's really worth calling to see what kind of classes they offer. It would be very cool to make a lava lamp of your own design.
@jaremelz I am envious of you! Here in Chicago, we have an annual SOFA (Sculptural Objects and Functional Art) exhibition (the site is pretty barebones right now), and the Corning Museum always has lots of demos at its mobile studio that's set up in the hall. Anytime I need to take a break from walking, the Museum studio is the perfect place to crash and watch the amazing stuff they make... I hope to get to the real thing someday.
@mfladd Thanks! One night I noticed I had the three primary Superman colors and did it for giggles, and Batman and the Flash followed from there. Back in the '70s through '90s I was a big collector myself but kind of wandered off because they kept coming up with different Crises and Wars that changed everything I knew and liked. I peeked at some of the New 52 when DC started that, but it was all a different time, a different place, even though I liked some of the changes.
@editorkid Guess where we ended up today!
My boy's hand surgeon is just up the street, so we came to hang out after his check up. We didn't go in this time, but that's ok because the outside is our favorite.
I took some pictures of a few of the outside sculptures for you.
@editorkid That's so cool! I'm taking my kids to the Corning Museum next week- my daughter is finally old enough to do a pulled glass flower in the classroom.
@jaremelz Thanks for the pics! Dayum that's great-looking work. There's a part of me that would love to create art like that but the realist in me tells it to be perfectly happy with glasses and dishes and baubles. And good luck to your youngster. Hope the surgery isn't too serious.
@editorkid It's truly gorgeous work, but your stuff is great. You should be proud of yourself.
And thank you. It was actually aa great visit, because today he was released from all restrictions since his accident! The most he's going to have to deal with is a slight chance of needing some fingernail removed later on down the road. A good day indeed.
@sammydog01 Very cool! Please post a pic in the thread once you've picked it up. I'd enjoy hearing what she thinks of it all, too. I've been thinking about buying a class for my friends' 8-year-old daughter (the age the studio I use starts teaching kids) for Christmas, so hearing about your experience would be a good reality check for that.
@editorkid Here's the flower my 14 year old made at Corning-
It was a 40 minute class, so she had a lot of help, but they let her roll the molten glass, pull out the flower with a tool, and pull the stem. I did one too!
And @darkzrobe, this is not only a really cool thread but that lava lamp hobby is very cool. They are an occasional gift in my family and both my sister and I would likely get a kick out of rebuilding them. Thanks for the link and the pics! It would be fun to incorporate some colored glass into the lamp too... I may think about how best to do that.
@editorkid Be careful with the glass part for the lava lamp. They recommend using Pyrex type glass if you are making it from scratch. Wrong glass might explode due to the pressure.
If you need help finding tools (like the brushes for scrubbing out the globes) let me know and I can point you in the right directions. Ooozing goo has plenty of folks who have done these things and it is all about finding what works best with you.
@darkzrobe Thanks for the advice and offer. I do still have some brushes from back when I bought a couple of Mr. Beer kits off Woot to see how that would work out. (Very well, but even those smaller kits took up a lot of kitchen space.) Most of the glassblowing glass is borosilicate, which I think is the equivalent of Pyrex, because it starts out at 2300° and then has to spend a couple of days in an annealing oven cooling down from the 800°-900° it'll be at once the piece is done. I was actually thinking of glass beads or marbles incorporated into the water to hover and float around the wax as it melts and cools, but I'd have to talk to my teacher about how to do that, since naturally they'd just sink to the bottom or float to the top depending on their buoyancy...
@editorkid Not sure how that would work with the wax, I have seen folks try to mix things in without much luck. That silver sharpie one in the goo kit tutorial is the only one I have seen where they successfully mixed a foreign substance in. Normally the stuff just sinks to the bottom.
@darkzrobe I have a feeling my teacher would just suggest gluing beads or objects into place or maybe dangle them from threads glued to the cap if I wanted the wax to move them around. Both of those could be OK, but it would be more fun to have them suspended in the water if there's a way.
@darkzrobe @editorkid - I've seen glitter lamps where the glitter circulates because of the heat rising from the light bulb at the bottom. Maybe tiny glass beads (or beads filled with air) would work. Remember these thermometers?
@editorkid I don't know if the surfactant you add would protect the beads in that way. I have a feeling the wax will stick to it and just forma column down the center covering your stuff.
@darkzrobe Yeah, now that I've spent most of the afternoon reading the Goo Kit site (my boss will be contacting you separately for a timesheet code), it doesn't feel like the idea works out in real life. Those folks are pretty creative and, if it could be done, someone would have done it already. Like you say, though, it could be done while glassblowing a globe... a mold like this could even make it easy to make a bunch of them. Hmmm.
@KDemo That's an interesting idea too. I've never owned one of those thermometers, just seen photos of them like that. Also a direction worth asking my teacher about. Thanks!
@editorkid Whatever they do to make Pyrex super flexible to heat change will need to be done on those molds... I have seen glass explode too much (aka sorry for all the warnings). However I dream one day I will try to build my own so I am torn.
Nooooooo
http://sploid.gizmodo.com/what-happens-when-you-pour-molten-aluminum-into-a-lava-1708307715?utm_source=taboola
And all the comments about shaking the lamps... My head just exploded :(
@darkzrobe - Have you ever broken one? Someone knocked one over in the shop I used to have, I never did get the wax residue completely removed from the wood floor.
@KDemo I havnt broke one but I have spilled the hot wax refilling them and its a pain in the butt, I have had to use a heat gun to get it out of some surfaces.
I've just recently gotten into crystal growing! Started with alum and found an old-as-dirt container of copper sulfate. I'm super nitpicky about doing it, though, which means instead of being the fast and easy process shown on youtube, it's become a big production with multiple pours and scrapes and filtering and stuff. But I currently have four bowls of copper sulfate sitting and it's soooo pure. There's a lot of copper in copper sulfate powder, which will muddy the crystals and shit, but I filtered like 5 times and let the solution sit and now I have a little cup of the undissolved stuff and the copper. It's in a cupcake wrapper, and the coolest shit is that the copper has started to stick to the tinfoil!!!!
Oh. Um. I just checked and apparently it's, uh, eaten through the tinfoil. Luckily it's in a plastic container. So uh. There's that? Yup.
@HELLOALICE Could you post some pictures?
@HELLOALICE Sounds so cool, please post pictures if you can.
@HELLOALICE - Working on a Fortress of Solitude?
@HELLOALICE I'd love to see pictures too!
@editorkid @Teripie @darkzrobe
Here's the making-of the copper sulfate crystals.
mix mix mix
filtering that shit, I drew it up from the glass and then filtered it to leave the settled sediment/copper at the bottom of the glass
once-filtered, and the copper sludge on the top
twice-filtered, and you can see some pink alum crystals to the left (I've since ground them up, they were too small and all stuck together, it was my first attempt). filtered once more after that.
after the bowls had sit for an hour and settled to room temperature, i poured them out and filtered the liquid into one bowl. scraped the crystals that had formed and added them to the sludge for the next batch, since the sludge also has undissolved copper sulfate along with the copper. sorry for the blur.
filtered that bowl once more into each batch, for a total of 5 filtration cycles. as you can see, they're absolutely crystal-clear. I checked them this morning and had some lovely individual crystals forming. will check again now and add a photo in a second.
@HELLOALICE So here's how they're looking after a day. THe good: crystal-clear, nice crisp edges. The bad: Too many of them. Thinking of doing another pour-and-filter and using a few as seed crystals, but as it's my very first batch, I might just let them sit for another day and see if I can get bigger seeds.
@HELLOALICE Awesome, would love to see the finished result.
@HELLOALICE Now that it's a couple of weeks later, I'd love to see an update on how you went with this!
@HELLOALICE I'd love to see this too!
@HELLOALICE Its been a couple weeks...
I am not sure this is considered crafting, but here are some cakes I have made..
Phineas and Ferb rollercoaster..
Mike's one eye for a smash cake
Mike as his centerpiece
This one proves humidity and fondant don't mix, but I had had strep the week before and didn't want to make the doors while sick -- can't rush drying time..
Bubble guppies cake in my near future..
@mikibell As far as I'm concerned. cake making and decorating is a true craft. I can bake a damn good cake, but it will always be, just a damn good cake, delicious but not beautiful.
@mikibell Wow. I especially love the roller coaster, but the other two pics are pretty awesome too. You probably hear this a lot, but those are too cool to eat.
@mikibell
My inlaws 65 anniversary cake -- edible images, lots of mistakes :) ..
Red velvet with chocolate cream cheese frosting
Hmm don't remember what I put in this one -- my nephew is a twin and he always got princess cakes because that is what his sister wanted -- so I now make him his choice of cakes :)
@editorkid hehe would you believe I let my great nephew smash the one eye cake ;) All in good fun!! My kids think everyone's mom can make cakes like this. With the rollercoaster, if you look closely you can see where my hands started to shake, when my hubby told me he was in a car accident with MY car !! (no one hurt..)
@Teripie If I am decorating the cake, I typically use box mix to save time. I make a mean baked good, however :)
I dabble in a few different crafts.
Fountains:
Mosaic:
And beaded hair accessories and jewelry:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/PonyDreadful
There are other things too, but I have already taken up too much room with this. :)
@Pony I really like the easter island head one and the mixer one... I may have to try my hand at some fountains.
@darkzrobe They're pretty easy, and so nice to have around. I love the way they sound. :) They make great gifts, too.
@Pony Taskmaster kitty is adorable! I bet s/he has you well trained. ;-)
@gio She rules with a firm but gentle paw. :)
@Pony I'm sure she does! She had me so enamored that I forgot to say that all of your work is wonderful! I've had a fondness for mosaics since Jr. High art class where we used broken auto safety glass to make mosaics over our our designs. The finished pieces seemed magical and made me feel much more artistic than I am.
@gio Thank you! :) My mosaic pieces are tempered glass, so it's the same idea as the safety glass. Paint and then lay the crackly glass over it.
@Pony "Pony Dreadful!" I love that!
@Teripie Thanks! I have to admit I'm kind of proud of the name. hehe. :)
@Pony Oh my gosh I really really really like the shell one - covet it actually (grin).
Somehow, I missed this thread when it was first posted. Wow and I mean wow there are some very talented people in this forum. If and when I ever find my own talent, I will be honored to post it here. (Uh, don't hold your breath, I haven't found anything I'm good at and I probably won't, but who knows, it could still happen.)
@Barney You should assemble a collage of all your favorite shades of purple!
@Barney Find something weird, or do something we did here.
@dashcloud Fifty shades of purple?
@darkzrobe Some day my talent will reveal itself and it will probably be something weird, but I really hope it is a cool as yours.
@Barney Why not? It'll turn out just fine.
@dashcloud (purple blush)
This is what I made over the weekend:
What new projects have the rest of you been up to?
@Thumperchick I like this. A lot.
@lisaviolet Thanks! This is the first rug of any kind I've ever made. It's old t-shirts and a depression era weave braid style. It was an interesting project.
@Thumperchick Well, it looks like you did a really nice job. I like the colors.
@Thumperchick - One weekend? Amazing.
I got a shot of the recipient enjoying the rug!
@Thumperchick How did I miss this? It's amazing.
I redid all of the stuff I'd made for my friend's birthday that was stolen off of her porch.
And I made a couple of things for the exchange.
I made cards, envelopes and boxes.
And printed on canvas bags.
@lisaviolet You are just to good! Making the rest of us all look bad. You and @Thumperchick
@Teripie Thanks, but what I do is follow directions. Print, cut, assemble.
But what the rest of you do....I can't hold a candle to it. It's like you all have this deep repository of creativity that you draw from. Your curtains of crystals, beads and mirrors...so pretty, so sparkly, I love things that spin and catch the light. If I tried that nothing would sparkle because it would be covered in glue. Glue isn't very shiny.
I just use someone else's idea and put my own spin on it.
@lisaviolet Looks great! I can't do papercraft, I get too caught up in the details.
@Thumperchick @Teripie This woman is talented. She designs these things herself. This is the latest. All made with cardstock. The kit includes the actual files you need to send to your cutting machine, a PDF of what paper you need for each step and which templates to use for each project and there will be a video tutorial on making each project.
http://svgcuts.com/blog/2015/08/24/boho-butterflies-svg-kit/
I forgot I used to make flame fractals and I still make some cool panoramics
http://darkzrobe.deviantart.com/
Here are some samples, feel free to steal them for desktop backgrounds, there are high res download links in my gallery:
@darkzrobe I probably should know what fractals are, but even not knowing; everytime I see your photos, they make me say "wow"!
@mikibell Those are flame fractals... Which are kinda cheating what a fractal is. But they are purty.
This is more what a real fractal is:
I am going to kinda um just bump this a little bit over here... ya... like that.
@darkzrobe Thanks for bumping this. I had missed this thread.
@Bogie Yet not enough power to get more postings :( I must see more crafts.
My first finished Tinkerbell decal (on black paper, just to see how it will look on the car). This isn't the one that will be on the car, not now, but it was my prototype. Made from a coloring page I found online. All the colors in this graphic are vinyl. The black shown is actually clear on the finished decal.
@lisaviolet Do you color the vinyl or do you print it out after you color it or something?
@darkzrobe The vinyl is colored. I cut each color separately, then piece it together.
http://www.thingiverse.com/PocketBrain/designs
@PocketBrain Love the pencil topper!
@PocketBrain You've done all this with a 3D printer?
@PocketBrain I need one of those skulls...
@Kidsandliz For the most part, yes. I printed a miniature of one of the coffee cups, but that was more of an exercise in OpenSCAD design.
I make stained glass windows, 144 scale stuff (mostly doll house stuff, tall ships, little scenes), ships in bottles (again the really tiny ones - bottles no larger than 1"), porcupine quill on birch bark, silk screen, pencil drawings, miniature paintings (no bigger than 2x3"), and used to make silver jewelry, some with copper enamel (haven't done much of that recently since mom sold her stuff as I used her equipment) . Can't upload photos as 98% of what I own is in storage units and my camera takes crappy photos of little things since no macro on it.
@Kidsandliz But... but... pictures. If you tell me what you have for cameras I may be able to help you find a macro mode on them. Wouldnt be as good as a macro lens on a dslr but most cameras do pretty well. Hell most cell phones do pretty decent on closeups these days.
@darkzrobe cheap much older point and shoot digital... no help here. Can't get closer than about 3' and have anything in focus so even using a magnifying glass won't help. Solution is new camera, but solution involves full time employment rather than stringing together part time temp gigs first.
Thanks for the offer to help though.
Seeing as we most likely have more folks visiting the site. I thought this should have a bump so I can see some more creative things!
@darkzrobe It reminded me that I’ve been wanting to make a 3d model/print for MEH. Now I just need to think of an idea…
@MrGlass I had a friend make this along with some other small things. But the skull is my favorite.
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1071493
@darkzrobe Oooh thats cool, I need to print one for myself.
I’m really getting into making my own designs. This is my latest https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2423061
@darkzrobe glad for the bump. reminds me that I have some projects I need to work on. And some pictures to take if/when I ever get all my office stuff unpacked from this last move.