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Archive: Holiday projects
December 1, 2008
The Culture Jamming gift guide at MAKE - hack, stick, throw, jam and inspire!
Ok, folks, I know not all of you approve of culture jamming shenanigans, but here are some gift ideas for that mischief maker in your life!
Peggy Kit
Create a light board with your own picture! You can make an LED sign for your window, a geeky valentine for your sweetie, one bad-ass birthday card, or freak the holy bejesus out of Boston. Your call. It's a versatile, high-brightness display. How you configure it and what you do with it is up to you. This first version can make any static design you can dream up. Version 2 adds simple animation capability and Arduino compatibility.
Price: Version 1: $79.95 Verion 2: $94.95
photo above by Flickr user smashtheqube
Read on for the complete list of awesome culture jamming gift ideas!
Read full story
Posted by Becky Stern |
Dec 1, 2008 01:00 AM
Announcements, Culture jamming, DIY Projects, Electronics, Holiday projects, Maker Shed Store |
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November 28, 2008
Book on building snow shelters
Over at the Cool Tools blog, Kevin Kelly just reviewed How to Build an Igloo: And Other Snow Shelters by Norbert E. Yankielun. I really wish I had this book as a kid; snow forts are so much fun!
Posted by Becky Stern |
Nov 28, 2008 12:00 PM
DIY Projects, Holiday projects |
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November 27, 2008
Pinecone cheese...cone
Jenny @ CRAFT posted up this odd appetizer, and I'm strangely fixated on its almondy, spiny pinecone-ness. Maybe it's because I haven't seen a real pinecone in a while. Anyway, the pinecone cheeseball by Heidi Kenney certainly has visual interest on its side!
Posted by Becky Stern |
Nov 27, 2008 09:00 PM
Crafts, Holiday projects |
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Instructables DIY gift ideas
Instructables has put together a list of suggestions for make-it-yourself gifts. I bet there's going to be a lot of handmade gifts this year. Great! A wonderful silver lining to leaner times.
I have a scarf that a friend knitted me for my last birthday. I was so touched that someone had taken that much time to make something just for me. It felt as though her affection for me was actually encoded in the scarf, in the many hours of knitting it. I think about this every time I grab it from the closet and put it on. I'm not sure any purchased item would communicate the friendly love and devotion, the true notion of "gift," the way this scarf does.
I'm hoping to make most of my gifts this year. In fact, my son and I are planning on doing one of the projects from The Best of Instructables and giving one to all of our family members. (I'm not going to say which one 'cause I don't want to spoil the surprise.)
Here are a few of the ideas for gifts that the Instructables team put together:
I provide childcare in my home for three toddlers and I've noticed that they really love board books with flaps that open. So for Christmas I made three customized lift-the-flap books for them. This instructable will explain how to make your own and give some tips on how to make the process a little easier.
Black and white is totally trendy right now, and what's hotter than adding a little "bling" to your life? So here's a super quick (only six steps!) note card design that you can make as a gift for that really hip gal in your life - or keep for yourself and use them as thank you's for all the not-so-hip gifts you'll be getting for Christmas!There are so many amazing things you can do with paper products and crafting supplies. A trip to a Micheal's or places like PaperSource will give you all sorts of great ideas, for both presents and wrapping and packaging ideas. This Instructable shows just how easy and cheap it is make very swanky stationary with just a few special craft supplies and materials.
I made this as a birthday card for my sister, but it's also a great cheap way to display photos without having to buy a frame. It would also make a lovely personalized bauble or gift box.You could also use these as gift boxes.
This guy made a LED back-lit, singing painting for his wife, as an homage to the Flight of the Conchords. You could obviously take the idea somewhere else entirely.
From the Maker Shed:
These are just some of the great ideas for homemade gifts. Instructables is a giant treasure-trove of ideas. And so is The Best of Instructables.
Best Of Instructables
Our Price: $34.99
Sale Price: $29.99
You Save $5.00!
Instructables.com has become one of the most popular magnets for makers and DIY enthusiasts of all stripes. Now, with more than 10,000 projects to choose from, the Instructables staff, editors of MAKE: Magazine, and the Instructables community itself have put together a collection of home, craft, food and technology how-to's from the site. The Best of Instructables Volume 1 includes plenty of clear, full-color photographs, complete step-by-step instructions, and tips, tricks, and new build techniques you won't find anywhere else.
Highlights from the book:
* 336 pages, 6-5/8 x 9-3/8, same dimensions as The Best of MAKE and MAKE magazine.
* Over 120 projects!
* Projects cover everything from food hacking and making home furnishings from junk to building robots and CNC milling machines. And in-between you'll find projects on arts, crafts, costume-making, tool tips, themed photo galleries, and tons more.
* There are also the results of the Community Choice contest winners (the best of Instructables as voted by its members) and links to their projects.
* There are key user comments from the site throughout, called User Notes, and even a section in the back for you to keep your own User Notes as you build the projects.
We tried to involve the Instructables community as much as possible in the creation of the book (we were in direct communication with several hundred authors!). We hope the results do this maker community proud. It was a thrill ride to be sure.
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Nov 27, 2008 11:00 AM
Holiday projects, Instructables |
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Hand turkeys
This is one of our Thanksgiving traditions - we have card stock and colored pencils out for people to make hand turkeys. Yep, just like you remember from grade school, you trace around your hand and fill in the features. Kids and adults both really enjoy themselves, and it's fun to see people get creative with it. I've also noticed that the grown-ups are often compelled to write their name, age, grade and teacher's name on the back. I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!
Posted by Patti Schiendelman |
Nov 27, 2008 10:23 AM
Crafts, Holiday projects, Kids |
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Mac mini Apple pie
Mac mini Apple pie - it doesn't get better than this folks.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Nov 27, 2008 09:27 AM
Crafts, DIY Projects, Holiday projects |
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Heritage turkeys - Scalding and plucking to your table...
Wow, Terrie (previous MAKE webmaster) has a great write up on Hertitage turkeys! Warning the page has dead turkey, the source of turkey meat...
I like to support the efforts of farmers who are raising heritage breeds of animals. Heritage breeds of livestock are often in danger of becoming extinct, because industrial livestock breeds create a monoculture of animals. Industrial breeds were developed for size consistency or volume of production, but unfortunately many of these breeds are not as hardy and require antibiotics or other measures to sustain them long enough to reach the age of slaughter. Heritage breeds are often sturdier, healthier, and are well-suited for particular niches of climate or other factors which make them great for non-industrial farms. The increased biodiversity that results in having more heritage breeds leads to a great resiliency in the food system.It's shocking how different a heritage turkey can be from a commercial breed. Commercially bred turkeys can't even mate themselves because their chests are so oversized to produce more breast meat...they all have to be artificially inseminated! (Yup, remember that episode of Dirty Jobs?!) Check out this Definition of a Heritage Turkey for more details.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Nov 27, 2008 09:00 AM
Holiday projects |
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Happy Thanksgiving from MAKE
We have a lot to be thankful for this year--but most of all, we're thankful for our readers and community of makers who make MAKE what it is. Have a great holiday folks, and enjoy this Thanksgiving-themed post filled with projects and more for turkey time...
- Liquid Nitrogen ice cream? Fractal pecan pie? A recirculating gravy fountain? - Link.
- Make Video Podcast: Make Your Own Thanksgiving Turkey Out of Paper! - Link
- Hack the Paper Turkey - Link
- Make Your Own Turkey Plans! - Link
- Thanksgiving Turkey-Making Instructions - Link
- Hundreds of hand draw turkeys... - Link
- Interview with a turkey fryer - Link
- HOW TO - Harvest a turkey - Link
- Making a thermocouple (measure turkey temperature with a multimeter and calculator!) - Link.
- Thanksgiving calculator - Link.
- DIY Thanksgiving: How to fry a turkey, turkey fryer kits, safety and more... Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Nov 27, 2008 08:00 AM
Holiday projects |
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Turkey upgrade with Arduino!
Yes - it's true. There is absolutely no item in existence that the Arduino microcontroller platform cannot enhance! Matt stepped up his Thanksgiving experience by adding a plethora of Arduino tech to his pre-cooked holiday centerpiece -
I'm always looking out for new ways to add more shields and components to my Arduino, and this felt like a natural (and festive) experiment, so I gave it a shot: it's an Arduino, Potentiometer (for user input), accelerometer (to know it's bearings), and compass (so the turkey's always facing due north), Lithium Backpack (for mobility of course), and TouchShield Stealth (for output) wired through a fairly large turkey :)Now he can monitor vital Turkey orientation data with ease - and of course he outlined his process step-by-step - Introducing the 8-bit embedded TurkeyShield
More:
Arduino based turkey temperature probes
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Nov 27, 2008 04:00 AM
Arduino, Holiday projects |
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November 25, 2008
Holiday art in Google docs...
Some enterprising folks over at Google have collaborated via Google Documents to create holiday art using cells in a spreadsheet as the pixels. A time delay video was taken and is available over at YouTube and the result is pretty spectacular. More info on how they did this is available behind the scenes. They're inviting people to share their own masterpieces or post a video response over on YouTube.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Nov 25, 2008 09:00 AM
DIY Projects, Holiday projects, Online |
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Tree ornaments via laser
From the MAKE Flickr photo pool
B Light writes -
I took a laser cutting class at NYC Resistor this weekend, taught by Bre Pettis. I designed some tree ornaments.- Get Yourself a Laser CutterThe laser cutter is such a cool tool. To be able to design something and have the final piece in your hands 10 minutes later, it’s like living in the future.
- Tree Ornaments - Red on Flickr
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Nov 25, 2008 06:00 AM
Crafts, Holiday projects |
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November 24, 2008
DIY Thanksgiving - Fry a turkey, make a paper turkey, DIY temperature measurement and more! How to projects for Thanksgiving....
Ok gang, here it is the largest collection of DIY Thanksgiving projects on the web from MAKE past and present - from how-to make a paper turkey, to how to fry one up, a real one that is...
First up, how-to on frying a turkey. Check out the comments and cautions for lots of good advices/tips.
Underwriters Laboratories has some background on why they don't certify turkey fryers along with scary photos & video --
"A longtime food favorite in the southern United States, the delicious deep-fried turkey has quickly grown in popularity thanks to celebrity chefs such as Martha Stewart and Emeril Lagasse. While some people rave about this tasty creation, Underwriters Laboratories Inc.'s (UL) safety experts are concerned that backyard chefs may be sacrificing safety for good taste.
"We're worried by the increasing reports of fires related with turkey fryer use," says John Drengenberg, UL consumer affairs manager. "Based on our test findings, the fryers used to produce those great-tasting birds are not worth the risks. And, as a result of these tests, UL has decided not to certify any turkey fryers with our trusted UL Mark."
Still want to fry a turkey? Check out Alton Brown's Turkey Derrick - "Ask any professional fire fighter - they'll tell you -- every Thanksgiving they answer a slew of emergency calls... Maybe you've seen the videos of decks or houses going up in flames because of careless turkey frying? After some thinking, sketching, a few trips to the hardware store... the Turkey Derrick was invented as an ideal way to intelligently and safely fry a bird. Download the instructions to construct the derrick and fry the bird".
Here's a "kit" for turkey frying, also can fry 3 chickens at once (Jake) ... - $100:
"Bayou Classic Stainless Steel Cookware is the premium choice for those who demand the highest quality products for their outdoor cooking needs. The 30-Quart polished Stainless Steel Stockpot allows you to fry a whole turkey in as little as 45 minutes. With the included Skewer Set, this item transforms into a Gourmet Chicken Fryer, making it possible to fry 3 chickens in 20 minutes! The Stainless Perforated Basket is perfect for boiling seafood, crawfish, clams, and vegetables."
How Stuff Works has an uber collection of all things Thanksgiving-related, from stain removal to how pop timers work.
Make Your Own Turkey Plans!
Make Your Own Thanksgiving Turkey ... (M4V).
Thanksgiving Turkey-Making Instructions (including the 3D turkey PDF!!).
Made: Paper Turkey
Hack the Paper Turkey
HOW TO - Handprint Turkey Softie
A smoked turkey with an IP address...
HOW TO - Turkey Treats
HOW TO - Turkey Pops
Turkey baster head mounted musical instrument
Four Thanksgiving Knitting Patterns ...
Interview with a turkey fryer
HOW TO - Harvest a turkey
Making a thermocouple (measure turkey temperature)
Hah, this is awesome - a teaching assistant for a Psych class adds an extra page to an exam and says "draw a turkey" - here are the results, hundreds of hand-drawn turkeys (scanned, posted to Flickr)....
- 9 hungry folks drew a cooked Butterball turkey
- 5 had their turkey saying "eat me!" ... but 6 had the turkey protest "don't eat me!"
- 17 turkeys were gobble, gobble-ing
- 21 wished a Happy Thanksgiving
- 8 wore a hat
- 108 were "left handed" ... 72 were "right handed" ... although I counted freehand-drawn hands too, and wasn't very exact about how I chose some of the blobbier ones
Here's a useful Excel sheet you can use to calculate how much stuff you'll need to buy for Thanksgiving... Spacejockey writes - "Shopping calculator that will present a complete Thanksgiving shopping list, and how much to cook of each menu item, after just entering a few variables." - Link.
I happen to have Excel on this computer, but it should work in OpenOffice too...
Did we miss anything? Post up in the comments!
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Nov 24, 2008 08:00 AM
Holiday projects |
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Make your own hot sauce...
Make your own hot sauce... via Lifehacker.
Makers, have a recipe? Post up in the comments!
Kits For The Holidays (hot sauce) - MAKE 04.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Nov 24, 2008 04:00 AM
Crafts, DIY Projects, Holiday projects |
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November 19, 2008
Binary birthday wishes
Windell of Evil Mad Scientist Labs is this many, expressed in a binary candle. He shows you how to make your own. Do you know how old he is?
(BTW: I don't think today is really his birthday, but let's play along. He *is* 0100010.)
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Nov 19, 2008 12:00 PM
Computers, Crafts, Holiday projects |
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November 17, 2008
Squirrel feet earrings
I know I'm not the only one around here who has a soft spot for creative taxidermy - and who could not have their heart stolen completely by this gift of lovely squirrel feet earrings? Via Craftastrophe
Posted by Patti Schiendelman |
Nov 17, 2008 07:00 AM
Crafts, Holiday projects, Wearables |
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November 15, 2008
Beeswax candles
When my kids were smaller, we had some really fun craft parties. I especially liked helping kids make holiday presents for their parents; projects like these easy beeswax candles were a great success! Check out this Wikipedia article on beeswax, too. Via Crafting a Green World
Posted by Patti Schiendelman |
Nov 15, 2008 07:00 AM
Crafts, Holiday projects, Kids |
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November 13, 2008
Paperless origami
Jeffery Rudell shows how to make this holiday reindeer out of fusible interfacing over on Craft Stylish. You could do this to make any origami model sturdier; it's a neat texture, too.
Posted by Patti Schiendelman |
Nov 13, 2008 07:00 AM
Holiday projects, Kids, Paper Crafts |
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MAKE 2008 gift guide from MAKE volume 16 & "The value of a good hands on project"
Here's the MAKE 2008 gift guide from MAKE volume 16 (PDF). If you have your printed copy of MAKE it's on page 18, a pull out, and in the digital edition it's at the end.
I also wanted to post up a great article by our associate publisher Dan Woods called "The value of a good hands on project"...
Editor and Publisher Dale Dougherty came by my desk the other day pointing at a Newsweek folded back to a chart that ranked retail winners and losers for the past quarter. "Look what came in right behind gasoline stations on the high-growth list," he said, pointing to the circled chart. "Hobby, toy, and game stores." No one who owns a car will be surprised to see that gas stations top the growth chart, but hobby and game stores? We're in the midst of some gray economic times, and folks generally think of hobbies and games as discretionary pursuits, no?
Dale and I were intrigued by the chart because it mapped so closely to our own Maker Shed experience -- a pronounced upswing in interest in kits. To be sure, part of our success is the result of a team of smart editors and staffers who've uncovered beautiful kits and projects that really resonate with our audience of inquisitive makers and science enthusiasts. However, I think the underlying data is telling us something important about ourselves and the kind of value we derive from a good hands-on project.
Perhaps it's the constructive distraction of focusing ourselves on something other than the recession, something where we have a reasonable chance of controlling the outcome. Maybe it's the satisfaction of picking up a new skill, dusting off an old one, or simply learning how something works (or doesn't). Maybe it's the memories that live long after the project is done.
And there's definitely something intrinsically satisfying about passing along skills -- even the simplest of skills -- to a younger maker. What kid doesn't enjoy a workbench, a few tools, and a good project on a rainy day?
Even though many of us are nixing the vacation we'd thought about, driving that funky clunker of a car for another year, or putting the bathroom remodel on hold, the basements, garages, and backyards of this planet are coming alive with experiments, tinkering, and the making spirit.
So this holiday season, whether you provision a project from recycled materials and repurposed
The chart mapped so closely to our own experience: a pronounced upswing in interest in kits.
hardware lying around the house, or decide to buy a project kit from the Maker Shed (makershed.com) or somewhere else, give yourself and someone you care about the gift of making something together.
And if you're in a position and the spirit moves you, consider giving the gift of a science kit to a deserving school or teacher. They need your help more than ever before.
Photography by Scott Beale / Laughing Squid.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Nov 13, 2008 12:00 AM
Announcements, Holiday projects, Kits, MAKE PDF, MAKE Podcast |
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November 12, 2008
The Great and Powerful Jake von Slatt!
I guess when you're known for being a virtuosic fabricator of fabulous tech-mods in cyberspace, you're kids aren't going to let you slide by with a wriggling animatronic hand from Target for Halloween. Here, the day before flying out to deliver the keynote at the California Steampunk Convention, Jake von Slatt presented this Wizard of Oz themed Halloween display at his house outside of Boston.
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Nov 12, 2008 12:00 PM
Halloween, Holiday projects |
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November 11, 2008
Star Wars costume winners
[2nd place Adult, Kristin, Zombie Leia]
[3rd Place Adult, Kyle, EVO Trooper]
[1st Place Kids, Paige, Aurra Sing]
Rebelscum has posted the results of their Halloween 2008 Star Wars costume contest.
Costume Contest Winners
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Nov 11, 2008 11:00 AM
Halloween, Holiday projects |
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The MAKE gift guides for 2008!
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Maker Faire Austin - Green Tech
Makers from around the world gathered to share their "green" inventions and technology at Maker Faire in Austin. Make plans now to attend the next Maker Faire. To download Maker Faire Austin 2008 - Green Tech MP4 click here...
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