Archive for the ‘Techniques’ Category
Tuesday, March 25th, 2008

This is my first Instructable, and my entry for the Instructables pocket-sized contest. It’s a Pocket-Sized Watercolor Box in an Altoids tin. I’ve seen people make similar ones and I’ve decided to make my own, using what I had: Fimo clay.
For once, instead of just linking to an Instructable, I wrote one. About time!
Please vote for me!
Altoids Tin Pocket-Sized Watercolor Box [link]
Tags: altoids, paint, pigment, tin, water-color, watercolor
Posted in Art, Gear, Home Decoration | No Comments »
Sunday, March 23rd, 2008

« The size and durability of the Moleskine Pocket notebook is perfect for my sketching needs, but the paper is not ideal. Although both “sketchbook” and “watercolor” versions are available, neither is well-suited to my particular requirements. And so, I have developed a process for replacing the paper (aka Moleskine Reloaded) while retaining all the other wonderful attributes of the Moleskine. »
How to Rebind a Moleskine Notebook: Make a Custom DIY Sketchbook! [link]
Tags: journal, moleskine, notebook, paper, sketchbook, writing
Posted in Bookbinding, Repairs | No Comments »
Friday, March 7th, 2008

This project is a bit pointless: a volume limiter that plugs into your iPod or favorite portable audio device, and that you plug your headphones into. Now, given that any intelligent sensible person will lower the volume instead of using this device, its only potential use is forcing your children to use it. However, you know very well that they will unplug it as soon as you turn the back.
Nevertheless, I am featuring this project because of its neat packaging, which can be an inspiration for another more useful project.
Volume Limiter for Portable Audio [link][via]
Tags: 5
Posted in Audio, Electronics, Techniques | No Comments »
Thursday, February 21st, 2008

Clarissa, Knitter-Extraordinaire, explains with great detail (if you understand knitting - I wouldn’t know) how to knit a very nice R2D2 hat.
I wish I had one.
Knit your own R2D2 Hat [link][via]
Posted in Hats, Knitting, Techniques, Toys, Wearables | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 13th, 2008

«So I’ve been doing a lot of story boarding recently and in an effort to sharpen up my drawing skills I’ve switched from using a pencil to a pen. The only problem has been it’s much harder to do even fills with a pen than a pencil, so I needed a fat marker, too. But I hate carrying around more junk than I need, and most of the art markers out there have two or more points (prismacolor, tria, copic) but none of them have a point fine enough to do real line work. What’s an art director to do? Hack a tria of course…»
Extra Fine Dual Point Tria Art Marker [link]
Tags: hack, ink, marker, mod, pen, prismacolor, tria
Posted in Art, Tools | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 5th, 2008

Etsy is an online marketplace for buying and selling all things handmade. Here’s a few tips on running a successful Etsy shop. Wouldn’t it be nice to turn your hobby into a revenue?
How To Run a Successful Etsy Shop [link][via]
etsy [link]
Tags: Art, crafts, diy, doityourself, etsy, gifts, handmade, money, shop
Posted in Marketing | No Comments »
Sunday, February 3rd, 2008

A well done, straightforward Instructable that shows you how to sharpen your chisels. After all, well cared-for tools will perform better and last you a lifetime.
How to Sharpen a Chisel [link]
Tags: metal, stone, woodworking
Posted in Sharpening, Tools | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008

So you’ve designed a nice circuit and laid it out on your trusty breadboard. Time to move on and make a permanent version of it. You can always use stripboard and obtain a sloppy yet functional version of your circuit, or go all out and print your own circuit board. Homemade PCBs produce professional looking results without the overhead of dealing with a third party. An excellent option if you’re just making a few instances of your circuit.
This nice how-to shows you how to do that. Just make sure you dispose of the chemicals properly when you’re done. The sink isn’t an option here.
How to Make Printed circuit boards [link][via]
Tags: board, circuit, copper, pcb, printed, printedcircuitboard, printer
Posted in Electronics, Techniques | No Comments »
Friday, January 18th, 2008

Incredibly simple instructions on how to create tree grafts. Over time, the grafted branch will become part of the host plant. I’m pretty sure that nature imposes some limits, but you can still achieve some interesting results, way beyond simple “repairs”.
For the sake of not killing trees, start out with simple mods :)
Grafting Made Simple [link]
Living Tree Sculptures [link]
Tags: biology, cross breeding, horticulture, plants, tree
Posted in Garden, Grafting, Repairs | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 15th, 2008

Today, I bring you two other t-shirt tutorials. The first one shows you how to reproduce retro silk screening with simple tools you probably already have. The result is nice: a crackly old-school retro look. The second one shows a more advanced technique that produces cleaner results.
Time to get out your old t-shirts and brng them back to life.
T-Shirt Fake Retro Silkscreening [link]
T-Shirt Stencil [link]
Tags: clothing, geek, retro, shirt, t-shirt
Posted in Silkscreening, Techniques | No Comments »