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Paul Overton posted this nice tutorial on how to make papercut portraits on his blog, DudeCraft. The best thing about this paper cutting technique can be applied to many medias and derived, like stencilling a T-Shirt.

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Ok, let’s face it. The result is pretty lame. However, I chose to post this link because the technique shown can be applied to many other things, like making furniture, miniature models, etc.

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Thinking of building the Moog VCF I posted yesterday? You might want to check out this post about using Cupric Chloride to etch PCBs.

Usual disclaimers apply.

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Scott Holden built this amazing tauntaun costume  and put his build log online. Don’t know what a tauntaun is? Learn to Empire Strikes Back.

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Here is a collection of 10 DIY bike projects that you can do in your free time. Each one contains links to different ways of implementing the project. The reason for I put this collection together is because I couldn’t find anywhere else on the internet that brings all these great projects in one place so make sure you bookmark it! I hope you enjoy the list and getting creative. Let me know if there are any more great DIY projects you are aware of.

10 cheap and easy DIY bike projects [link]

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]

« 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]

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]

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]

«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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

A nice piece on how to make a sharp knife out of a plain strip of metal (or a butter knife) without any tools. Interesting because it’s so simple, yet still useful.

Knife Making Without Tools [link]

Please  use responsibly.

Make your own Lock Picks [link]

The page is in French, but that shouldn’t stop you as the video doesn’t contain any verbal explications.

How to make your own vacuum tubes [link] [via]

This instructable shows you how to build kick-ass bike frames. One in carbon fiber, and the second one out of… carbon fiber and bamboo! It looks amazing too – sure to be a head-turner!

How I built a carbon bike frame at home (and a bamboo frame too) [link]