Maker Faire 2013 (Part 2)

"Don't think.  Thinking is the enemy of creativity.  It's self-conscious, and anything self-conscious is lousy.  You can't try to do things.  You must simply do things."  Ray Bradbury 

Often times when an idea pops in my head, I find myself just sitting on it.  I spend days thinking about it. I turn it around and around in my head.   And then I get overwhelmed by it.

I guess I tend to over think things.  (Anyone else like that too?)

Seeing the exhibitors at the Maker Faire really inspired me.  Yeah, they probably did a lot of thinking.  But, they also stepped out of their thoughts and actually tinkered and experimented with their ideas.  They dared to try and they dared to fail.

Alright, that was rather a long intro to these last set of photographs from the Maker Faire.  (To see part 1, click here.)  I guess I just wanted to say a big thank you to all the exhibitors.  Thanks for being brave and trying.  Thanks for showcasing your creativity and hard work.  Thanks for inspiring the maker in me. 

Giant felted dinosaur

Chair made out of very thin cardboard (or thick paper?)

Butterfly bicycle!

The inventor of this toy (and the one below) was at the faire showcasing his toys.  They were lovely, modern, and classic at the same time.

You build a structure and then drop marbles onto it.  The marbles slide around on ramps and through holes.

Pink elephant made of wooden shapes- who thinks of this stuff?

Awesome pink elephant

Paint your own galaxy umbrella

Inspired by Carl Sagan's quote, "We are made of star-stuff," I painted this galaxy umbrella:

On the outside the umbrella is black. But open the umbrella up and wow, you're now standing under a galaxy full of twinkling stars.  Let's get crafting!

Materials Needed to Paint Umbrella:

(*Note:  Some of the links in this post are affiliate links which means I earn a small commission for every purchase at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support.)  
 
- Black Umbrella
- Painter's tape
- Craft Paint (I used black, red, yellow, blue, and white)
- White fabric paint (I used the bottle because it had a nice tip to draw stars)
- Fabric Medium
- Cups
- Sponge
- Stick for stirring
- Palette (or crapty styrofoam plate)
- Paper towel
- Inspiring photo of the universe

Steps to Make Galaxy Umbrella:

1.  Cover the umbrella's ribs with painter's tape.

2.   Make your fabric paint.  Not sure if you have this problem, but I own a ton of craft paint and very little fabric paint.  So instead of buying different bottles of fabric paint, I bought one bottle of fabric medium to turn my craft paint into fabric paint.  (Wow, right? Oh Martha, you crafty minx!  What will you think of next?) Following the bottle's directions, I mixed the fabric medium and the craft paint together to make black, blue, purple, red, yellow, and white fabric paint.  

3.  Use a dry sponge and a piece of paper towel to dab the different colors on.  (I tried starting with my darker colors first and then adding on my lighter colors... but then ended up using darker colors again.... so just play around and have fun with it.)



4.  Once you're satisfied with how your background looks, use your white fabric paint to paint stars.  (I liked using the bottle because it had a nice neat tip.  But, you could also just  use the white fabric paint that you previously made and apply it on with a paint brush.)

5.  Make some stars cross shaped to look like they're twinkling.  Remove painter's tape. Then, let your masterpiece dry overnight.

Voila!  Now you've got your very own galaxy.  Open this baby up on an icky rainy day and you're guaranteed to feel better.

(Psst- Wanna see another painted umbrella?  Check out my "rain, rain, go away" umbrella.)

Have fun creating your own galaxy!


UPDATE 8/26/13- I've now taken this umbrella out a couple of times and the paint is fine.  Phew.  The only problem that I have with this umbrella is that the insides are now a bit sticky, so the umbrella is a bit more difficult to open.

Hide it close to your heart

Disappointments.  Fears.  Worries about the future.  Problems with a second pregnancy.  A break-up.  Struggles with job-hunting.  Illegal residency.  A  child with learning disabilities.

While hearing about friends' and family members' struggles, this quote kept popping into my head:

It's true, right?  Life is beautiful, but it is also brutal.  I'm going to hide the quote close to my heart, and pull it out whenever I feel myself getting grumpy at someone or feeling too shy around strangers.

Make a Sharpie decorated plate

I never know what to get people as gifts.  Maybe you're like me?  I walk through the entire store several times.  Each time around, I find different treasures and then mentally debate the pros and cons of the item for several minutes.  Then, I inevitably change my mind and movie onto the next item. Then, after about 2 hours of mumbling to myself like a crazy lady, I finally leave empty handed, with only a grouchy hubby and fussy baby to show for my effort.

So when I was invited to a friend's bridal shower, I knew I was in trouble.  If buying gifts for the building's superintendent already caused me grief, buying a gift for a longtime friend should have sent me into cardiac arrest.

Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately?), Chuck's been having a rotten time with teething, so this time around I just took the easy way out:  gift card.  Packaged money.  And honey, who doesn't want money?

As I walked towards the cash register that nagging voice started whispering in my ear, "Leslie.  Is this really the best gift?  You've known her for how long?  Isn't this a bit impersonal?"  I tried responding back, "Shush. Chuck's actually behaving nicely.  If we leave now I can get good parking.  And I don't need to buy wrapping paper."

But the nagging voice continued, and I finally succumbed.  But this time a crafty idea also came to me and I took a quick trip to the kitchen section and grabbed a plate.

Because after seeing the gorgeous DIY Anthropologie knock-off mug from Home Heart Craft, I had to get into the Sharpie plate decorating market.

And after a couple of hours, I came up with this lovely plate:

I really like how it turned out.  It's beautiful, personal, quirky, useful, and *fingers crossed* long-lasting.  (I didn't try washing it... so I'm hoping the marker holds.)

Want to use Sharpie markers to unleash your creativity on some unsuspecting pieces of china?  Read on!

Materials:
- Oven
- Plate (I got mine at Target)
- Sharpie markers
- Paper
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Tape
- Q-Tip

Directions:
1.  Trace your plate onto a piece of paper and cut out the resulting shape.  Now you know how big to make your design..

2.  Come up with your design.  (This was super hard.  I knew I wanted to practice my handwriting skills and include something romantic and slightly naughty.)

3.  Turn your paper over.  On the back, rub your pencil over the back of your design.  (Guess what?  You've essentially made your own carbon paper!)

4.  Tape your design to your plate.  Trace over your design with your pencil.  Lift up your paper and you'll find a faint imprint of the design underneath.  (Magical!)

5.  Use Sharpie to trace over your design.  I have shaky hands, so I did this very slowly and carefully.  Some parts of the lettering came out a big uneven, so I retraced over parts to make sure that everything looked uniformly black.  Once my Sharpie dried, I brushed off any visible pencil residue with a Q-tip.  Feeling inspired, I also free handed a design on the back.

6.  Pop your work of art into the oven and bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes.  Then, admire your handiwork and wrap it up.

(Have you ever tried to draw on plates or mugs with Sharpies?  Did the Sharpie marker stay on even after you washed the item?  I'm hoping my design stays on.  Hubby received this lovely mug decorated with Sharpie from his students last year.... and the message they wrote washed away after several rinses.  Luckily we took a photo of the mug before everything disappeared... but it was still pretty disappointing.  *Crosses fingers*)

New York Aquarium Part 2

The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever..  ~ Jacques Yves Cousteau 

 

 
Jellyfish from Pink Stripey Socks on Vimeo.

Faster than a fleeting smile

"Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing."  ~  Mother Teresa 

 

We finally captured that sweet smile.  Hope you have a wonderful weekend! 

(To see our previous smile-capturing attempts, click here and here.) 

Hey ladies!

My son is selling tickets...

to the gun show.

  

6 years

"I love you, not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you."
~ Roy Croft

Hopefully one day we'll walk Baby Chuck Norris down that aisle.

Photo taken by our friend

One store, many stories

"It would not just be items mingled, but also stories."  ~Masamichi Tohyam

I recently watched this Etsy video on this blog.  I loved the store owner's sense of style and philosophy.  Second hand items have history and it's neat that you can uncover part of their stories at his store.  Enjoy!


There's No Place Like Here: Pass The Baton from Etsy on Vimeo.

Frolicking in flowers

No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn. - Hal Borland

How you doin' good lookin?

I never leaf through a copy of National Geographic without realizing how lucky we are to live in a society where it is traditional to wear clothes.  ~Erma Bombeck

It's that time again.  Here are some highlights from hubby's wardrobe:

Sunny greetings

Uber Prep

Rugged and Ready

Hello up there

Trees are the earth's endless effort 
to speak to the listening heaven.  
~ Rabindranath Tagor