Treasure Wheels™ is an urban dolly kit that fits in a satchel and is a must-have tool for urban scavengers. Treasure Wheels™ lets you wheel those urban treasures home, by simply attaching the wheels to the artifact of your fancy, and get rolling.
Nothing short of brilliant!
(Thank you Yael)
I want to run home and make one of these catapult paper airplanes with my 5 year old!
(Make sure to check out some of the other Minieco Tutorials.)
I think I might build on this idea and make place cards for our daughter’s upcoming 5th birthday party. She would love it!
Lovely paper tree creations by Sandra Juto.
Coudal phrased it right: Step up your game this upcoming easter with this Egg Bot Kit. (But man, I would *not* eat an egg that has been painted with a Sharpie. No, thank you!)
My studiomate Aymie is carving a linocut letter a day for the month of march. Chosen typeface: Champion Gothic by Hoefler & Frere-Jones. Lightweight was chosen based on a deep rooted affection with its ampersand. I can’t wait to see the posters she’ll be cooking up with these!
Ryuji Nakamura created this miniature paper model house to sit ontop of his iMac, in front of the iSight webcam. It transforms a webcam view into something straight of out of Alice in Wonderland. How can this not make you smile?
(Johnny from Spoon Tamago just emailed me and said that he found this originally. Here’s his post.)
What a gem of a find over at Paul Octavious’ blog:
Float Documentary Trailer from Phil Kibbe on Vimeo.
I stopped by André Da Loba’s studio yesterday and was hit with a big giant brick of inspiration. André lives and breathes creativity. If I could pick a parent for my next life, it would be him. I can only imagine how crafty he’ll get if ever he’ll have a junior. Give him cardboard, paper-mache, cork etc and he’ll turn into into a whimsical work of art. Next time I am going to get crafty with Ella (4yo), I’ll make sure to pull up his site for inspiration!
ps: Just noticed that André is selling his Narigudo Balancing Toy on his site. Ella has one and loves it!
While I am not all that crazy about quilts, this Robot Quilt by Boo Davis made me look and smile. It’s called “Does Not Compute”. Boo Davis shares the pattern and everything you need to know to make it in her book, “Dare to Be Square Quilting: A Block-by-Block Guide to Making Patchwork and Quilts.”
(How appropriate that the cover features an owl, my ‘obsession in the making!”)
Here’s a project for the crafty backyard owner: Studiomama’s DIY outdoor kitchen! Download pdf to make your own mobile outdoor kitchen here.
Katie Thompson is the force behind REcreate, a furniture line made from upcycled objects. Totally charming, no?
(via Brainpickings)
My friend Keren sent me a link to this iPhone Amplifier. It totally made me laugh. No, I would never buy it, but it shows how inventive people are when it comes to iPhone Accessories. I then Google-Image-Searched the word ‘iPhone Amplifier’ and found some other interesting designs and hacks:
The Phonofone III looks like a gramophone from the future.
or take this super-low-tech iPhone Amplifier. All you need is a toilet roll. (via DIY Life)
Here’s to all of you knitting fairies out there: A Boot Topper Kit. What a cool gift for a crafty-rainboot-loving-person.
(Wish I could make myself one in bright red, but I left my knitting knowledge in Switzerland, it seems.)
What a refreshing new take on Birthday Party Goodie Bags. Use pages from an old magazine with imagery you like, cut out squares about 15×15 cm (6″x6″) and glue the outer ends together to make a tube. Then sew together one end, fill it with a surprise, turn it 90 degrees and sew together the other end. Presto!
Makedo is a reusable connector system that enables materials including cardboard, plastic and fabric to easily join together to form new objects or structures. How did I not come across this earlier? Think of the possibilities!
Tweet Towel is a tea towel with a personal miniature message embroidered onto it. I just received one and it made me smile big time.
All Tweet Towel profits go to the We Are What We Do Charitable Foundation, funding their digital inclusion projects to get different generations talking more, sharing more and spending more time together.
Tweet Towel gets two swissmiss thumbs up!
(thank you Tori)
With the Holiday Season aproaching, what could be cooler than wrapping your presents with your own ‘potato printed’ paper? What a cool thing to do on a rainy sunday afternoon. More info and link to tutorial.
Each day for 30 consecutive days Dominic Wilcox attempted to make something creative. He hoped to force himself into making quick decisions, creating things instinctively. On his site you can find an index of all 30 Days in the Speed Creating project linked to all the day’s pages. Impressive.
The Business Card Tie Dispenser made me laugh!
View all Speed Creating Projects
(thank you Liz)
About a month ago, I sat down with our 4.5yo Ella Joy to talk about Halloween. She has been going through a never-ending princess phase and I wanted to make sure we are not entering yet another pink princess Halloween. So, I looked at her and said: “Ella, what would you say, if we, the entire family, dress up as a big giant rainbow!” She looked at me with big, excited eyes and said: “YES, Mommy, I’ll be a rainbow princess!”
Umpf.
I pulled out my iPhone, and typed a “Help me message” to my dear friend and studiomate Jessi Arrington. Jessi is the queen of dressing up, and never misses a chance to do so. Just take my 5 year blog-anniversary where she dressed up as a typical Appenzeller farmer. (Appenzell is the region in Switzerland where I grew up) Her costume was amaaaazing and the fact that she cut a plastic cow in half with her bread knife at 2am shows how dedicated she is. Dressing up is serious business in the Arrington household. (Right, Creighton?)
My call for rainbow princess help was taken very seriously. Jessi instantly proceeded to sketch out three dresses for Ella to choose from:
Ella’s choice took a mere 2 seconds. Number 1! Number 1! she exclaimed. And then, Jessi’s late nights and trips to the fabric store and Ella’s questions “When is it ready” began. The excitement in Ella’s face, when I brought the dress home last thursday can not be expressed in words. That morning, she woke me up at 6am asking: “Is my rainbow princess dress coming today? Is it today? Is it today?”
And so they met. Ella and her rainbow princess dress, made with an incredible amount of love and dedication by SUPERAUNT JESSI™. Ella’s wildest princess dreams have come true with this dress. We are scared of next year’s Halloween as there is no way to top this.
This is a big giant virtual thank you to the bestest most creative friend out there. Jessi, I wanted to buy superaunt.com for you today, unfortuantely it was taken. So here is my big, fluffy blog thank you. You are an inspiration to me and Ella is your biggest fan. Thank you for making our Halloween absolutely fantastic.
Oh, and for those of you wondering, yes, our entire little family dressed up in the Rainbow theme. G and I went as a double rainbow (so intense!), Ella obviously as rainbow princess and our little Tilo was the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Read about Jessi’s rainbow princess experiment here.
All photos are by wonderful Erin Sparlin.
Two iconic New York stamps—a taxi cab and the Chrysler Building—let you create handmade gift cards, wrapping paper and stationary inspired by the city that never sleeps. I wish they’d also include the Brooklyn Bridge and a hot dog stand. Or maybe a pigeon? Hmm…
The Yoshida Hishou is an A-shaped plane with two reverse propellers. The design dates from 1911 when 3 A-shaped models successfully crossed over the Sumida River in a model plane contest. The kit uses balsa wood, ultra light white styrofoam, rubber bands, and 125mm reverse pitch propellers. It has a wingspan of 16″ and overall length of 18″. Complete illustrated instructions and glue are included. The kits are packed in boxes with handsome graphics in Japanese and English. A beauty, no?
This Cardboard Heaven project by Nina Lindgreen makes me want to drop everything, go home and start building one of these myself with the assistance of little Ella Joy.
