Some of you may have heard of the acronym STEM: Science Technology, Engineering and Math. A respectable, geeky term in it’s own right, but probably a little stuffy for us over here at GeekCraft.
Recently, however, there has been a lot of talk about STEAM, which takes the stuffiness of STEM and adds an “A” for arts, injecting all sorts of coolness and excitement. In all seriousness, advocates of STEAM argue that arts provide school-aged children with a lot of skills valued in the world like design, problem solving, creativity, stick-to-it-ivness, etc., It is in that spirit of STEAM that I wanted to take this Friday round-up to focus on activities that you can do with young people in your life that promote this important intersection of art, science, engineering, and craft:
First up, just in time for those of you celebrating Easter, we’ve got egg geodes from Tinkerlabs. It’s some good chemistry (my favorite) and can lead to a nice conversation about geology. AND..and…it is colorful and fun.
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Spring is finally approaching! It’s time to get out spades from the shed and focus on a gardening craft.
Besides strawberries and rhubarb, I have never managed to get anything past the state of seed, but for those who can’t keep their cauliflowers from their broccoli, I present you these Dinosaur Plant Markers. Katie posted a tutorial for this simple, yet elegant project at Punk Projects. So, head over there and get your hands dirty!
Borderlands 2 has some amazing characters, but the one I loved the most was definitely Handsome Jack. I was checking out the Borderlands 2 forums recently and came across an old post where user botman made an awesome paper craft Handsome Jack mask. I scrolled through some of the comments and to my surprise (and delight) he provides instructions later in the thread.
I will let his post speak for itself, however he does warn that this is an advanced paper craft and that beginner and intermediate users may have trouble with it.
What are you waiting for? Visit the thread to download the instructions and you too can rule Pandora.
So Tardar Sauce, better known as Grumpy Cat, has become an internet sensation. She’s adorable in her own angry way. What better way to commemorate her than to make your very own felt brooch with this tutorial! Creator Lauren really nailed the look on her face.
Salutations, geekcrafters! Time for your weekly Monday Afternoon Quickie with Caitie. Sound like a blast? Great!
totally math!
So, this week we are getting down with some Adventure Time! So go on, grab your friends & a sewing machine and check out ohnorachio‘s adorable stuffed animal/pillow DIY. These are so super cute, and super simple!
All you need is a printer, mild tracing skills, fabric paint, a sewing machine (or your hands. you can do it! get old school!), and something to stuff them with. Algebraic!
rhombus!
If you need more Adventure Time cuteness, check the links below. And if you aren’t already, follow me on instagram @notcaitiedavis! I’ll be posting pictures of my Adventure Time needlefelting all this week. Have a great Monday, everyone!
-Caitie
Check out these other cool Adventure Time links!;
“Always in motion is the future.”
–Yoda, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Good morning, fellow Craft Geeks! I’m AmyLynn98 and I get to join all of you as your new Saturday morning poster. I enjoy crochet (a lot of the kinds of crochet and sewn items I make tend to be toys for friends and family made from my own patterns), sewing and card making as my main crafts, and now I can show all of you the really creative and crafty people out there that share our love handmade goodies. My favorite item that I’d like to take a crack at myself are these awesome TARDIS Chuck Taylors!
Some of the “geek” things that currently turn me on are Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew), Batman, Star Wars, Star Trek (I called myself a Trekkie before Trek was cool, and was proud of it), Doctor Who (my Doctors are #1, #4 and #10), Stephen King (I have a dog named Cujo), “The Big Bang Theory,” “Face Off” on SyFy, Abraham Lincoln, the Terminator, and most anything Halloween-related (more about the holiday than the movies, but those were good too). My plans for Halloween this year is to make a Gonk droid for my yard, finish off my Jedi costume (I’m a DIY Jedi!) and fix my full size guillotine.
Since I have to act like an adult most times, I work as a volunteer coordinator for a local hospice. I was able to start sharing my love of all things yarny and crocheted with our patients by providing them with handmade blankets. Volunteers up and down the East Coast help me to make them, and they all rock for it!
See you all on Saturday mornings…after the good cartoons are over, of course! Last one to the TV is a rotten egg!