Check out this stunningly beautiful Studio Ghibli Full Sleeve Tattoo! Ghibli has to be my all time favourite animation studio (possibly tied with Disney), and this tattoo shows off the artwork beautifully, incorporating at least five different Ghibli films in a seamless sleeve. I have to say, I am very jealous of this ink!
The crafting community and tattoo world collide in this brilliant woman’s unique take on ink art. Eva Krbdk is the Turkey-based tattoo artist who took her love of cross-stitch and transformed the canvas for the needlework from fabric to the human body.
Although some of you out there may not be familiar with cross-stitch, you most likely have seen these little works of embroidery before without even knowing it. This form of counted-thread embroidery’s signature look is the x-shaped patterns that the images are created with.
Krbdk’s use of the x-pattern in tattoos gives the images a captivating pixilation, for an entirely new aesthetic. You can see her innovative cross-stitch designs on her Instagram account, along with her prolific collection of equally beautiful tattoo art.
Have you been to a Maker Faire? A celebration of things people make themselves, Maker Faires are organized by MAKE Magazine, and started in San Mateo, California in 2006. Now these events take place across the country. My hometown, Kansas City, happens to be one of the “featured” Faires, where more than 200 makers participate. I have shared Faires in the past, in 2011 and 2012, so I figured it was time for an update.
Above is a montage of photos I took – here are the highlights, starting in the upper left corner, and working around clockwise:
There was so much to see, and scrolling through the Instagram feed for #MakerFaireKC, I can see I missed quite a bit! Be sure to allow a few hours at least if a Maker Faire hits your area, if not a whole day!
What have been your favorite things to see at a Maker Faire? Share with us in the comments below!
Links of Interest:
This entry actually comes from a non-geeky place: Yahoo! News, in an article by Makenzie Koch. 8-year-old Hope Laliberte has been wearing leg braces for the past four years, but not just any leg braces. Her first pair had skulls and crossbones on the back. Her second pair featured Batman and Spider-Man.
When it was time to get new braces, Hope didn’t even consider princesses or hearts and rainbows. She only wanted one thing — Disney villains.
Hope wanted braces that showcased Ursula, the evil sea witch from “The Little Mermaid,” and Cruella de Vil, the fashion foe of “101 Dalmatians.” But the brace clinic at Boston Children’s Hospital where Hope has her braces fitted didn’t carry such designs, only a limited sample book from which children can choose from. “They offer all different types of little girl designs, but she wasn’t having any of that,” says the mom.
So Laliberte-Lebeau turned to family friend and tattoo artist Aaron Guillemette to make Hope’s wish come true. She ordered light pink braces, and sent them to Guillemette, who owns tattoo shop Up in Flames in Fall River, to do a custom design.
The light pink braces are made of a resin and acrylic plastic, which made the process difficult when Guillemette tried to apply paint directly to the braces, according to a story published recently by The Herald News. Instead, he drew the characters on sticker paper and painted them with acrylic paint. After several drafts, he attached the papers to Hope’s braces and coated them in polyurethane to protect the art work.
Hope’s new braces now have her two favorite Disney villains on the back complete with evil eels, Dalmatian spots, and Hope’s name.
This gorgeous crocheted Super Mario blanket is featured in an album on Imgur. Unfortunately, there’s no other information on it, other than it took 6 1/2 years (or 800 hours) to create.
However, as a nerdy crocheter myself (currently working on a red fox scoodie right now), this is what I can tell you about the blanket:
–This was all done in single crochet, which after about 800 hours of work, your dominant hand and elbow are going to be KILLING you. But it is the most basic stitch and with a design like this, it gives the best definition to the design.
–The design was probably a grid based design, just because of all the color changes in it.
–There’s probably, at least, 10 different colors of yarn, and this looks like they are all acrylic worsted weight yarn. This is usually the cheapest yarn out there but it’s also the best to use because it holds up so well with use and washing.
So, kudos to you, nerdy crocheter, wherever you are!
