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June 28

Maker Faire KC 2015

Photos from Maker Faire Kansas City 2015

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:

  1. 3D printers were big again, as they have been at each Faire I’ve attended. These were some 3D-printed TARDISes and Star Trek Lego figures.
  2. Some more examples of 3D printed items – these were very ornate vases by Sage Kaneko.
  3. A chainmail demonstration by Michael of Amanda Lynn Chainmaille Creations.
  4. The Artifex 2 desktop 3D printer – it printed in the usual hard plastic filament, but also wood and a flexible “NinjaFlex” thermoplastic elastomer.
  5. Eco Elvis performed – he was all shook up about the effects of acid rain.
  6. The Flipbookits were a cool find in the Maker Store – it’s a DIY kit to make your own motorized flipbook, designed by kinetic artists.
  7. Artists from Dare to Dabble were on hand to help attendees create gelli prints with acrylic paints, brayers, stamps and stencils.
  8. I made my own glycerin soap with Feto Soap! It smells like cinnamon and I chose a cute little gnome as the “prize” in the center.
  9. There were speakers scheduled throughout the day, discussing all sorts of interesting make-y type topics. The one I heard was about the use of hydraulics in Hollywood.
  10. Many booths encouraged attendees, particularly kids, to try their hand at a variety of tasks. This booth by Leela Village School for Purposeful Play offered a DIY playground with robots made from found materials. (P.S. Did you know “Leela” means “divine play” in Sanskrit?)
  11. A steampunk dirigible
  12. There was a table for Raspberry Pi Geek magazine – we got my husband one of these little credit card-sized computers for his birthday this year, so I was sure to pick up one of their sample magazines.

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!

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June 27

Tattoo Artist’s Incredible Disney Villains for 8-Year-Old

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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.

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June 14

For Captain Picard Day, a Star Trek mug cozy. Hot.

Star Trek mug cozy by Katie Smith

Did you know that June 16th is recognized by Star Trek fans as Captain Picard Day? According to Memory Alpha:

Captain Picard Day was an annual event held aboard the USS Enterprise-D for the ship’s schoolchildren. Activities included a contest, judged by Captain Jean-Luc Picard himself, in which the children created paintings and models of the captain. Picard was himself not very fond of the event, as he generally did not respond well to children.

To honor Captain Picard’s favorite beverage, here is an easy mug cozy for you to whip together to enjoy a cup of tea. Earl Grey. Hot. Katie over at Punk Projects has all the how-to details waiting for you in the Ready Room. You still have time to make one before Tuesday.

How do you plan to celebrate Captain Picard Day?

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May 31

Add Geek Flair to Your Shorts

Geek panel jean shorts by Sasha Rumage

With all the fantastic geek fabric hitting the stores and interwebs these days, you may be wondering what to make with it.  Here’s an idea from Sasha of Tattooed Martha – add some flair to your favorite pair of shorts.

Her tutorial walks you through creating a custom panel for shorts you already love, with the bonus of Velcro tabs so you can switch the panels out! Genius! And extra bonus? It’s all NO SEW!

I would think this might also work to create interchangeable geek fabric pockets to attach to the front or side of skirts.

What geek fabric would you like to use to spice up your wardrobe?

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May 25

Fan Art 365 Giveaway!

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Love fan art? Then this is the giveaway for you.  Artist Kayly describes herself as a “mum, tea drinker, geek, outdoor enthusiast, board gamer, and lover of handmade things,” and she’s embarked on a new journey, one we’re invited to go along on.  She’s set a goal of creating 365 fan art drawings in the next year, and she’s giving away three drawings a month! Each winner gets to pick from a variety of her work, too.  Based on her first round of drawings, it’s clear she has a wide array of interests: from Disney, to Marvel, to Star Wars, to Sandman.  There’s bound to be something of interest for everyone.  Don’t miss your chance to cheer Kayly on in reaching her goal, but also to win one of her pieces too.  You can enter her giveaway here.

Don’t forget, you can enter each month from May 2015 – April 2016!

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May 16

Fan Made “Black Widow” Title Sequence

Christopher Haley has created a fantastic title sequence for a Black Widow movie, featuring the song, “Sour Days” by Portishead. It was actually made for an After Effects class.

Black Widow’s villain would be. . . Black Widow. Yelena Belova, to be specific. Belova believes herself to be the superior Black Widow, and in some ways she is right. Swift and ruthless, Belova is the most talented assassin to graduate from the Red Room–and now she is Hydra’s most deadly weapon. At Belova’s side is a super-soldier of her own, Alexi Shostakov–the Red Guardian, who also happens to be Natasha’s former lover. When the new heads of Hydra make a play for the power of the infinity stones it is up to S.H.I.E.L.D.’s top agent to stop them.

Despite Marvel not showing an interest in prolonging the movie lives of their female heroes, I think the powers that be need to take a hard look at this gem. It’s got a real 1960’s/Cold War/James Bond vibe to it. Black Widow isn’t one of “my” characters, but I’d see this movie in a heartbeat!

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