Tag Archives: Geek Art + Craft

Crafting a Miniature Pac-Man Arcade Game Drink Coaster

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Ever wanted to craft your own miniature Pac-Man level drink coaster? Who hasn’t? It’s a universal human dream. And to help us achieve that dream, YouTuber The Avid Creator avidly created this video detailing how he made one. Just follow along to make your own! Will yours turn out as well as his did? Yours might, but mine definitely won’t.

He constructed the base and walls of the level from finely-cut wood pieces, while the pellets, ghosts, and Pac-Man are made of polymer clay, with everything painted and then sealed with epoxy resin. Admittedly, that is a good-looking drink coaster. Way nicer than my coaster, which just looks like a water ring on the coffee table.

Does anybody want to make a bunch of these for me to give out as Christmas gifts this year? I can promise you’ll be handsomely rewarded. With praise, just to be clear – not with actual money. Come on, Santa doesn’t even pay his elves!

This Wooden Xenomorph Phone Stand Looks Like It’s Been Dead a Long Time

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Intricately carved out by Ukrainian woodworker Vadim of Etsy shop bovagu, these wooden xenomorph phone stands are perfect for letting coworkers know you’re a fan of the Alien franchise. Or for trying to convince them you’re an alien headhunter like the Predators. Speaking from experience, though, that’s an uphill battle. These people aren’t as gullible as my nieces and nephews.

The $145 heads are carved from sustainable linden wood, weigh 0.9 lbs, and measure approximately 5.5″ x 12″ x 3.5″. They can also be linseed oiled in different colors if blue isn’t your thing. I want mine to be the limey green tint of xenomorph blood, as seen in the movies. I demand realism!

Admittedly, that’s a sweet phone stand. And to think I’ve gotten by all this time just using a stack of unfinished work documents for a stand while I watch Netflix instead of actually attending to those documents. Fun fact: those papers also double as napkins and emergency tissues!

[via DudeIWantThat]

Man Creates Marble Dropper With 1 Millisecond Accuracy

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Creating marble machines that produce music when the balls hit objects, Martin Molin of the band Wintergatan (which I’m pretty sure is just him and his machine) knows precision ball-dropping is of utmost importance. So he developed this ball gate that can release his musical marbles with a standard timing deviation of just 1.46 milliseconds. That’s 1.46 thousandths of a second, or, in layman’s time, pretty damn accurate.

In the video, Martin demonstrates what 1.46 milliseconds sounds like to the naked ear, then delayed 10, 20, and 50ms until you can actually detect a noticeable difference. So yeah, it’s safe to say the machine drops those balls when it’s supposed to. Below is a video of the sort of insane machine Martin needs, such a precision marble-dropping gate to power.

Hey, everybody needs a hobby. And if your hobby happens to make beautiful music, all the better. But if your hobby happens to make a bunch of deafening noise in the garage and start the occasional fire, well, welcome to my life. My wife says I should take up reading or painting instead of trying to build a rocket.

[via hackaday]

Human Spine Lamp: A Gothic De-Light

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Because why limit skeletons to just your closet, macabre Etsy shop the blackened teeth (mine are just yellowed) is selling the Spine Lamp, a 60cm (~24″) table lamp made with a realistic human spine. Perhaps a little TOO realistic. Are we sure that’s resin and not bone? Where are those CSI agents when you need them?

The spines are available in black and white and with three different lampshade options, my favorite of which has to be the black with copper inner lining. That’s a good-looking lampshade. I can already imagine myself dancing on the couch with that on my head. Wait – where’s everybody going? This party’s just getting started!

Now I know what you’re thinking, and I have the exact same problem – my significant other doesn’t have the same fine taste in interior design that I do. So how do you buy a $160 spine lamp without upsetting them? No, I’m seriously asking because I really want one.

[via DudeIWantThat]

Lifesize ‘Pan Solo in Carbonite’ Bread Sculpture

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Participating in the Downtown Benicia Main Street Scarecrow Contest, bakers Hanalee Pervan and her mother Catherine of One House Bakery in Benicia, California, created this lifesize ‘Pan Solo in Carbonite’ bread sculpture. Did it win the contest? I have no clue, but it certainly won my heart. And stomach. Now, where’s the butter and jam?

The sculpture is made entirely from dough and is currently on display in the front window of the One House Bakery but will make its way to the compost pile after Han has reached his best-by date. That’s a shame because I love stale bread. It’s like toast but without needing a toaster.

Obviously, what kind of Star Wars fan would I be if I didn’t include an “I loaf you,” “I dough,” joke in here somewhere, so consider this that joke. Now somebody bake me a Death Star cake, I’m so hungry I could eat a tauntaun.

[via BoingBoing]

Build Your Own Wooden Tilt-A-Whirl Moving Music Box

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Because who didn’t get into puzzles or model building during the pandemic (I got into miniature ships myself), the $55 ROKR Tilt-A-Whirl is a DIY music box wooden puzzle kit from the company’s Magic Amusement Park series. It’s based on the classic spinning teacups amusement park ride and features the outer decorations of an old traveling circus. It will make the perfect addition to my mantle, provided I can build it right without smashing all the pieces to bits with my Hulk hands.

The 280-piece model measures approximately 7″ x 8″ x 9″, requires about 5.5 hours to construct, and even features working lights around the spinning ride. It plays ‘Wind and Moon’ when turned on, and the cups start spinning. Unfortunately for me, the model is rated 4 out of 4 stars for building difficulty, meaning its successful construction is unlikely in my case. I’m more of a 1-star model builder or, if I’m being completely honest, a buyer of pre-built models. “Best to leave it to the professionals,” my wife will tell me while watching me burn my latest failed build in our fire pit.

Man Builds Dream Desk from Circuit Boards Encased In Resin

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Because with enough liquid resin, anything is possible, YouTuber buildxyz constructed his dream standing desk by encasing printed circuit boards (PCBs) in clear plastic. What a beauty. As I’m sure Indiana Jones would agree, it belongs in a museum. Presumably, right alongside a bunch of old statues with missing arms.

In addition to some very beautiful woodworking, the desk includes adjustable mood lighting, a wireless charging station, cable management solutions, an under-desk computer mount, and, perhaps most importantly, a built-in coaster. I mean, you have to set your drink somewhere, and better on a coaster than in your lap – that’s my motto.

Now that’s a nice desk. Way nicer than my standing desk, which, yes, is a closet door lying across two piles of boxes. I originally built it to see if I’d like a standing desk enough to justify purchasing one, but I loved the price of this one so much that I never got around to buying another one. Sure it slants to one side, and the doorknob always gets in the way when I’m typing, but it was free. Besides, the guest bedroom doesn’t really need a closet door anyways.

[via HackADay]

Human Face Baseball Cap: An Extra Face for Your Head

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There are certainly some wild and crazy products to be found and impulsively purchased on Etsy. Case in point, this Human Face Baseball Cap crafted and sold by Sabri Tunca of Feltthink. Even reading ‘Human Face Baseball Cap,’ it’s somehow even more terrifying than I had imagined. I have to hand it to Sabri, I’m not surprised that easily.

The $168 felted Face Hat is made from 100% natural merino wool dyed by Sabri, who uses traditional wet felting and needle felting techniques to create the hats. Each is made to order in the size requested, so you don’t have to worry about getting a face too big for your head. That’s a relief.

You’ll definitely spend some time on the Jumbotron if you wear this to a baseball game, which is exactly what I plan on doing. Plus wearing a t-shirt with my company logo and contact information for some free advertising. Am I a marketing genius? I’d like to think so, at least if I can manage not to wear my shirt inside-out this time.

[via DudeIWantThat]

Incredibly Realistic Food Candles: Good Enough to Eat?

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Because who doesn’t want a bunch of candles they have to be reminded not to eat all the time, Atlanta tattoo artist Chavonna “Bang” Ross created Bang’N Candles, an impressively large line of candles inspired by the food we all know and love. If you’ve eaten it, Bang probably makes a candle version, with over 200 different varieties to choose from. I’ll have the Surf & Turf and a Ceasar salad, please!

All the candles are made from 100% soy wax, and some are even scented like the dishes they look like. Others are just fresh linen-scented. Honestly, that’s probably smart, considering if a candle smells like the hot wing basket with fries, it looks like I probably will eventually take a bite.

I like how the candles come in the appropriate serving containers, too; that’s a nice touch. Touching an open flame? Not such a nice touch. A bad touch, as a matter of fact, but like a moth, I just can’t help myself. No wonder my wife replaced all the candles around our house with those fake LED ones.

[via Laughing Squid]

Plushie Animal Chairs: Stuffed Animal Seating

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Because who hasn’t dreamed of sitting on a chair made of stuffed animals, AP Collection is selling a line of seating upholstered in numerous stuffed animals. There are monkeys, chameleons, dogs, panda bears, and woodland creatures – you name it! All for your butt to enjoy. I have a feeling Cruella de Vil is going to be all over this collection.

Each of the chairs is a limited edition of 30 to 100, and there aren’t any prices listed on the website, so you can rest assured they cost a pretty penny. I suggest making your own for cheaper by taking a trip to Home Depot for lumber, then to the arcade to pump money in a claw machine until you’ve collected at least fifty stuffed animals. Actually… maybe it won’t be cheaper.

You know what I’d really like to see? A collection of chairs made out of valuable Beanie Babies to make them even MORE exclusive. Crazy rich people would buy them. I know I would if I were crazy and rich. I’m not, though, so I just occasionally sit on a pile of my dog’s toys and pretend.

[via DudeIWantThat]