Paper boxes

This set of boxes began when I made the big one with my students. Lee-Kuo saw it and decided to make a series which got smaller and smaller. As you can see they are fabulous, especially when they are all placed inside each other. Lee-Kuo made them to place the small pack of cards inside the smallest one. I have had that deck of cards for about 40 years and decided to give it to Lee-Kuo. He needs to take great care of it so he made these treasure boxes.

A beautiful set of treasure boxes to keep the cards safe

A deck of cards I have kept for 40 years, 10mm x 6mm

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Braided bracelets

These are wonderful for teaching in an english class. First you have to make a braiding disc from a paper plate, which is really easy. Then choose 7 colours, each child selects colours depending on their mood. Then simply begin braiding, it’s amazing how fast it begins to grow.

Bracelets I've made with my english students

beautiful pastel coloured bracelet

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Popsicle stick money box

Here’s another craft Lee-Kuo made during the summer vacation. He found it on the shelves in an old torn plastic bag with other DIY crafts. He changed the position of the money hole and had to design a chute for the money to slide down into the box. He uses the money box for his iMac savings, he only saves 50NT$. It was this craft that made him make the beautiful night lamp at the beginning of this blog. Here is the link to buy the kit in Taiwan

Lee-Kuo's first summer vacation craft, a money box to save for his iMac

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Companion cube

I made this a long time ago now. It all came about because LED’s are so popular and so cheap in Taiwan I just thought I would make something with them. As you can see it is very small, I used matchsticks for the base and a lovely japanese style for the cube. I wanted a switch so I just soldered everything onto some stripboard. It looks beautiful at night with a lovely warm glow.

A tiny matchstick companion cube

A warm glow from the companion cube

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Crochet dumplings

This is another crochet project from a japanese book which Lee-Kuo liked. As you can see they are mega cute and many people have asked him to make one for them. One person asked to have their chinese character sewn into it, it looked really good.

2 really cute dumplings made by Lee-Kuo

a colourful dumpling which someone ordered

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5 platonic solids made with business cards

I made these because the idea of using business cards for three dimensional objects is so appealing. After my son had made the Menger sponge we found a website with these businesscardahedra. As you know I work in 3d so I just had to make these hedra. I cut all the cards during my sons painting class and put them together listening to ambient music. They are now hanging on a mobile in our hallway. Here is the original website

The 5 platonic solids made from business cards

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Popsicle stick lamp

This is another summer vacation craft. I saw this lamp in a stationary shop as a kit so I simply drew up the plans to make my own. It really is so simple to glue popsicle sticks together and slowly build a beautiful lamp like this. I also made the electrical cable with switch. You will find the original kit here

A lovely popsicle stick lamp

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Crochet dolls

These lovely little crochet dolls are made with lots of love, care and time. My wife makes them for friends so they disappear as soon as they are made. Each doll has a special character depending on the colours and facial expression. Everyone who has received a doll is overwhelmed by it’s cuteness and quality.

A rare occasion when we had 5 dolls at the same time

A very special gift for friends

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SMS, Super Minty Speaker, 1 Watt amplifier

This was Lee’s first homemade project. He wanted a small speaker for his iPod touch, it was impossible to find some parts for the ATS including the Altoids tin so he made his own tin speaker. We named it after the tin, Super Minty. It sounded good but after making an ATS many months later he never used it again. The amplifier is based on the LM-386.

the breadboard 1 watt amplifier

all the parts installed in the tin

the finished Super Minty Speaker

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Lee on TV

Many people have asked us about our son being on TV, so here are a couple of pics from behind the scenes. The advert was shot on my birthday and took 12 hours of Lee playing the violin, playing computer games and lots of sitting around watching the crew. We had a fantastic time and a wonderful experience in the studio. Watch the ad here.

A wonderful picture taken by Stephen our agents photographer

We are proud of Lee-Kuo

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