DIY family

Balloon string lamp

3d4me — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 01:02:06 +0000

I have always wanted to make this string ball lamp and decided to have a go on a sunny afternoon on our balcony. I mixed the PVA glue with water and began wrapping the balloon, glue went everywhere and it took about 1 hour to complete. I made the basic popsicle stand and fitted it with a standard light fitting. It looks great in our study room.

Lee-Kuo calls it a tree lamp

close-up showing the bulb inside

the supports for the string ball

all lit up

Cube light made from popsicle sticks and paper

3d4me — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 23:51:54 +0000

This lamp was designed for my students, I thought I would give them an electrical project to build. It truly is very simple with just a few popsicle sticks and a piece of paper. Most of the work was making the electrical cable with a switch. The cube lamp in the pictures is my own personal version, the students made a normal flat standing cube.

the cube standing on it's corner

a wonderful ambient light

everything is made from wood

Parabolic lines craft in the classroom

3d4me — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 10:48:19 +0000

This is something I always wanted to do with students. I have drawn parabolic designs since I was young and always wanted to create them with cotton and felt. Having a small group of home schoolers was a great opportunity to make this craft, it needed approximately 100 nails for each board which they hammered with great delight. The finished crafts were great and they were really pleased.

Lee-Kuo's 2 colour 10 pointed star design

another beautiful star design in white

a circular design in the making

a great 5 pointed star

a free form design with 400 nails

Popsicle chest of drawers

3d4me — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 06:52:50 +0000

This is a fantastic popsicle chest of drawers made in Taiwan as a kit. The examples here are my own cutting and sanding which I built with a student over a period of 2 semesters. It truly is a lot of work and many hours of gluing and sanding. My student was so thrilled when she finished it.

A very happy student with her finished chest of drawers

The proud teacher with his chest of drawers

the popsicle chest of drawers and the chair which fits underneath

red felt makes a lovely finishing touch

Paper măché popsicle lamp

3d4me — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 01:36:53 +0000

This craft came about because one of my students made a balloon paper măché shade in an art class. She made it so well I thought I would design a lamp stand for her, and this is what I came up with. We both made a lamp stand from popsicle sticks and I made the electrical fittings for a 15W bulb. When she switched it on she was amazed at her work. The pictures here are my lamp shade I made, I painted it yellow and red for a lovely warm glow. My wife did a waldorf colour scheme.

a quick and simple lamp for students to make

the complete popsicle stick stand

a very simple construction for the stand

this lamp shade was made by my wife

Popsicle stick night lamp kit

3d4me — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 23:33:04 +0000

This beautiful night lamp is number three in our collection of house lamps. My son Lee wanted to make this and just about completed everything except for the difficult roof section. They really are lovely and give a beautiful orange glow during the night. All the house kits are available in Taiwan from stationary shops or direct from the supplier at this address. big3

the third popsicle stick house we have made from big3

close-up of the lovely wooden details

the lovely warm orange glow during the night

close-up of the front door at night time

Popsicle stick boat with submarine motor

3d4me — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 04:01:35 +0000

A new semester is about to begin and so I designed this popsicle boat for a student. We are doing transportation and this is a lovely craft for boats. It speeds along brilliantly and the rudder gives it more control for bigger ponds. It has 4 coats of clear lacquer to protect it from the water. Let me know if you need plans then I’ll draw them up as a PDF for download.

front view showing the 2 coloured popsicle sticks

the rear view showing the rudder

side view showing the design and polystyrene pieces

wide angle front view

Menger sponge 2nd level complete

3d4me — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 04:10:23 +0000

After many hours of folding business cards and building the cubes the 2nd level Menger sponge is complete. It really is an eye catcher, especially now that we have made it into a light. Lee-Kuo folded about 60% of the cards and I completed the rest. We folded 3456 business cards to create the sponge. Another great achievement for Lee-Kuo.

level 2 business cards Menger sponge

Handbag from old cloth

3d4me — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 00:40:49 +0000

After a long break from doing handy crafts my wife has made 5 of these beautiful handbags, all of them using old cloth found in the cupboard. All her friends wanted them so now they have all vanished.

a lovely example of my wife's handy work

another fine example of old cloth being recycled

Photography part 2

3d4me — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 03:14:35 +0000

This is the second post of photos I have taken over the years. Once again macro is a wonderful utility on these new snapshot digital cameras. I love to get close to the subject and simply click. The colours and detail in nature are beyond words so I’ll just let you look at the pictures.

the red weed from war of the worlds

a caterpillar

praying mantis

cloud

just wonderful

a wall of plants in a shopping mall in Taichung

life beginning