Handmade Goods at Maker Faire 2013

Laurel Begley

One of my favorite things to do when I'm at any fair is look at all the handmade booths.  But I especially enjoy looking at the crafts at the Maker Faire for obvious reasons.  Here are a few pictures I snapped at the Bazaar Bizarre tent at the fair.

Pictured above are some mushroom jars by the artist Laurel Begley.  I liked how all her pieces were bright, cheery  and had a touch of whimsy to them. 

I ended up purchasing one her small plates.  I think it makes a nice little card holder.  To see more of Laurel's work, visit her Etsy store.

As soon as I saw Katy Kristin's booth, I knew my daughter was going to want one her plush dolls.  And I can't blame her, they were all adorable.  

My daughter ended up settling on this hamster.  She liked that it had a heart print and a heart shaped face.  She kept it tucked under her arm the entire day and would not let it out of her site. 

To see more of Katy Kristin's items, visit her Etsy shop. 

Technically these robots are not handmade goods but you do build them yourself.  They're called Piperoids and they're a craft kit that comes with paper tubes that you cut and bend to make a robot.  I've bought some in the past for my son and they're a lot of fun to make.  I didn't buy any this time but I did get . . .

. . . this robot instead!  This is also a robot that you construct yourself only it is made up of wood and paper.  The company that makes them is called Play-Deco.  To see more of these craft kits, please visit Magnote. 

This is a very small look into the handmade crafts at Maker Faire.  If you would like to see more, Agnes Niewiadomski has a great write up with lots of pictures over at the Make: Craft blog.  You can also see more of the vendors at the Bazaar Bizarre site.

Digital Washi Tape & More Kawaii Links

For those of you that like all things washi tape, the ModeS Blog is offering up this free digital washi tape download.  Use it for digital scrapbooking, embellishing photos or decorating your blog.  Click here for the download.

Kawaii Handmade Goods - Read about the popular boutique, SOL & BeBe SOL, located in Harajuku on the Tokyo Fashion site.  After looking at all the photos, you'll feel like you visited the store in person.

Party Origami Giveaway - All Things Paper is giving away a copy of my book Party Origami.  Today is the last day to enter.

Mochi Plushie Tutorial - Learn how to make a mochi plushie by HapyFriendsShoppe.

Tapigami Exhibit at Maker Faire 2013

"Tapigami"

Last weekend I attended the Maker Faire in the Bay Area, CA.  The Maker Faire's tag line is "The Greatest Show and Tell on Earth.  It's a family friendly celebration of the maker movement.  If you've never heard of it before or want to learn more about it, I recommend checking out the official site, here.  You can also read about it on past posts here and here.

One of the attractions that caught my attention was the Tapigami Exhibit.  Tapigami (pron: Tāpəˈgämē) is a contemporary art form created by Northern California artist Danny Scheible.

The exhibit consisted of over 80,000 masking tape sculptures, with most made of basic cream masking tape.  I overheard someone on the tapigami staff say this exhibit took ten years to make. 

I'm not sure if you can tell from the picture, but the backdrop is hangers covered in tape.

If you want to make your own tapigami work of art, Danny has a new tapigami book available for sale which debuted for the first time at the Maker Faire.  I'm wondering how this technique would look with some washi tape.  What do you think?

Make a Washi Tape Village

Any guesses what I used for the base of these houses?  I'll give you a clue, you probably have one in your house right now.  If you guessed a paper roll, you're correct!  All you need is a few paper rolls and some washi tape to get started making your own village. 

Supplies
Paper rolls
Washi Tape
Scissors

1. Fold paper roll into a rectangular shape.

2. Once you have it folded, cut on all four folds about 1/3 way down on your paper roll (refer to red dots).  How far you cut down will determine how tall your roof will be.   I trimmed some of the paper roll off the top to make a shorter house.

3.  Fold the left and right side tabs in to make a point and tape together.

4.  Trim the front and back tabs to match with the point you just made.

5.  With your choice of washi tape, place strips all around the entire house.  The tape should cover part of the roof.

 6.  Wrap tape around the front of the house roof.  Flip over and repeat on the opposite side. Besides creating a decorative roof, the tape will also seal up the paper roll.

7.  On the roof, place one or two pieces of tape on top to cover the paper roll.  This will also cover up any unsightly edges of tape from step 6.

8. Last, add any details such as windows, shutters, doors, shrubs, etc with tape. 

The house pictured above my 7 year old daughter made.  I had to fold the paper roll and cut it for her.  She covered the house with tape herself. 

Changing subjects, I wanted to let you know that there's now information over at Whip Up on how you can donate to a trust fund for Kathreen's children.  Click here. 

Remembering Kathreen

I had planned to post a craft tutorial today. But after hearing the news about Kathreen Ricketson and her husband Rob Shugg's tragic accident, it just didn't feel right.  I am in disbelief and deeply saddened by this news.  It was just a few weeks ago that we had talked briefly via email. I never met Kathreen in person.  I wouldn't say we were especially close but I considered her a friend.

Many of you know Kathreen from her popular craft blog, Whip Up.  When I first started blogging, Whip Up was one of the first craft blogs I started reading.  I was even fortunate enough to be featured on the blog a few times.  Kathreen contributed to the craft community in so many ways. I will miss Kathreen and her creative adventurous spirit.  My prayers are with her family and children.

To keep updated on how you can help her family, visit whipup.net.  Currently an education fund is being set up for her children.  Once more information is posted, I will share.

UPDATE:  There's now an email address posted to donate via Pay Pal plus and address to send checks.  Click here.