Cool Craft News

Feltresss and video maker Hine Mizushima made this charming Japanese Monster Kit and accompanying video. Love it! [via Make: Japan]

Our own Rachel Hobson just won first prize in the European Space Agency's Hubble Pop Culture contest, in the "funniest" category. Her piece took inspiration from one of John Grunsfeld's spacewalks:

Hubble is amazing and inspirational in its own right, but I really love hearing stories from the people who work on the space telescope. John Grunsfeld is one of my favorite astronauts. He's a brilliant astronomer, and from interviews I've read or seen... he just seems like an all-around fascinating person.

At one point in the Hubble IMAX film, he talks about a particular portion of one of his spacewalks that involved unscrewing more than 100 tiny screws on a part of Hubble.

Now, just take a moment to imagine with me, if you will: Put giant oven mitts on your hands. Now slip a tiny tool between your fingertips. Know that you have more than 100 screws to unscrew on a piece of equipment that is worth millions of dollars and holds great scientific significance. Oh, and don't forget that you are more than 300 miles above earth on a spaceship that's traveling at roughly 17, 500 miles per hour.

Here's where Grunsfeld impresses once again. He talks in the film about how, at this point in his spacewalk, he switches to zen mode. He focuses only on the one screw that he is unscrewing at that very moment. Never how many he's already undone, never how many he has left.

Just one screw at a time.

Congrats Rachel!

• Embroidered deorbit map a big hit with STS-130 crew
• Rachel in space: coverage of the STS-130 shuttle mission
• Rachel in Space: A dream realized
• Rachel in Space: Wake up (or stay up) for shuttle launch tonight
• Rachel in Space: Welcome home, Endeavour!
• Needle Felted Space Shuttle

By Jessica Wilson

I was a big fan of Pee-Wee's Playhouse back in the 80s. I was pretty sad he rode a scooter at the end of the show instead of his bike but I did adore his helmet. It was a wacky display of all things Pee-Wee and I itched to have one of my own. Flash forward some twenty odd years or so and I found myself with a new pair of roller skates. The mister insisted I wear a helmet and I told him I would if he fancied it up a bit. My bike helmet has wings but anyone can geek out their helmet with a little paint, glue and an odd assortment of Pee-Wee inspired toys.

This is a fun project for all bike helmets, new and old though if your old helmet is truly a mess with cracks from beyond, you best invest in a new dealio to keep your noggin safe. One of the helmets used in this tutorial is cracked beyond repair but we wanted to show you two different ways of geeking out your helmet. So, if you choose to get wacky with it all, make sure your helmet is new and free of cracks!

La Droguerie
9 et 11 rue du Jour
75001 PARIS
Phone: 01 45 08 93 27

Hours:
Monday: 2pm-6:45pm
Tuesday-Saturday: 10:30am-6:45pm
Sunday: Closed

If any place could be called crafting heaven, the craft shop La Droguerie is just that and more. Nestled in a small little area of the Les Halles area of Paris, I could feel the excitement inside me as I stepped inside and was immediately greeted "hello" by the hanks of candy colored yarn that spanned all along the wall. The store feels like an old apothecary with large wooden cabinets lining the back area which contained tiny drawers filled with buttons. Colorful beads lived in large jars that were lined up and down a large bookcase and seemed almost to call out for someone to "take a scoop home". Pretty and ornate fake flowers in little glasses decorated the window area. A wall of ribbons and bias tape spanned the back wall. (I now regret not buying some of the cute Liberty of London bias tape. Ah!) Under a glass table, patterned fabric lay neatly organized and color coordinated.

(Photo above from our Travel Crafty Paris article by Tina Barseghian)

A regular reader of Angela Shetler's blog, I just about fell out of my chair when she posted these "Invader" letterpress cards from Anemone Letterpress. Letterpress paper products and '80s video games? Where do I sign up?

Via Angela Shetler

My post about the book loom on Monday sparked a lot of commentary on destroying books in the name of craft. I'm curious how that conversation might change when folks see these amazing pieces of jewelry made from the pages of books from Jeremy May of Littlefly.

Littlefly jewellery is made by laminating hundreds sheets of paper together, then carefully finishing to a high gloss. The paper is selected and carefully removed from a book, and the jewellery re-inserted in the excavated space.

I can only imagine how special it would be to receive a ring like this, made from the pages of a meaningful book. I've never been a girl with eyes for diamonds, but give me something like this and I'd be swooning. [via Swiss Miss]

This portrait of Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin, made entirely of Nerds candy, was commissioned by an enterprising fan of artist Andrew Salomone.

More:

Liz Lemon Nerds Portrait

Jewelry artist and author Sherri Haab does it again with her revised and expanded edition of The Art of Metal Clay that also comes with an instructional DVD. This edition expands upon her 2004 bestseller with up to date info on new bronze and copper clays, information on firing with stones, new techniques on etching metal clay, and more. The book is perfect for a beginner as Haab goes over all the metal clay materials and techniques in the beginning of the book and her step-by-step instructions come with lots of close-up photos. You feel like you are working on the project with her! Learn how to make your own earrings, bracelets, necklaces, charms, broaches, buttons and more with this fantastic book.

Book Giveaway Time!
Three lucky CRAFT readers will win a copy of Bags in Bloom. Just tell us why you would like this book in the comments. All comments will be closed by 5pm PST on Wednesday, September 1, 2010. The lucky winners will be chosen randomly and announced later on the site. Good luck!

I need this beautiful hanging benche in my yard very, very badly. Sweet Paul made it and posted up simple directions for making your own. [via Apartment Therapy]