Covered in Glitter and Screaming

Every wedding anniversary is  associated with specific traditional items . You might have heard that first year is the paper anniversary, the 50th is the golden anniversary, stuff like that. A few years back we started taking photos of ourselves with those items. This year is our steel anniversary. Given the dumpster fire that 2020 has turned out to be, we went for a post-apocalyptic warrior vibe.  I got some  patterns  for shoulder, chest, and knee armor and made them out of foam and we decorated them with pieces of steel. There are a lot of ways to do post-apocalypse armor, but I feel like shoulder and chest armor really defines the look. Husband's aesthetic was "rolled through a scrapyard" and he stuck wire mesh, nails, and screws on his. My go-to for random things is the ¥100 store and most of the options for steel are kitchen implements, so I used three collapsible steamer trays, a couple of graters, and a bunch of spoons. Process Chest/shoulder armor for him S...

Mystery gifts are my way of thanking some of the donors to a fundraiser I did a few years ago. I asked each donor for a theme for the mystery gift, which gives me both complete creative control and a starting point, and I love this model. For this person, when I asked for a theme he said he liked magic and Art Nouveau. You may have seen the companion piece I made for this earlier, since he and I have been sending each other cards with moving pieces.  In addition to magic and Art Nouveau, I also happen to know he's a big fan of a famous space-themed franchise, he built a remote-controlled R2 unit several years back (as one does, right?), and he has a history as a Stormtrooper with the  501st Legion , so I threw that in as well. I did my best to emulate an Art Nouveau style and made a deck of cards, because magic! (The back of each card, not the faces.) Final design Card face design and deck printing from  MakePlayingCards.com Design process Box (print/cut on...

My friend and I are continuing to send each other homemade greeting cards that include paper mechanics. This friend is also one of the people that donated to my fundraiser a handful of years ago and was on my list to receive a mystery gift. I asked for a theme, and he said he liked magic and Art Nouveau, so I came up with a design in an Art Nouveau style* incorporating props he has used in his magic shows and from when he was a Stormtrooper in the 501st Legion . This is not that gift. But since I had just completed the actual gift and it was my turn to send a card, I took the opportunity to make a companion piece. *at least inspired by, I also love this style but am new to actually working in it Process: Sketch, work out the design and mechanic concept Mechanic prototype on scrap paper Put the design in the computer Indicate size and placement of wheel, and cut lines Add graphics that will appear on the moving parts Separate into two parts, one for the base and one of the wheel to att...