Here at DIY Life, posts about weddings are always popular, but often, posts about knit and crochetpatterns come in a close second.
I thought it might be interesting to combine the two, by looking at a few free patterns for weddingcakes made from yarn. (Hey, they don't have to be frozen, and they never get stale!)
Crochet Today's Crochet Confection cake pattern (PDF download) is, at 4"x8", life-sized. It's an easy, single-tier cake that you can display on a stand over a form.
Berroco's Buttercream is also life-sized, but this one is a tiered cake with flowers; it can be used to store dishes. It's made in their Ultra Alpaca, but any other worsted-weight yarn should work just as well.
On the miniature side, there are the Norma Lynn Cake Sachets. Several of the designs here, like the Two-Tier Cake and...
There's a lot of wooden objects that you just don't want to bring back indoors: patio furniture, picnic tables, planters, etc. One thing they have in common is the ability to stand up to wind, heat, and rain. You don't have to buy the expensive stuff, just make your own!
Water-repellent preservative recipe
As with any other time you mix various potentially hazardous or flammable materials, take precautions and ventilate the area properly. Mix together:
2 gal. Mineral spirits, Turpentine, or #1 or #2 fuel oil
We've reported on Bug Labs before. They make a sort of gadget LEGO system so you can easily build stuff like a GPS-enabled alarm clock. Not useful? Ask the guy who kept missing his train stop by falling asleep!
I spoke to Bug Labs founder Peter Semmelhack about what the company is up to, and how the future of DIY is shaping up.
This is the second part of my article on installing beadboard in a kitchen area, after the demolition of some '70's era wall tile. You may see the first part here. We now move on to the carpentry work itself, and I'll show you a couple other things I did in the ongoing process. Take quick look at the gallery to see where I'm going.
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First off, safety: I was working with a jig saw, compound miter saw, hammers and nails. Especially when cutting small pieces of trim, pay attention to where your fingers are with relation to the saw blade. Remember, if it'll cut wood, it'll cut you. If you are working near known (or unknown, for that matter) electrical circuits, be certain you interrupt the circuit at the breaker box -- you really don't want to be surprised by a live 110 volt line; not that anything like that has ever happened to me.
I am not a weed vigilante. I do not obsessively seek to control the weeds in my yard. "Live and let live" is usually my philosophy.
Some weeds, however, are just begging for a fight. They spread everywhere and are super-tough to eradicate. Crabgrass (Digitaria spp.) has to be one of the top weeds on most gardeners' lists. It's pretty harmless-looking, pretty even. But it spreads relentlessly by seed, taking over patches of lawn and spreading into garden beds.
Got a crabgrass problem? Check out the following tips and reign it in! 1. Grow a healthy lawn. A thick, healthy lawn means that weeds -- not just crabgrass -- can't grab a hold. What? Lawn not thriving? Crabgrass can only spread where it can get a toe-hold. If your lawn is not thriving in a particular area and crabgrass (or other weeds) are starting to take over, consider planting something else in...
DIY fans already know and love Instructables. But in the tradition of two-great-tastes-that-taste-great-together, the how-to site has paired up with active wear company Horny Toad in an invent a sport contest. Whether you're an inventor with a flair for athletics, or an athlete who loves to be creative, this contest is for you.
Simply come up with the rules for your original sport, make a list of necessary equipment, and if you're really enthusiastic, make a video. Send the information about your invented activity to Horny Toad and they'll post it on their website. The winner will receive a $350 gift card to spend on Horny Toad active wear.
We've been hearing about SuperSpeed USB 3.0 since CES last year, and now that the spec's been officially released, we're getting way more details at this year's show -- like new power features, which include the elimination of device polling to enable an energy-saving "virtual sleep" mode, more juice for bus-powered devices, and the ability to charge a completely dead device, which USB 2.0 can't do. According to Intel's Jeff Ravencraft, the spec is designed to last for the next five years, with room to pump 25 gigabits per second over a hypothetical optical connection. Sounds sexy -- we'll see how well this stuff demos when the doors open.
Not that we haven't seen navigator manufacturers partner up with travel companies before, but it's still pretty rare to hear of a PND maker looking out for the travelers and not just the completely lost crowd. Here at CES, Navigon has just announced a partnership with Rand McNally (the first of its kind, we hear), which will result in Scenic Routers and City Guides from the aforesaid firm being available on Navigon devices. The guides will provide over 250 scenic routers and pre-planned trips across all 50 states (we're guessing the Road To Hana made the cut?) and Canada, and there's also information on the best attractions and landmarks in more than 1,400 US / Canadian cities. The new data packs will be available on select Navigon units as well as in retail outlets and Navigon.com this Spring for $19.99 each.
If you thought Eye-Fi was a great invention already, then boy, do we have a treat for you. Here at CES, the outfit made famous for pumping out delightfully simple WiFi SD cards for wireless image uploading is taking the next logical step by embracing video. It's currently developing a system that will enable its WiFi SD cards to upload videos directly to YouTube, and if you reckoned the first iteration would be stuck at standard-def, you reckoned wrong. In fact, it's being designed from the ground-up to handle HD uploads from cameras like Nikon's D90, but there's no word yet on how soon the technology will be ready. The big question from us? Will this require an all new card, or can the video functionality be added to existing models? Check the full release after the break.
Whether you choose a direct USB microphone or you're an audio-specialist XLR type, Shure has you covered on getting that audio routed to your computer's USB port. The PG27USB and PG42USB are direct-to-USB condenser microphones with a cardiod pickup pattern -- pick the $199 PG27USB for a flat response or the $249 PG42USB if vocals are your thing. Like we've seen from other devices, the $129 X2u will marry your favorite XLR-type mic to your USB port with zero-latency, phantom power and headphone monitoring. The Shure name is well-trusted in microphones, but check the full details after the break if you're still not, um, sure.
Sure, it's not as thin as the Bluetrek Metal or as eye-catching as the Swarovski crystal-infused Shimmer Kit, but iVoice's Diamond-X Bluetooth headset is sporting some very nice features, including noise-canceling dual microphones and the ability to report the callers' name from a phonebook. As for the other stats, we've got 5.5 hours of talk time and 200 standby. The Jury's still out on how convincingly it can tell us when our friend Slartibartfast gives us a ring, but for one Benjamin Franklin, you can find out for yourself later this month.
After a couple weeks in which the 360 posted better sales numbers than the PS3 and it was revealed that Sony inadvertently funded Microsoft's next-gen development efforts, you'd think Microsoft execs would be getting a little cocky, but it sounds instead like they're expecting a renewed offensive from Sony based on price. That's direct from the 360's director of product management Aaron Greenberg, who told Edge that MS "absolutely expects" a PS3 price cut in the next few months, and that the team is "frankly surprised it's taken this long." Of course, we've been hearing tons of PS3 pricing speculation from all corners lately with no change to that $399 MSRP, so we'll see how it goes.
They laughed when the FIA announced the new Formula 2 series, but preparations are under way with a talented roster of up-and-coming drivers already lining up. And with the sons of former racing legends - including names like Rosberg, Piquet and Villeneuve - already having made it into Formula 1, the new series has signed Henry Surtees to drive in its inaugural season.
The son of John Surtees, the only world champion on two wheels and four, Henry has been racking up victories in the lower rungs on the single-seater racing ladder. Though his father John is old enough to be his grandfather (18 and 74 respectively), the former champion has remained actively involved in motorsports and manages his son's career. They'll have company, though, as former F1 driver Martin Blundle's son, Alex, will also be competing for the honors in the resurgent F2 series, alongside the not-too-bad-to-look-at Natacha Gachnang and a quickly growing line-up of fresh talent.
Nissan is recalling 242,720 model years 2005-2009 Xterras, Pathfinders, and Frontiers for faulty Crash Zone Sensors (front) that may prevent front airbags from deploying in an accident. The recall is Nissan's second airbag sensor-related issue in the past three months. The last recall involved passenger cars including the Altima. This particular recall mainly effects vehicles sold in the northern half of the U.S. where heavy salt usage during winter months can corrode the crash sensor. The corrosion can then cause sensor interruption, which will cause the air bag warning light to illuminate.
To fix the problem, Nissan will replace the faulty sensors with an improved sensor. Owners of 2005-2009 Xterras, Pathfinders and Frontiers that live outside of the States where the recall is in effect will receive a 10-year extended warranty on the Crash Zone Sensors. Nissan hasn't yet set a timetable for the recall, but if your air bag warning illuminates, we'd suggest heading to your neighborhood Nissan dealer right away to get it fixed. Hit the jump to see if you live in one of...
Sometimes, we wish two posts on different topics would somehow magically merge together. The story of Hertz winning out against Zipcar for carsharing at the Ohio State University would be so much cooler if one of the cars you could rent by the hour is the Lotus-developed biofueled Antarctic speeder you can see on the left up there. I mean, who wouldn't want to go cruising over a frozen Ohio lake in that thing, and for nine bucks an hour, too? As for two things that should just not go together, check out this coal-powered Caddy. Yikes.
We end 2008 with the hopes that 2009 will be better, and we'd wager the same could be said of nearly every single automotive executive in the world. It was a rough year to be selling anything, and car sales took multiple shots from seemingly every direction - from high gas prices over the summer months to the credit crunch that brought the year to a close. Still, vehicles were sold, numbers were tallied and lists were compiled. Click here to see which vehicles managed to weather the storm better than their peers.
Click above for a gallery of the six KTM concept vehicles
KTM, the Austrian purveyor of both two- and four-wheeled motoring lust, has made it clear that it's a force to be reckoned with as it branches out into other enthusiast markets with such ridiculously awesome products as the X-Bow roadster and its RC8 superbike. Two things that remain a constant feature through all of the firm's recent products are the orange, black and white color pallette and its angular design language. These features, along with KTM's race-ready heritage, makes conceptual vehicle design for the company extremely interesting and proof comes in the form of six concepts designed by industrial design students at FH JOANNEUM University.
KTM AX - A radical off-road four-wheel vehicle concept
KTM sr 85 Deuce - An environmentally-friendly lightweight vehicle
KTM CX - A racing vehicle that brings motocross to the water
Click above for a high-res gallery of the (apparently D.O.A.) Suzuki Kizashi
Reports of the premature death of the Suzuki Kizashi are apparently... premature. After a story surfaced yesterday detailing Suzuki's cancellation of its mid-sized sedan program, the scribes at Automotive News went to the source to get the details. Suzuki spokesman Jeff Holland told AN, "The production version will debut at this year's New York auto show in April." So there. When the Kizashi concept was revealed at last year's New York show, it garnered a fair amount of praise thanks to the sedan's swooping lines and road-hugging proportions. The Kizashi has been spied doing laps around the Nurburgring and for a mainstream mid-size sedan that can't be a bad thing.
HP has expanded it’s Planet Partners Recycling program and added a buyback element to it. The new program dubbed the HP Consumer Buyback and Planet Partners Recycling Program, will buy back any brand of PC, monitor, printer, digital camera, or which still has some sort of value, rather than simply recycle the e-waste [...]
With gaming keyboards, everyone likes something different. Personally, I hate the ones that have the gaming portion detached from the rest of the keyboard. However, I’m a bit biased, because I actually found the keyboard that works best for me. Well Logitech is releasing a new gaming keyboard within their G-series product line. It will [...]
For Google, the timing couldn’t be worse to announce Picasa for MAC. Not that the software isn’t great or, more importantly FREE, but because iPhoto 09’s awesome list of features (including both facial recognition search and map search based on Google Maps) will surely Mac every machead reach for their Visa’s as they rush [...]
Games have definitely changed over time. Even from just ten years back, most would never imagine something like the MindFlex game by Mattel. The game looks more like something you would see in a lab to test for some psychic ability. In reality though, it’s just a toy for kids ages eight and up. Although [...]
The speculation that Steve Jobs skipped the last Apple keynote may actually be due to the fact that it was so uninteresting that it wasn’t worthy of his dramatic presentation skills. In the end, the final Apple keynote at MacWorld was about as uninteresting as the next step products Phil Schiller was tasked to [...]
We’ve all heard that rechargeable batteries are the more environmentally friendly way to go. The reasons a rechargeable battery would be better are fairly obvious. You use them more times, so that’s less waste to go into the landfill. However, this year at CES Fuji is claiming that they will be debuting an environmentally friendly [...]
The first thing you'll notice about the versatile, open-air Plantronics GameCom 777 headset is the size of the earphones. They're large—like Ross-Perot-ears large. But though the phones surround your ears, their soft cloth pads don't get all sweaty, because a screen around the perimeter of the drivers allows open airflow.
Ars Technica reports that the FTC is getting ready to take a hard look at gaming DRM, setting up a town hall meeting to be held on March 25th. They're currently recruiting panelists, and they say the meeting will, in part, "address the need to improve disclosures to consumers about DRM limitations." The controversy over DRM came to a head in 2008 with the release of Spore and the multiple subsequent class-action lawsuits focusing on the SecuROM software that came with the game. Ars Technica says the town hall meeting will also look at "legal issues surrounding DRM" and "the potential need for government involvement to protect consumers."
nandemoari writes "Not long after we first heard murmurs Microsoft may be ready to lay off as much as 17 per cent of its workforce, the popular Consumer Electronics Show, held every year in Las Vegas, is rumored to be shrinking alongside the global economy. The Consumer Electronics Association, host of the CES, estimates that the numbers of both exhibitors and visitors will be down in 2009. The CEA expects about 130,000 people will attend this year, down 11,000 from last year. And about 2,700 exhibitors are expected to attend, down from 3,000 in 2008."
txmadman writes "Like a lot of my colleagues and all of my three children, I have several SD , mini-SD, and micro-SD cards for various purposes: cameras, cell phones, my laptop, etc. These things are handy to have around, offer easy and significant storage, but are very easily lost. We have also have run into some instances where it wasn't clear whose SD card was whose, and have also started to see a need for a storage mechanism. I have seen SD card 'wallets' and such, but have never seen anyone actually use one. So: How do you manage and keep track of your SD cards?"
I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "Oprah Winfrey, or to be more precise, Oprah's Book Club, is being sued by the inventor/patent attorney Scott C. Harris for infringing upon his patent for 'Enhancing Touch and Feel on the Internet.' So Oprah's Book Club is now one of many people and entities being sued over this patent because they allow people to view part, but not all, of a book online before purchasing it. Mr. Harris also sued Google Books for infringing upon this patent. He actually was fired from his position as partner at Fish & Richardson for that, because Google is a client of that law firm and they had conflict of interest rules to uphold." It would be entertaining to see Oprah give very wide and mainstream publicity to the abuses enabled by our current patent system.
The Recording Industry of America's favorite courtroom lawyer, Tom Perrelli, who has sued individual file swappers in multiple federal courts, is President-elect Barack Obama's choice for the third in line at the Justice Department. CNet's Declan McCullagh explores the background of the man who won the RIAA's lucrative business for his DC law firm: "An article on his law firm's Web site says that Perrelli represented SoundExchange before the Copyright Royalty Board — and obtained a 250 percent increase in the royalty rate for music played over the Internet by companies like AOL and Yahoo," not to mention Pandora and Radio Paradise. NewYorkCountryLawyer adds, "Certainly this does not bode well for CowboyNeal's being appointed Copyright Czar."
rohitm918 writes "A study by Microsoft Research concludes that phishers make very little (PDF): '...low-skill jobs pay like low-skill jobs, whether the activity is legal or not.' They also find that the Gartner numbers that everyone quotes ($3.2B/year etc) are rubbish, off by a factor of 50. 'Even though it harvests "free money," phishing generates total revenue equal to the total costs incurred by the actors. Each participant earns, on average, only as much as he would have made in the opportunities he gave up elsewhere. As the total phishing effort increases the total phishing revenue declines: the harder individual phishers try the worse their collective situation gets. As a consequence, increasing effort is a sign of failure rather than of success.'"
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