DIY

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Craft Design

Build a Miniature Hangout with a DIY Wooden Treehouse Kit

A new DIY kit transforms any ordinary houseplant into a miniature haven complete with mood lighting. Created by Australia-based British designer Lars Wijers, Tiny Treehouses feature multiple configurations, from an ornate gazebo to a multi-roofed structure resembling tropical architecture. Each is equipped with LED lights (batteries included!) and manufactured to hang from a branch or rest on a flat surface.

Back the project on Kickstarter—$1 from every treehouse will be donated to restoring Australian forests—and follow Tiny Treehouses on Instagram for updates on designs and buying options.

 

Design

Build Your Own Trick-Savvy Dog with This DIY Robotics Kit

The days of expensive training lessons for your dogs have come to an end. Thanks to Petoi (previously), you can build your own robotic pup that’s programmed to perform basic commands from the get-go. The agile canine, named Bittle, moves just like a live animal would and because of its spring-loaded upper legs, can navigate bumpy terrain and flip itself over when it lands on its back.

Fitting in the palm of a hand, the automated design is battery operated and can be taught new tricks by uploading new programs you can write yourself. The mechanics and color appear similar to Boston Dynamics’ famous utilitarian robot Spot, a substantially larger machine with a much heftier price tag.

With a few weeks remaining, the project’s Kickstarter campaign already has exceeded its fundraising goal, but there are rewards available for those hoping to pick up a new sidekick. To follow the design group’s projects, head to Instagram and Twitter, and watch the robotic creatures in action on YouTube.

 

Craft

Make Your Own Paper Prawn Using This Pattern Designed by Artist Lisa Lloyd

We’ve been admirers of Lisa Lloyd’s meticulous birds and bees crafted from countless strips of paper for a while, and the London-based artist now is offering an amusing tutorial to create her tiny paper prawns at home. The downloadable instructions, which are available for free on her site, are complete with a printable template and a supply list. She also released a simple video series for those who prefer visual learning.

Lloyd tells Colossal that before the coronavirus outbreak locked down nations around the world, she was crafting a life-size bald eagle with a two-meter wingspan. Soon after the U.K. imposed quarantine restrictions, she decided to shift her focus to a smaller project. “I wanted to create a free papercraft tutorial that was fun and different and could be made using materials found around the home… such as cereal boxes and printed card(s),” she says.  

Check out the delightful crustaceans people have been crafting under the hashtag #paperprawn, and share your own, too.

 

Art History

Build Your Own Kinetic Engines With These Mechanical Kits by Morris Models

For those inclined to tinker, Morris Models offers DIY kits that save an unused blender or noisy washing machine from relentless disassembly. Part historical prototype and part kinetic sculpture, Morris Models’s six laser-cut engines range in complexity and difficulty. For example, the Single Cylinder is a 50-piece, two-hour build that’s comparable to a lawnmower motor, while the WWI Rotary Engine includes 500 parts, can take up to 30 hours to complete, and is inspired by the French Clerget aircraft series that was popular in the early 1900s.

None of the Baltic-birch models are motorized, although the Illinois-based company says most can withstand the power of at least an 18-volt drill. Morris Models recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to upgrade its CNC cut shafting and offer more accurate designs, and you can back the project before April 5. Otherwise, pick up an older kit from its online shop.

Design Music

Cut Your Own Vinyl with this DIY Record Engraver and Player Designed by Yuri Suzuki

Making mixtapes and burning CDs might be a forgotten pastime, but the days of simple, homemade vinyl are just arriving thanks to Yuri Suzuki. The London-based designer, who is also a partner at Pentagram, has created the Easy Record Maker, a small device that makes audio recording straightforward and accessible to the general public.

By plugging in an auxiliary cable or USB and playing audio through a phone or other digital device, the cutting arm receives the sound vibrations and engraves the blank plastic three to four times within a single millimeter. Each side of the 5-inch record takes about four minutes to complete. When ready to play, the machine’s cutting piece should be swapped for the tone arm, which is large enough to accommodate traditional 7-inch EPs.

In an interview with It’s Nice That, Suzuki said that creating a DIY-record engraver has been one of his goals since his teenage days as part of a ska-punk band when he didn’t have the financial resources to use professional recording equipment. While that difficulty persists today, the designer said he also hoped this audio project would encourage users to focus and have fun. “Sound has a strong impact on our emotions and the way we behave, and I always try to create an experience with sound that as many people as possible can relate to,” he said.

The Easy Record Maker is currently available from Gakken in Japan and will be released to U.S. and U.K. audiences in the coming months. For a live demo, head to Suzuki’s Instagram this Friday to check out what he shares on IGTV.

Design

A DIY Construction Kit Lets Users Create an Intricate Obstacle Course on Any Magnetic Surface

A new kit asks users to test their design abilities by constructing complex obstacle courses with a goal of having a marble fall seamlessly into its final destination. Created by MakeWay, the buildable set features eight different tracks, twelve tricks (which include a canon, universal joint, and spinner), a lift, and connectors to attach each component to a magnetic surface. The adjustable designs are supposed to be used vertically, causing the marble to be launched, spun, and catapulted down the tracks. Each kit is available in either gold or silver.

MakeWay is headed by Reuven Shahar and Elyasaf Shweka, two industrial designers with backgrounds in engineering and woodworking, respectively. Conceived of in 2016, the project opened on Kickstarter earlier this month and has been wildly popular, meeting its $10,000 goal within the first day and surpassing it tenfold since with more than 50 days to go. Head to MakeWay’s page to back the modular kit.