Our September Mini Make

Ruth, Bex, Ido, and Spencer~

A few times a year we throw open the barn doors and invite everyone in for a day of making and sharing. This time we wanted to welcome our cousin Landon into the mix... he's got designs and plans for making a folding knife, and Alex is mentoring him on this project. Seems we couldn't stop at knife making, so we invited other makers over, and Lisa arrived with a taco salad banquet, then we found ourselves getting a cheese making lesson. It's our love of making, of STEAM education activities and advocacy, that gets these things rolling, but it's our fun and generous friends that turn an idea into an unforgettable event.

Leo, Amira, Maria, and Adrian for a round of DnD~

Magic the Gathering at the next table over, with Lucas, Alex J, Max, and Corey... always room for one more!


Have we met? Yes... Ido, Leslie, William, Paul, and Simon... lots of supplies and ideas already gathering steam.

Say 'hello' to Ido's little friend. Junkcade and BOoM Nerds are at it again... with a little Arduino magic, Tony Manero is going to light up the disco floor.

Here is Landon, our newest BOoM Nerd. I couldn't keep up with all of the tinkering, experimenting, sandblasting, plasma-cutting fun Landon and Alex were having.

Two certified welders, and one eager apprentice. Our group works on the idea that anyone can become proficient at a task, and then pass those skills along. So, no matter your age, in any project or activity, you are either a mentor or a student. Peer teaching, engagement, sharing... by encouraging everyone to participate as students, and as teachers, we increase our resources, build confidence, and accomplish more making. Collaboration, and cooperation, make for fantastic skill building experiences.

Ido, Lily, Matt, and Natalie visited the hens and goats, for fun, and to talk about coop and run design and construction... we have loads of experience with that, and we are happy to share.

Paul, and Geoff checking out something Simon is in to.

Ido, Paul, and Matt~

A little research for the dance floor...

Lucas and Max bring Paul M, visiting from Wisconsin, to the table for an MTG introduction.

And Leslie brings Bex, Adrian, Amira, Maria, and Leo to the kitchen for a mozzarella making introduction. All (clean) hands on the curd!

Landon, mixing in the salt, before we add the boiling water.

Leslie was our expert on this project, and we all marveled at how magical it was seeing the cheese suddenly happen. Making mozzarella was easy, fun, delicious. I wouldn't have guessed we could do it so quickly, simply, and I am glad Leslie shared the curd, and her skills. This needs to be a regular activity.

And what do you do with all that cheese? You top your pizza! For this we had Lisa and Leslie to make dough, and Tim to build a beautiful pizza. This was just about the time Michael came by to check on Leo, and he had a fresh harvest of tomatoes from Grace's garden... just happened. What a fortuitous arrival.

And on the porch... electronics, soldering, Arduino, and Tony Manero.

And also... Tim, William, Alex, and Bex... with paper mâché for a cosplay mask.

Like I said, Always room for one more.

Amira, Leslie, Lisa, and Tim... pizza's out of the oven! This was round 2 for good eating. Lisa fed us all lunch, too. Cooking is some of the best making there is!

Everyone was on hand to appreciate this make project!

Want to see Tony Manero do his Saturday Night Fever disco? Check out BOoMNerds on Instagram!

Make Space

This is everything... friends, and play, and robots, home, sharing, comforts, resources, opportunities, engagement. We are the Benevolent Order of Makers, and we love science, technology, engineering, art, math, music, tinkering, learning, mentoring, and making plans to do more.

Making for a Masked Ball

Alex and Bambi made costumes, including masks, and props, for the Labyrinth of Jareth Masquerade. From the Masquerade website... "Costumes fitting our theme are required. Imaginative costumes highly recommended." They were designing, sewing, sculpting, cutting, gluing, painting, researching, and happily anticipating this moment, and the event ahead, for days and days.

Sewn into the fabric of Bambi's dress are tiny LEDs that light up and twinkle, like fireflies.



Costumes and props are finished, they have their forms and driving directions... so off they go!

Here are some glimpses of the making of costumes, masks, and other details... and if you like sewing, design, art, robots, cosplay, STEAM education, electronics, programming, 3D printing, CNC routing, woodworking, metalworking, all kinds of making, please follow BOoMNerds on Instagram! Thank you.

Alex is always carrying around one, or more, sketchbooks. And they are full of concepts, designs, tests, ideas, and beautiful art.

His masks begin in a sketchbook, then move into plaster, which he can use to build a custom fit. Then comes sculpting the modeling in clay, in this case, so he can vacuum-form the actual mask.

The texture of the vacuum-formed plastic has a great effect, so Alex didn't bother sanding it, and went straight to the paint.

A lot of testing and experimenting went into the wings. These, Alex modeled after the wings of a cicada, and he hand-cut them from foamcore... the same handy material William used to make Prince Phillip's shield for the Sleeping Beauty musical.

Drying rack... which happens to be a box William is constructing for one of his skeletons, but that's another story.

These are Bambi's finished wings! Alex is testing them for placement on her dress. Bambi designed and made her dress. We need more pictures... I want to show, between all the layers of tulle in her skirt, the fireflies!

Alex designed his outfit, too, and he and William sewed it.

Also out of Alex's sketchbook and research, came the designs for this prop sword. Alex handed his drawings over to William who modeled 11 separate parts, including this handle and pommel, in 3D Studio Max, MudBox, and MeshMixer (Autodesk, whenever you would like to sponsor our club, Benevolent Order of Makers, we would be honored.) The parts were 3D printed from William's renderings, glued together, sanded, and painted. The cool part... it's a handle, with a jewel glued on, and a scabbard, but there is no actual sword. It was made to safely pass through security without alarming anyone. A thorough prop prop.


Alex twisted the wire detail to go around the glass jewel, and finished the prop by wrapping Pearl cotton around the handle and a section of the scabbard. You can also see the sash William sewed.

This is the beautiful mask Bambi made. I love the floating jewels. There are more parts, more details... and we're still cleaning up! The creativity is wonderful, but the collaboration is what really excites me. It's exciting, too, to hear them talk about how much they learn with each new project, and how much it inspires them for the next project.

Get Making! For San Diego Maker Faire 2017

Are you ready? Are you making?
We have some helpful links for you...
whether you are looking for tickets for attending,
want to share your creations,
or would love to enjoy the benefits of volunteering,
this is the post for you!
It's coming back: San Diego Maker Faire!
October 7 & 8, 2017,
In Balboa Park~

It's time to get connected~

Get your early bird tickets!
Maker Faire is the Greatest Show and Tell on Earth,
and it's also a terrific value for the whole family. There's plenty to see and do in Balboa Park during Maker Faire...
consider visiting both days, to enjoy everything!

We love the volunteers!
Sign up to help at Maker Faire, and you will enjoy being a part of creating an amazing event.
Do it for the fun! Do it for the perks! Do it to connect with your community!

Share your Making! Be a Maker Faire Exhibitor!
All applications must be submitted by August 31.
It's easy to apply to be an exhibitor at Maker Faire,
and it's a gratifying experience to share your creations at a Maker Faire.

The BOoM Nerds have been getting together to share projects and ideas, to mentor, tinker, play, and make.


Big robots are awesome. Electronics light us up! We love 3D printing, CNC milling, virtual reality, and telepresence robotics. We go in for Viking tents.
Global Scratch Day made our day.

We love to make, and we love to share...
now it's a only a matter of deciding on what to bring
to San Diego Maker Faire.

Floral Crown Making~

Maleficent's Dragon~

More props from Sleeping Beauty~

Our March for Science Laputa Robot~

Makers code~

Makers invent, craft, tinker,
sew, cook, garden, design, research,
construct, cooperate, mentor, and play!

We exhibit hands-on projects at Maker Faire~

We make friends at Maker Faire~

We could bring Crochet Club to Maker Faire~

So... what should we bring to share??
It seems the only difficulty of a Maker Faire,
is making decisions!
What will you be making?

Make a Handkerchief Pretty

Handkerchief: /ˈhaNGkərCHif,ˈhaNGkərCHēf/
noun
a square of cotton or other finely woven material, typically carried in one's pocket
and intended for blowing or wiping one's nose.
synonyms: hanky; kerchief, bandanna; tissue
"a monogrammed handkerchief"
There are all sorts of descriptions and histories of the handkerchief. But I think I like the handkerchiefs that are pretty, romantic, edged in crochet, or accented with embroidery. Adding art, something whimsical or romantic, can make a plain square of cotton special.

These pocket-handkins came four to a pack, from Collage, in Portland Oregon... a Sublime Stitching blank textile. Just the kind of souvenir I cannot resist... one that packs easily, and will inspire creative play.

I decided to revisit painting and embroidering. So, I drew a romantic little ratty, with her bouquet of pink posies. It's just a #2 pencil, lightly sketched on the square. You can even trace an image, like I did with a tea towel, in this tutorial.

The next step was to use acrylic craft paints to fill in color. I use water sparingly, and the cotton square was heavy enough, that none of the paint seeped through, which is nice. But to be safe, I keep waxed paper, or a plastic tray, under my paint projects... newsprint might stain leave marks on the fabric. The paints I use are Martha Stewart's acrylic craft paints. I use a smallish brush, applying thin layers of paint, so they can dry quickly and evenly, and so that I don't leave a thick, stiff feel to the fabric, with too much paint.

Then, I choose my floss colors, and use only two strands of thread to make simple outlining and detail stitches. French knots make perfect little flowers for a ratty's bouquet.

A bit of navy blue floss for her eye, and gray for her face, arms, and legs. A pale, sage-y green for the stems and leaves, and three shades of pink for everything, else, including all of those French-knot flowers.


After outlining her dress, and creating a belt of posies around her waist, I trimmed the edges in leaves, and more flowers.

I wonder, would I actually sneeze into this little handkerchief?
Would you?
Maybe your hand painted and embroidered handkerchief will be too pretty for nose-blowing, but it's still an easy and gratifying little project to make.

Make A Miniature Picnic

When Benevolent Order of Makers, (BOoMNerds on Instagram) was at the North County Mini Maker Faire, Maria and I taught crafting with paper clay. We love paper clay, because it's affordable, easy to use, and we can paint it, after it air dries. Making with the clay was a popular hands-on activity, so I ended up with a lot of loaves of bread from all the demonstrating we were doing.

Today I set up my paints, so I could paint all the miniature bread pieces. Baguettes, a bâtard, and a traditional slicing loaf... and bagels, and pancakes (not pictured.) Painting isn't just a fun, creative part of finishing the paper clay pieces, it's also a necessary step in protecting them, since any moisture could make them start to disintegrate. The acrylic craft paints seals the dried clay.

These are some of the things I made while we demonstrated how to make with paper clay. The baguettes are rolled from a small ball of clay, allowing the ends to get narrower. Then I use the side of a toothpick to gently dent across the tops of the bread so they appear to be scored. They've had plenty of drying time, now we need to get them painted, and sealed.

If you would like more tips and suggestions for making with paper clay, please follow this link, where we give a more complete paper clay tutorial.

To paint the bread, I used acrylic craft paints. First, I painted the whole loaf in a medium brown shade, being sure to get the entire surface sealed in a light layer of paint. Once the first layer was dry, I used a very dry brush to paint on a slightly darker shade of brown, to make it look like the bread has nice crust to it. The last part was adding the palest brown paint into the scores, where the bread would be less browned. I could add one last clear coat with a glossy acrylic paint... something you may notice in the picture of other breads I made. The decision to make the bread shiny is a matter of preference. I like them both ways; shiny, or matte.

Maria brought out some pretty props from her doll house, so we could depict a picnic, featuring a crusty French baguette, still wrapped, and tied with bakery twine! The little bread knife is one of our miniature make creations, too. Today I will finish painting bagels/donuts, and a cake. And we want to create some syrup for the pancakes. We may open a cafe, soon!