Phew* Sorry i’ve been quieter than usual over here ~ getting sick has sort of thrown a kink in regular posting and the Laser Challenge this weekend, but working through it all and trying to catch up before NY Design Week! Lots of fun inspiration again over at NOTCOT.org, so click the pics above to find out more!
This post is part of the NOTlabs Laser Challenge: 30 days, 30 experiments! The ground rules are: for 30 days, Shawn and I are alternating days with executing and sharing a Laser Cutter involved experiment! And most importantly - we’re supposed to have fun, explore ideas, and it’s less about a fully formed product/concept at the end of the day, but more about seeing where the experiment takes us!
Laser Challenges #9 and #10 are here! We’ve slipped behind a tiny bit, but the rules still hold that each project goes from idea to post in less than a day… so today we teamed up for a pair of projects that complement and grew off each other. Looking around NOTlabs, i’ve had glass bottles around that are too pretty to throw away, but we also couldn’t figure out what to do with them (other than vases and as “future projects”) ~ including these Aladdin Sake Bottles and the Sofia Coppola Bottles… we also have a yard full of birds, from finches and jays to parrots and hummingbirds and more… so we decided to try turning them into bird feeders, with just laser cut acrylic and paracord. Of course all of this turned into a fun late night experiment playing with finding the perfect curves (and my learning more rhino from shawn), mastering snap fits down to such tiny measurements, and then a late night bird feeder hanging and photoshoot! Shawn’s #9 turns the wine bottle into a beautiful feeder that plays off of the curves so nicely! My #10 plays off of his ideas and takes them one step further with the stacked sake bottles of food and water (yay for the magic of surface tension) which can also be turned into a finches and little birds on top - hummingbirds downstairs set up. Just took the picture above while sitting here waiting to see if the birds come today… but for now, see the process and details of our two bird feeders on the next page!
p.s. If you have ideas, or want some laser cutting done, or want to play with us… feel free to use the contact form or leave a comment! And if you’re curious about the laser cutter we’re using, here’s the unboxing.
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Today’s NOTlabs inspiration is coming from this furry little visitor that just showed up outside… a Jumping (thanks, commenters!) Spider! Couldn’t help taking a few portraits of his fuzzy little face and rusty colored patterned body before relocating him… take a peek on the next page!
This post is part of the NOTlabs Laser Challenge: 30 days, 30 experiments! The ground rules are: for 30 days, Shawn and I are alternating days with executing and sharing a Laser Cutter involved experiment! And most importantly - we’re supposed to have fun, explore ideas, and it’s less about a fully formed product/concept at the end of the day, but more about seeing where the experiment takes us!
Here’s Laser Challenge #8! Since Bucky, the NOTpuppy, LOVES paper (receipts especially) and flying/jumping insects (moths and crickets are his favorite)… and he also destroys toys and devours treats nearly instantaneously these days… on a hunt for fun, healthy, affordable, and amusing… for today’s challenge i laser cut SEAWEED! (The everything-free dried seaweed sheets you can buy for sushi making) I figured, it’s dog friendly deliciousness, feels like paper, and cut in the right shapes it flies and flutters like his bugs! And it is AMAZING… with a flick of the wrist (and depending on the breeze) it will fly and float and flutter around in ways he can barely anticipate as he leaps and contorts in every which way to devour them. While it was nearly impossible to get a good video of them (and Bucky’s pretty fast!) the movement of these little guys mimic Maple Seeds ~ the ones that look like little propellers! And while having fun experimenting with shapes for optimal flight, Shawn and i also noticed our home states of California and Tennessee looked like they might work too… and they work awesomely! So take a peek at the laser cutting of these dog treat/toy seaweed flyers and the madness that ensues when we play with feeding them to Bucky on the next page!
p.s. If you have ideas, or want some laser cutting done, or want to play with us… feel free to use the contact form or leave a comment! And if you’re curious about the laser cutter we’re using, here’s the unboxing.
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This week’s roundup from Tasteologie and Liqurious includes the Dirty Pickle Martini, home-made dumplings, caprese grilled cheese sandwiches and more. To find out more about each post, click on its individual image.
This post is part of the NOTlabs Laser Challenge: 30 days, 30 experiments! The ground rules are: for 30 days, Shawn and I are alternating days with executing and sharing a Laser Cutter involved experiment! And most importantly - we’re supposed to have fun, explore ideas, and it’s less about a fully formed product/concept at the end of the day, but more about seeing where the experiment takes us!
Laser Challenge #7 is here! When Shawn was teaching me to play poker this weekend, I found it hard to stop playing with the chips (and it was driving me crazy how ugly they were) ~ so naturally the conversation evolved to sparking ideas about how much more fun they could be! So for today’s challenge, he prototyped some gorgeous wooden poker chips that you can BUILD with! They interlock to make fun little structures during the game… we’re still fine tuning it more before we end up with a full set - perhaps the future ones with use different woods/materials for different values, or a splash of lacquered color along the edges, and have deeper notches to help them attach better, but it’s a fun start! See the making of and details on the next page!
p.s. If you have ideas, or want some laser cutting done, or want to play with us… feel free to use the contact form or leave a comment! And if you’re curious about the laser cutter we’re using, here’s the unboxing.
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This week’s roundup from NOTCOT.org includes flat-packed custom bicycles, sponsored heroes, amazing origami and more. To find out more about each post, click on its individual image.
HAPPY EARTH DAY! (And the start of Earthling Month!) To celebrate this crazy box just arrived… and upon opening it smelled like… lasered cardboard! (Yes, we’re VERY accustomed to that distinct scent lately.) And inside was Whole Foods’ “PINEAPPLE Ambassador of the Earthlings” which resembles an armadillo… and it TALKS. Seriously. This fun press kit to celebrate Earth Month of April is all about what Whole Foods is doing for the month of April - “transforming itself into a hub for Earthlings — or humans inspired by the earth’s beauty and bounty — to meet up, share ideas and celebrate our planet online and in stores.” You can learn more about what they’re up to at EarthlingMonth.com, but for now, back to this crazy box - which is the “official vessel of the earthling ambassador”… I love that their creature is actually built from food-safe ceramic and recycled electronics, the packaging is reused cardboard, and the impact from chipping has been offset with verified emission reductions purchased from Renewable Choice Energy… and it goes without saying that the pineapple can be consumed… in fact the TALKING ambassador commands you to “Eat Me!” as you’ll see in the video on the next page! So, if you’re ready to see the full unbox and stab the ambassador parts into the pineapple and hear him talk, head to the next page!
p.s. Just updated the post with a peek INSIDE the electronic guts… and he has a HEART!
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This post is part of the NOTlabs Laser Challenge: 30 days, 30 experiments! The ground rules are: for 30 days, Shawn and I are alternating days with executing and sharing a Laser Cutter involved experiment! And most importantly - we’re supposed to have fun, explore ideas, and it’s less about a fully formed product/concept at the end of the day, but more about seeing where the experiment takes us!
Weekends are tougher - especially with guests! But it also means more people to help… or pose! So here’s my Laser Challenge #6 from last night - Vegetable Garden Guys! It’s that perfect time of year to get our vege garden going again, but i tend to forget what went where and it’s a surprise when it all pops up… so i rounded the guys up to pose against the white wall (as if holding massive vegetables) to turn them into wooden garden markers. Of course a few things went wrong for this speed project ~ it was a learning experience for us to see what built in settings for engraving from photographic images the laser cutter hard (total fail, learning about rasterizing/engraving on the side now) - then i decided to just print them out on paper to stick on to the guys - and printer started running out of ink. But the little guys are still pretty fun, and i’ll definitely be revisiting them for a round 2! Take a peek at fun on the next page ~ romanesco broccoli seeds started and cucumbers, bush beans, honeydew, and lettuce on the way!
p.s. If you have ideas, or want some laser cutting done, or want to play with us… feel free to use the contact form or leave a comment! And if you’re curious about the laser cutter we’re using, here’s the unboxing.
This post is part of the NOTlabs Laser Challenge: 30 days, 30 experiments! The ground rules are: for 30 days, Shawn and I are alternating days with executing and sharing a Laser Cutter involved experiment! And most importantly - we’re supposed to have fun, explore ideas, and it’s less about a fully formed product/concept at the end of the day, but more about seeing where the experiment takes us!
Day 5 is here ~ and being an odd day, it’s Shawn’s turn! Tonight he created a playful cardboard building set made of two complex shapes which combined can create a variety of creations. Here’s what he has to say about it, “The geometry is of an icosahedron which consists of 20 triangular faces. Connectors are needed to attach each face to the next and if they are all oriented inwards you have the whole icosahedral shape. If you occasionally flip the connector angle you can make mini landscapes too. I cut 90 faces and a ton of connectors.” Take a peek at the making of and some of our creations on the next page!
p.s. If you have ideas, or want some laser cutting done, or want to play with us… feel free to use the contact form or leave a comment!
TO PAGE 2 of "Laser Challenge #5: Cardboard Building Set"! ----->
This post is part of the NOTlabs Laser Challenge: 30 days, 30 experiments! The ground rules are: for 30 days, Shawn and I are alternating days with executing and sharing a Laser Cutter involved experiment! And most importantly - we’re supposed to have fun, explore ideas, and it’s less about a fully formed product/concept at the end of the day, but more about seeing where the experiment takes us!
Day 4! My turn… for some reason, wax seals came up yesterday, and it’s one of those things i have always wanted, been meaning to design, but could never quite commit to what to put on it to have a proper brass one made. So, why not try engraving acrylic and seeing how it works as a wax seal? It was also a chance to explore the option of grade engrave, which is used for rubber stamps, etc so that things like the dot in a lower case i are more stable (and don’t break off in use) - basically it tapers the edge instead of being perfectly horizontal. Now i can leave a seal of “Imagined by NOTlabs. Made with lasers!” and “Inspired by NOTCOT. Realized by NOTlabs.” on things! To be honest, it worked better than i expected, but also needs a bit of refining… might have to experiment a bit more, and if i had more time, i have a feeling mounting the engraved discs on a handle would help quite a bit, also figuring out the right timing of how long to let the wax sit before pressing the seal in. But that being said, still got quite a few good examples, and will definitely be exploring it more… also such a fun way to seal things up… take a peek at the details and process on the next page!
p.s. If you have ideas, or want some laser cutting done, or want to play with us… feel free to use the contact form or leave a comment!
This week’s roundup from Tasteologie and Liqurious includes avocado cakes, popcorn icecream, the New York sour and more. To find out more about each post, click on its individual image.
This post is part of the NOTlabs Laser Challenge: 30 days, 30 experiments! The ground rules are: for 30 days, Shawn and I are alternating days with executing and sharing a Laser Cutter involved experiment! And most importantly - we’re supposed to have fun, explore ideas, and it’s less about a fully formed product/concept at the end of the day, but more about seeing where the experiment takes us!
Day 3 ~ and Shawn is up. Part of the Laser Challenge is definitely timing, on a crazier day we’re still challenged to have fun and experiment with SOMETHING! So today’s was quite the speed project for him as he whipped up this laser cut wood/cardboard light this evening. So, here is the “Hook It Up” Light… lit with a plumen! Perhaps the most important thing we learned today was that with any speed challenge, there is the constant nagging “omg what if we add this… or change this… or do that?” and ultimately you just have to go with your gut instincts and move fast with what time is left. It was also far too fun hanging the light up in our trees for the photoshoot! Take a peek at the final light (and making of!) on the next page…
p.s. If you have ideas, or want some laser cutting done, or want to play with us… feel free to use the contact form or leave a comment!
TO PAGE 2 of "Laser Challenge #3: Cardboard Hook Light"! ----->
This post is part of the NOTlabs Laser Challenge: 30 days, 30 experiments! The ground rules are: for 30 days, Shawn and I are alternating days with executing and sharing a Laser Cutter involved experiment! And most importantly - we’re supposed to have fun, explore ideas, and it’s less about a fully formed product/concept at the end of the day, but more about seeing where the experiment takes us!
Day 2 of the NOTlabs Laser Challenge, and today it’s my turn! I’ve been obsessively researching tiles lately ~ from ancient patterns of the far east to the french/moroccan styles to modern geometrically inspired and asymmetrical designs, while simultaneously working on the garden and wondering why there aren’t nicer options for stepping stones, pathways, etc… so today, this lead me to experiment with hexagons and exploring designs and seeing what emerges! The result are a bunch of laser cut corrugated cardboard tiles ~ which could become fun concrete tiles to lay in the grass, or tiling street art, or spray painting using them as stencils… or… take a peek at the process and fun on the next page!
p.s. If you have ideas, or want some laser cutting done, or want to play with us… feel free to use the contact form or leave a comment!
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A look back at the last week on NOTCOT.org! Click the pictures to find out more about each post…
