Maker Monday - Face casting with @The-Engineer-Guy #Geekspace #TheEngineerGuy

So getting my daughter's prop ready is taking longer than expected.  However, she took a cool class this past weekend thanks to The Engineer Guy.  I thought I'd share what she MADE on my maker Monday.

We were lucky enough to find someone her age willing and interested in taking the class.  My daughter cast the other girl's face first.  I don't know what all was used. While they were classing, I was shopping the store.  I came in during this part and took pictures.

This was my daughter after she'd had her face cast and with the cast still drying ON her face.

The finished face casting.  The ridge at the top was the shower cap that covered the hair.  The rest is blemishes in the casting.  Not bad, though, for first timers.

Playing with ThermoPlastics with @GeekspaceGwinnett and @GBGHCosplay #Making #Cosplay

I took my kids out to Geekspace Gwinnett last Wednesday for a cool class they were offering.  Emily and Justin from Go Big or Go Home Cosplay were teaching a class on using Worbla and Thibracast.  My kids and I split up on what material to use.  My son and I chose Thibracast, my daughter went with Worbla.  Given cost of materials and shipping, I doubt we'll use this very often, but it was very cool to get to play with it and see what could be done with it.  The three of us made wrist cuffs.

These were the finished products.  Thibracast has a bit more give in it than the Worbla does.   But both were fairly simple to use.  Now we just have to finish them and paint them.  Not sure on the timeline for that part, I'll have to go get more acrylic paint.   We kept all of the scraps too to play with later.

Maker Faire Atlanta #cool #fun #crafters @MakerFaireAtl

To enjoy a Maker Faire properly, you first have to have a basic understanding of what a Maker is. It's fairly easy and straight forward. A Maker is someone who makes something. The most quickly understood of these are weavers, blacksmith, glass blower. You can also include wood worker, or other crafts person. They create a product specifically by hand that we may need and would use. There were quite a few of those at this past Maker Faire in Atlanta.

Then there are those  who make things who are just for fun.  It's still a made item, it has it's uses, but it may not be something we need.

Maker Faires, though, started to showcase those things that an engineer or programmer may have made.  They showcased the technology that someone at home could do, but wasn't aware of.

Then there's the science and robotics (and fun) that are an extension of it all.

There were a lot more crafters, makers, and cool stuff on display out at the Maker Faire.  Most had activities that kids (and adults) could participate in to see what it would be like to make things.  Clubs you can join too.  More stuff & people than I could easily share here.  If you get a chance, I highly recommend going next year and plan to take a good portion of your day to explore.

New Summer Toy

I have been debating for a while about getting a tablet of some sort. I've played with an iPad and decided that while nice I didn't want to buy one. I started thinking Nook or Kindle Fire or Samsung Galaxy. I have friends that have one or the other and I asked their opinions. For what I wanted though, I decided simple was better. I went with the Nook for the simple reason that it has the micro SD slot. I have enough geeky friends that told me where to find info on how to turn that SD card into a bootable disk for my nook. This allows my Nook to be an android tablet as well as a "regular" nook. So, I can play with all the android apps that aren't available from B&N to my heart's content. I can also put the Kindle reader on it and take full advantage of books from amazon.

I also am part of several point-earning sites. I have no problem cashing out the points that I earned for Amazon or B&N gift cards. That makes that aspect of it that much cheaper. I love to review books (though I haven't in a while), which is another way to maintain my book addiction.

All in all, I'd say it was a good investment for me. I found the Nook on sale, refurbished, for significantly less than it would have been otherwise, even on ebay. I have a great way to earn credit for books and apps. Most importantly, though, for those that know me is that it's a GADGET! Now to go crawl back into my hole and play with my new toy..