arts and crafts
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The Cricut Venture is a $1,000 cutting machine for the most ambitious DIYers
Cricut, a company that makes popular cutting machines for crafting projects, announced a new model today. Although its devices are relatively affordable, the new Cricut Venture is a higher-end $1,000 machine aimed at “incredibly enthusiastic makers and those who sell their crafts.” In other words, this variant is less for occasional hobbyists and more for hardcore makers or small businesses selling their creations somewhere like Etsy.
Cricut's Explore 3 is the perfect cutting machine for obsessive crafters
Cricut's Explore 3 is the perfect cutting machine for obsessive crafters, but the costs add up quick.
LEGO art pays homage to some of gaming's best
You don't know flickr user Encaja en Camon, but rest assured that the account in question has some pretty awesome and simple LEGO adaptations of famous games and their characters. Above, you can check out Sonic's blocky noggin, while just past the break we've included a couple of our other favorites.
Sparkle Labs' Papertronics are the gift you'll never admit to wanting
Sparkle Labs -- an online DIY electronics kit maker filled with pep, cheer and other such disgustingly sweet things -- has just announced its new Papertronics kits. As the name suggests, these are paper toys with electronics inside them, with the kicker being that you have to construct your Spaceboy (above) or Aliengirl yourself, before activating them via contact with their "landers." Hey, it's not like you can be a gadget geek and not have an appreciation for the fine art of papercrafting. If your inner child still lives, you can check these out at the source link, and we'll just tell everyone you're buying them for your nephew or niece.
Grenade out! Resident Evil plushies blast our hearts apart
If you've got room in your heart for one more thing to be grateful for, may we recommend these adorable Resident Evil inspired grenade plushies (via Sprite Stitch)? Yeah, these exist and it just warms the cockles of our heart. We can't help but dream about how great these crafty items would look hanging on our belt next Halloween (or during our inspired cosplay sessions). If only we knew how to sew!
15 Minutes of Fame: Alice in Warcraftland
15 Minutes of Fame is WoW.com's look at World of Warcraft players of all shapes and sizes -- from the renowned to the relatively anonymous, the remarkable to the player next door. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about.Who's on your list of the proverbial 10 People to Invite to My Dream Dinner Party? Leave a spot for Alice Taylor. When it comes to gaming and geekery, there's nowhere you won't find traces of Alice and her self-mocking, good-natured humor. She's the face behind the popular social media and gaming blog Wonderland Blog. She commissions cross-platform education content for teens for Channel 4. As a gaming writer, she's been seen at BBC News, Kotaku, The Guardian and Paste. She was a semi-pro Quake player on the UK's first Quake team. She's an indie crafts maven. You may have heard of her husband, Cory Doctorow. Oh -- and of course, she's a WoW player.
Blizzard spotlights the growing popularity of WoW papercraft
Now I don't get papercraft myself although I have come across it periodically. Basically it is the art of folding paper, turning 2D images into 3D models. Now this is not new and we've covered it before (check out our papercraft gallery below while you're here) but Blizzard Europe have taken some time out to interview papercrafter and designer Pascal as well as featuring some of his awesome creations. I'm trying (and failing) not to go all fangirl over his papercraft moonkin (Druids FTW, etc., etc.) but it's impressive how intricate these models can be, from a mail box to a dragon. The spotlight also offers some hints on how to get started and while I'm totally useless at any crafty stuff, it makes me want to have a go at one of these beauties.%Gallery-20544%
Fanmade MadWorld figurine oozes cool
There are plenty of things to love about MadWorld. The over-the-top slapstick action, the hilarious commentators, and fun Blood Bath Challenges are just a few of the things we enjoy in Platinum Games' latest title. Well, deviantART user ebooze loves the game's main character Jack so much that he decided to make his own custom figurine, complete with detachable chainsaws of both the bloody and clean variety. Want!%Gallery-22964%[Via Go Nintendo]
Impressive Falco papercraft doesn't even look like paper
It may not be a tiny gaming console or an incredible Wolf Link, but it's still really impressive. Actually, you know what? This might beat both of them! Well, maybe not Wolf Link. That thing is nice.The piece of papercraft was modeled after the Falco model used in Smash Bros. Brawl. Whether you're a Smash or Star Fox fan, you've got to appreciate how good this thing looks. We can hardly believe it's made of paper! If you're looking to try this yourself, this is the link to the necessary stuff to get your started. Gallery: Awesome Nintendo papercraft
Hearthstones and crafts
I thought we'd covered this Hearthstone jewelry before, but no-- those were Anhk earrings. Lady Kildare has posted some of her WoW crafts on WoW Ladies, and they are pretty sweet. The coasters are apparently made out of cork, and the art on there is familiar looking, but other than that, I have no idea how she put it together, and I love the way the borders look.And the hearthstone stuff is terrific, too. Those of you who were at BlizzCon know that Blizzard gave out a little hearthstone kind of like these, but I like the look of Kildare's better. And the best part is that she's working on one with a blue LED inside, so it'll glow! Now that's cool.For now, everything else is available (for $1 shipping "ftw") on her Etsy page. Always love to see cool WoW crafts like this.Thanks, Jessica T!
Build Sonic a papercraft playground for his Bday
It was the speedy blue hedgehog's fifteenth birthday on Saturday so, to commemorate the occasion, Sega of Japan has created this gorgeous little papercraft (.pdf) of Sonic the Hedgehog's equivalent to World 1-1: Green Hill Zone. Just cut it out, assemble it, and place it in the center of your retro-gaming shrine and, just for a little while, Mario and his army of nostalgia-laced tchotchkes will play second fiddle to Sonic and his paper playground. Live it up. Build - Sonic Green Hill Zone papercraft (.pdf) Read - Build Sonic a paper model to celebrate his big birthday!
