“This is my attempt at a realistic Pseudonaja affinis, an elapid snake common in Western Australia. This was a requested design by a herpetologist studying these snakes for her PhD. The color Sequoia looks the most realistic for this snake which is sometimes called a Spotted Brown Snake
The 12 inch tail is knit like cord starting with very small needles. Most of the snake is stockinette worked back and forth. The head is knit in the round and requires a little hand sewing with a scrap of some non-fraying fabric similar in color to your yarn. You need some polyfill and eyes. I also added a patch of leather inside the head for shaping.”
Knit this Snake Scarf by Barbara Tomlinson from Beachton.com. Find the PDF pattern on her website here, or on Ravelry here.
As you can see by my top 10 list, COVID19 dominated my posts from March on in 2020. I was one of the first to post DIY homemade masks after seeing nurses begging for homemade masks on the Rachael Maddow show on MSNBC way bay on March 21, 2020.
2019 was an interesting year on my blog. I was updating hundreds of posts and reblogged a lot of them with new links from the WayBack Machine. I also posted new content for DIYs and Crafts that interested me.
Find the app here to see your top 10: jetblackcode.com/TumblrTop10
1. Do’s and Don'ts of Designing for Accessibility HERE
Some of these DIY Potion Printables are for Halloween, but others could be used for Valentine’s Day and other occasions.
Somerset Place has used the printables for candles (at the link), but these would also work with mini bottle necklaces, potion bottles, collages and cards.
Combine butter, shortening, 2 tblsp. warm water and 2 cups of the confectioners sugar in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Add the remaining sugar and 1 tablespoon warm water. Mix. (You might need to add 1 tablespoon more confectioners sugar if the mixture is not stiff enough to roll out.
Dilute the 2 drops of food coloring in teaspoon of water. Pour the coloring into the sugar mixture and mix until the batter is pink. Add the oil of peppermint. Mix again.
Roll out the dough onto a surface lightly dusted with the confectioners sugar. It should be rolled until it is about 1/8 inch thick. Cut it into shapes and lay them flat for about 2 hours to dry and form.
Store in an airtight container. The recipe makes about 42 hearts.
DIY Nut Butter Recipes and Tutorial Including Homemade Nutella
This is the best and most detailed tutorial I have ever seen for making nut butters (including Nutella). I also just saw the worst DIY nut butters on another site that will make people cry if they try it.
This tutorial includes soaking and then dehydrating the nuts before blending them. These should last for several weeks in a covered glass jar in the fridge, but you can freeze them up to 4 months.
St. Patrick’s Day is March 17th and I live near a city that holds one of the largest St. Patrick’s Day Parade with a selected “Colleen”, so that day is actually very big here.
Behold, a library of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books in an Altoids tin! I originally found this project at this postby@nashiil-and-kiilan, and as they also put up the templates for it I thought I’d try it myself. It turned out pretty neat! I decided to leave out some of the details on the decorations, but I’m still pleased with how it came out.
NOTE from Truebluemeandyou: This post by nashiil-and-kiilan no longer exists. If this blog has moved to a Tumblr name please message me. You can still see a cached view of 2 posts making up this Miniature Library here.
From the post with the above photo:
My miniature Terry Pratchett Discworld novel library!
Made from an Altoids tin, Popsicle sticks, cardstock, copy paper, and a whole lot of patience. All of the miniature books open and have real printed pages you can leaf through. And the insidevof the lid has a sort-of-3D scene of the UU Library.
Contains the novels from The Color of Magic, all the way through Raising Steam
Instructions for the Miniature Altoids Tin Discworld Library:
Because quite a few of you have expressed the mighty need to have your own miniature Altoids tin Discworld Library, I am posting my templates and a link to the tutorial I used. Be aware, this will be a looooong post! There are more steps/instruction posted below the templates, along with the link to the video tutorial I used, so make sure you read through the entire post. Have fun making your tiny libraries!
Step 1: Gather your supplies!
You will need:
A large Altoids mint tin, cardstock, copy paper, a glue stick, an X-acto/craft knife, jumbo popsicle/craft sticks, a brown or dark tan alcohol art marker (or any brown marker), brown cardstock (or construction paper), a metal ruler (or a regular one if that is all you have), a pair of scissors.
Step 2: Measure and Cut
Measure the width of the inside you your tin, and use the craft/x-acto knife to cut your jumbo popsicle sticks to the length you need (you will need to make several cuts to get through the wood). Use the ruler as a guide to help you make a straight cut in the wood. Next, measure the depth of the tin and cut your ‘shelf’ to match so it will fit.
If you want to line the inside of the tin with popsicle sticks, measure the longest sides from the points just before where it starts to curve, and repeat for the top and bottom sides. To line the curved corners, cut a short length of craft stick(I did not get any measurements. I just eyeballed it and cut, desperately hoping they would fit) and score it in three to four equal sections. Do not cut all the way through. You are creating a simple (and fragile) joint. Gently bend the stick to curve it and press it into the corner. If it doesn’t fit, carefully pull it back out and trim the ends.
Use the marker to stain the ‘shelves’ (and side, corner, and top pieces, if you choose the all wood option). Trace your tin onto the brown cardstock/craft paper/construction paper and cut out the ‘back’ of the book shelf. Use your marker to draw woodgrain patterns on the paper.
If you are lining the sides with paper, measure the depth of the tin, and cut a strip of paper from your brown cardstock/craft paper/construction paper. Don’t worry if it is too long. You can trim it to fit later.
Step 3: Print and cut out the following images and templates (they should print out as a full page size)
Book Cover Images:
Book Cover Guides: (These will be glued to the back of the covers and serve as a guide on where to score for folding)
Book pages: (There are 9 pages. Make sure you print all of them!)
Finally, the scene for the lid! You should only need three total for the 3D scene, but if you are like me, you will probably mess one or two up, so I put in some extras! Decide which parts of the scene you would like to use for the background, middle ground, and foreground, then use your craft knife to remove the parts you don’t need from the fore and middle ground.
Step 4: Go to We Love Miniatures on YouTube, and watch the tutorial. It will walk you through how to assemble the books.
Step 5: Assembly of 3D Scene:
Use small strips of paper folded in half, then in half again, as spacers to glue between your scene pieces. You will have to experiment with the size and length of the strips as I didn’t get any measurements as I put my scene together.
Step 6: Assembling bookcase/shelves:
If you are using paper to line the sides, take the paper strip liner you cut earlier and glue the strip all the way around the inside edges, trimming the end if necessary. Next glue your shelf back to the back of the tin.
If you are using craft sticks to line the sides, glue your self back in first, then place your wood liners. If you cut the shelves to the right width, you should not need glue as they should just snap in place with the slight lip on the tin holding them in.
Next place your shelves in. They should fit snug, but not make the sides of the tin bulge out. If they do, just trim the edges a little. If they are too loose, you will have to make new ones. Do not feel bad if this happens. I had to cut three sets of shelves before I got them to fit properly!
You can glue the library scene to inside of the lid, though be aware that you will not be able to close the lid without damaging the scene.
If anyone has any questions, please feel free to reblog with you question, or shoot me a message. Now we can all meet in L-Space!
I have posted Evil Mad Scientist’s Valentine’s Day cards every year - for the past 6 years. How can you express your love this year?
This year’s set features geometry, division by zero, batteries, a nod to quantum chromodynamics, and two very bad puns. (Sorry not sorry.)
You can find these Valentines at Evil Mad Scientist here.I’ve posted all 6 years of Evil Mad Scientist’s Valentines, but you can download all 7 years of them at the link.
2018 - 6 cards featuring parallel lines, friction, and activation energy
2017 - “atomic orbitals, exponential growth, and an epsilon delta declaration of love”
2016 - “Pluto’s cold heart, and the perfect card for your robotic expression of love”
![]DIY 2 Heart Boxes with Free PrintablesUse for Valentine’s Day small gifts - candy, jewelry, secret](https://64.media.tumblr.com/393f26f36edf45d981ec1b06c3aa842e/tumblr_mhh2vdzl1e1qihh0eo1_640.jpg "]DIY 2 Heart Boxes with Free PrintablesUse for Valentine’s Day small gifts - candy, jewelry, secret")
![]DIY 2 Heart Boxes with Free PrintablesUse for Valentine’s Day small gifts - candy, jewelry, secret](https://64.media.tumblr.com/feb2e4d39c4f29e54caf34ab2204ed5b/tumblr_mhh2vdzl1e1qihh0eo2_640.jpg "]DIY 2 Heart Boxes with Free PrintablesUse for Valentine’s Day small gifts - candy, jewelry, secret")
