TheInnerWorks

New Rack!

2009-08-27T10:10:00.000-07:00

I'm going to the grand opening of the ReMake Lounge in San Francisco ( http://remakelounge.com/ )today, and made this lovely rack last night to display some recycled goodies. It was the first time I'd welded with TIG, so it's got a lot of character!

Blindness and Braille

2009-06-22T11:30:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking a lot lately about blindness, and the ways that we experience the world around us. Along the way I've found some great resources on the net, which initially surprised me. How on earth do people with limited vision use the internet? Well, turns out there are oodles of programs to help.
There's some great info on how to make your web presence more blind-user-friendly here...
http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=57&TopicID=167

Including this article especially for bloggers.
http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=57&TopicID=167&DocumentID=2757

Part of this exploration has included learning about braille , which I was surprised to find many blind people can't use anyway. The literacy rate amongst the blind is much lower that the sighted, and because braille is a letter translator, one must still learn how to use whatever language it's written in. This means that braille is hardly a universal blind language, so what is already a relatively small community is further split by language barriers.
There's a braille translator here that includes options for different languages...
http://libbraille.org/translator.php

You can see or print the braille alphabet here...
http://www.nbp.org/ic/nbp/braille/index.html?id=MMZmMSzT
and they'll even send you a free card.

All this thinking about braille of course led to incorporating it into crafts, with some interesting results. I love the tactile nature of braille- even for someone who is not trained to read it by touch, the sensation of bumps and the knowledge that it can impart information is a little exciting.

I made some recycled innertube Braille cuffs for etsy...

as well as train pennies and lighter cases, which are interesting enough to work on but not quite ready to sell.

I also found some great blogs...
http://tactiletheworld.wordpress.com/
http://blindinsight.blogs.com/ <---- cute baby warning!

and acquired a newfound appreciation for my own sight. Sometimes now I look around and think about how the world would seem to me if I couldn't see it- what sounds and smells would mean to me, and how my life would change. For now, I'm thankful for the colors and shapes that make up my reality.

Most Women Bleed

2009-03-03T13:20:00.000-08:00

It's still raining, and looks to keep raining for a looong time. For me, that means a. not so many wildfires next year and b. lots of time to sew!
Of course as soon as I sell anything I immediately spend the money at my favorite local fabric store- but that's beside the point. This time I was shopping to make cloth 'menstrual' (I hate that word) pads for the Co-op, which brought up that topic of bleeding. That, and the blood that's been coming out of me. So, I picked up some lovely flannel in red, black, a brown with white polka dots, and pink with black and white skulls. There are plenty of tutorials and patterns out there on the net, so I won't add any here, but check those out if you're interested in making your own.

http://clothpads.wikidot.com/patterns -- here's a huge collections of tutorials and patterns!

I personally used to just fold up some cloth and stick it down my pants- until I got my Diva cup, that is. I found that by using a single sheet of flannel (cut from an old shirt, actually) I could wash it in the sink when I was done with it and only needed three sheets in rotation for the whole time. If I was somewhere really dry, like Montana in the winter, then I only needed two. They do need running water though, so the diva cup won out. Of course I only got comfortable using it after a hellish time trying to figure out how to wash cloths in the RAIN because I was stuck in a trainyard waiting for a train which could come at any minute for a WEEK. Yes, I love my Diva Cup, and I only need a little splash of water every now and then for it.

Lightbox Tutorial

2009-02-23T10:05:00.000-08:00

It's been raining here for the last several days, and looks to keep raining for the next week- so now it's time to play catch-up!

First up is a lightbox that I made specifically for the lovely lady at http://mythicamasks.com , who was kind enough to give a little mini-workshop on mask-making for a few friends. Unfortunately I left unexpectedly and I'm not sure it ever got to her, but here's hoping.

As with anything, please read ALL the instructions a few times until you understand them completely, THEN start cutting things up.

STEP ONE:
Materials.

**Wood (a plank wide enough to hold your light fixture, long enough to form the sides of your box)

**Plexiglass, or other thick, transparent plastic thing (a sheet at least 1/8 inch thick for small boxes, larger for larger unsupported areas. The dimensions should match the OUTSIDE dimension of your future box. EX- a 9x12 inside diameter box using inch thick wood needs an 11x14 sheet of plexiglass.)

**Screws (some wood screws for the box itself, and some smaller ones for the plexi top)

**A light fixture (I used a standard ceramic light fixture, grounded and with an extra outlet on the face. This was due mostly to my lack of understanding about what I needed. The grounding is nice, but the extra outlet is pretty superfluous.)

**A cord, often called lampcord, or replacement cord (If you get a grounded fixture, you need a grounded cord, which is much more expensive.)

**A lightbulb (preferably flourescent, to avoid melting the plexiglass as well as keeping energy use low.

TOOLS:
**Safety glasses (yes they look dorky, but your eyes are worth it!)

**Gloves (fingers are more useful when ATTACHED to your hand)

**A saw (a circular saw in this case, although a handsaw is fine)

**A drill

**Drill bits (something to screw screws, a small drill bit that will just fit the smaller screws(for the plastic), a 1/4 inch wood boring drill bit(I don't know what they're called exactly, but I do know how to use them!), and a 1/2 inch of the same.)

**Ruler

**Pencil

I think that's it. I spent around $30 on it all, but I could have scavenged more, and the grounded outlet (later requiring a grounded cord) ran up costs a bit. I think you could do it for around $15, or free if you're a very talented scavenger.

Step One: Planning
I wanted to make this small, and rather long and narrow. Mask templates aren't that big, and this way it'll fit on a shelf somewhere. This also kept costs a bit less, and I only had to use one small, standard light. A larger area would require more lights for even light coverage.

Step Two: Wood Cutting
Measure and measure again and cut your wood to fit your sheet of plexiglass. Remember that the wood will overlap at the corners, and measure accordingly. You'll see what that means in future steps.
DO NOT screw the whole box together. That would make the Fixture installation a pain in butt. I luckily realized this just in time, as I was about to add the final side. As you can see in the bottom of the following picture, I screwed in the screws just a bit before actually connecting any of them. I have awful coordination, so getting that first few centimeters without having to balance things at the same time was a plus. I just had to be careful not to screw into that nice brand new redwood deck...

Step Three: Light fixture Installation
a) We need a hole for the cord. Find the middle of the middle of one of the longer box pieces, and mark it.
b) Drill a pilot hole, to make future drilling smoother and more accurate. You may also want to step up the size of the hole slowly.

c) Drill the hole for the cord. Make sure the cord fits through, and that's as big as it need to be.

d) now we need the screws to mount the actual fixture. Mark through the holes in the fixture, then carefully screw screws (oi) into the marks, being sure to leave room for the fixture itself...you could also use nails, I just couldn't find any.
Tada!
e) Now we need to get ready to actually wire it. Unhook the fixture and pull the cord through the hole you drilled earlier. Tie an underwriters' knot (http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=howTo&p=HomeDecor/MakeALamp - there's a diagram halfway down) in the end of the cord, to keep it from being pulled back through the hole. That way when you carry the lightbox past the end of the cord's reach, it will pull the plug out of the wall socket instead of pulling the wiring out of your box and leaving live wires showing for you to electrocute yourself on. Just tie the knot.f) Wiring! Here comes the scary part, at least for me. It's not actually plugged into the wall (or shouldn't be) so you won't get electrocuted (immediately), but this does need to be done right.
Don't take my absolute word for it, but- black is positive, white is negative, and green is ground.
The fixture I have is nicely color coded, so... The green wire connects to the green screw (nice!), the black wire connects to the brass screw, and the white one connects to silver screw. There should be directions unique to your fixture printed on the box. Mine were on the inside, so I had to unfold the box.
Put the fixture back on, and we're set.

Step Four: Finish screwing the box together
If you're me, you'll realize at this point that you got the overlap wrong, and need to unscrew the box and screw it all together again. Oops!
Step Five: Screwing on the plastic top
Plexiglass is brittle, so you need to drill out the holes before you can put screws into it, or it will crack and you'll have a mess.
so.
a)Drill some holes. They need to be big enough for you to put the srew in, but small enough that the screw heads will hold the plastic down. I did 6, one in each corner and one in the middle of each longer side.Note that I left the plastic covering on the plastic, to help protect it from scratches during the construction process. I did, however, remove it from the back, so I wouldn't have to pry it out later.
b) Screw it down!
There's a little overlap on the sides, but I just don't really care. I've never been good at right angles and boxes, so I'm pretty happy with it.

Woo! Finished lightbox. And just in time, as you may have noticed that night has fallen. Now all you have to do is put a lightbulb in and turn it on!

Just in case....
I am absolutely not responsible for any injuries or damages incurred while reading this tutortial or using it to build anything at all. This was my first wiring job, so ya'll may want to do some independent research on that whole electricity thing. Don't sue!

love much,
the crafty Snag lady.
And yes, women can build shit too.

The beginning...

2009-02-06T16:34:00.000-08:00

So here goes- a blog. Whatever has the world come to? Hopefully this very impersonal medium will prove itself and all you people reading this will gain something besides sore eyes!

I started this thing mostly to provide an online home to the tutorials and ideas that I normally just sit on or share with friends- so take a look around and see what you can find.