It seems like every where I look, a quatrefoil (four-leaved) design is a source of inspiration.  Whether it is used on walls or accent pieces, it really lends itself to a clean and modern aesthetic.  Although I like to think of my style as eclectic traditional, I am finding more and more that it is hard to pin down my style.  One thing I do know is I know what I like, and I like quatrefoil.  I am completely inspired by the pantry at The House of Smith’s.  I don’t …

For the longest time, we’ve wanted some kind of light above the sink in our kitchen. We finally settled on a simple DIY solution to this problem using the IKEA Hemma cord set. The cord set comes with a long electrical wire that has a normal 2-prong plug on one end, and a light socket on the other. The light socket has a removable screw piece to allow you to attach a lamp shade. The screw piece holds the shade securely onto the light socket end of the cord. The …

I wanted a simple but sweet Valentine to give out to my students.  I searched Pinterest and did not find anything that had the degree of simplicity I wanted.  That is when I decided to make my own.   I used the paint program that comes with Windows 7 and I was pleasantly surprised with the versatility and ease of use of this program.  I’ve had a thing for owls recently, so naturally I made my own owl graphic.

Today as I got into my car I realized that someone had broken into it and ransacked my glovebox and center console. I couldn’t nail down exactly when it happened but I couldn’t help but feel violated.  Someone else in my neighborhood also had a break in. I decided to do something about it. I immediately went to the closest store and grabbed a cheap webcam and prepared to make a motion triggered surveillance system. (Man, I love Linux).

With the payload tested in a rocket, everything looked ready to go. I took it off the breadboard and built it onto a strip board PCB to make everything sturdy.
The next step was to create the payload box. The professor had done this before so he gave us tips on using foam core poster board, hot glue and HVAC tape. We chose to cover ours in mylar by applying a spray adhesive to the surface, then laying a sheet of mylar on it, and using credit cards to squeegee it …

Working with a professor at my college and Carolina Edge of Space in May of 2010 I, along with a small group of friends, sent a weather balloon 74,642 feet into the sky.  This post is mainly about the payload I designed, built and tested for the project.
This project was inspired by many seen recently online where students have been sending cheap payloads into the stratosphere. It started around December 2009 when we all met for the first time to discuss the project. It turns out that one of the …

Many people think the fronts of cars look life faces.  There is even an entire Flickr set devoted to car faces!  Well, ever since I saw my house for this first time, I thought my house look like a face.  The windows are perfect eyes and the garage looks like a mouth.

I needed to put my anthropomorphic house theory to the test. (Yes, I had to look up how to spell anthropomorphic.)  For Halloween, I decided to use my house face palette to create a scary face.  Adam and I …

Our future plans involve laying down hardwood in our entire home.  Since the carpet that currently exists still has some life left, I don’t want to replace it until it is necessary (oh the suspense is killing me; but I think it is practical to do major redesigns when they are warranted and not just because you want to).  Anyway, my point is we are going to need to start building up a rug collection for when we have hardwoods.
Because there is tons of fun …

I wasn’t ever really a list person. This is likely because I would spend more time trying to find my to-do list than it would take to get done whatever was actually on the list.  Adam is a to-do list freak enthusiast.  I will admit that lists can come in handy, especially with a ginormous project like a house.  A new house.  A BIG new house.
Plus, this is a list I shouldn’t be able to lose.  (I also have secret hopes that this will grow to be the largest post …

Creating led light drawings using a camera is a snap!  All you need is a camera (with the ability to set long exposure times) and a tripod (We actually used a table!).  Most of the pictures we took had shutter speeds ranging from 20 to 60 seconds; however, even shutter speeds as short as 4 seconds can work (you just have less time to draw!).  The camera we used for this project is my trusty (and no longer manufactured) Panasonic DMC-FZ30.  See more example pictures and tips after the jump.