Dinosaur Bookends

They took a meteor for us. Never forget.

Dinosaurs have served valuable purposes throughout human history. Our earliest phonographs, messaging systems, even our bridges were constructed with the aid of dinosaur labor. In that proud tradition, let the memory of helpful dinosaurs live on by handcrafting these fine dinosaur bookends.

What You'll Need:

• Plastic dinosaurs, 6-8" long (Bipedal preferred. Sorry, Ankylosaur)
• Decorative slates
• Spray primer & paint
• Hot glue
• (Optional) Cotton swab
• (Optional) Permanent Marker
• Cost to You: $4 in materials, plus a half can of spray paint and a negligible amount of hot glue for 1 Dinosaur Bookend

Computer Wrist Rests

As someone with mild joint problems who uses computers daily, I've spent a decent amount of time looking at ergonomic keyboards, gel mousepads and the like.  My struggle, however, was that most contraptions are expensive, and could only be upgraded on my home machine.  I highly doubt my office can afford to purchase ergonomic keyboards for everyone with ever encroaching carpal tunnel.  So, as per usual, I made my own wrist wrests for both my office and home computers!  These are super cheap (mostly just scrap fabric and rice) and, as seen above, can also make a personal statement to help spruce up your cubicle.  To make a set of your own you'll need:

• Scrap fabric measuring 10"x20"
• Coordinating thread
• Sewing machine
• Handsewing needle
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Rice

If you want amazing TARDIS fabric, like the design I used above, frequent Spacefem's shop on Etsy.  It's one of the only places I've found a good variety of Dr. Who themed fabric at a good price.

Ribbon Headbands

 As a former fauxhawker attempting to grow out my hair, I've been on the lookout for interesting yet comfortable headbands.  Although I've found a plethora of options, my lack of desire to pay $8-$10 for something I most likely won't be using after this awkward hair period sparked an experiment.  I've used elastic headbands in the past, but have a difficult time keeping them on my head.  Apparently either my hair is too slick or my head is too coneshaped, or both.  To remedy both the cost and elastic issues, I decided to split the materials difference and use scrap items I had at home to make my own set of custom headbands.  To do this I used:

• Tailor's Tape (or a ruler)
• Approximately 2ft. of ribbon
• One small elastic hair tie
• Pinking Shears (or a lighter)
• Needle and thread
• Optional embellishments (such as buttons or paper flowers)

Zelda Valentine Build

As promised, we're going to link you to a printable version of the Zelda Valentine. This post will be pretty brief, as we're on a borrowed laptop in Arizona, but you should be able to get the help you need to make one of your own.

You'll Need:

• Cardstock, white
• Razor knife or Xacto
• Burnisher or empty ballpoint pen
• Double-stick tape
• Quarter Page envelope (at least 4.25" x 5.5")

Zelda Pop-up Valentine

[If you are getting here for the first time from a link on the back of your Valentine's Day card, Hi! Thanks for stopping by all the way from Alabama, California, Florida, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, and Washington!]

A and I worked for a bit on some ideas for a geeky valentine this year. One idea was sprite characters rendered in Perler beads, but that's kind of been played out right now. Then we thought about sprite art as printed valentines like the old eight-to-a-sheet numbers we used to give out as kids. Then, A remembered a pop-up card she saw on Pinterest, and it all fell together: A Zelda-themed pop-up valentine, combining old-school gaming references with paper crafting. So, this is With Our Powers Combined's first valentine card.

Walmart Hack: 3-shelf Bookcase

Believe it or not, this is a Mainstays brand bookshelf from Walmart, and this project went from an idea at noon on Sunday to a finished product by 8pm that evening*.  Yes, that included shopping time.  The even better news?  This project takes little to no "special" skills.  Mostly it's just an excercise in how much you love using aerosol sprays.

To make your own hacked version of this bad boy you will need:

• A cheap, unassembled, bookshelf of your choice (or one you can take apart easily)
• Spray paint
• Spray adhesive
• A piece of fabric somewhat larger than the back of the bookshelf
• 4 furniture legs
• 4 pieces of hardware that only J knows what they are called
• Masking tape
• Screwgun
• Ruler
• Hammer