DIY Forges: not forgery, but making your own smithy. There are plenty of variations available, but there's something special when a teenage boy builds his own forge and teaches himself black smithing.
posted by plinth on Nov 20, 2009 - 31 comments

While you may not be the shoe hoarder some people are, you have shoes in your closet you never wear and you'd like to know what to do with them. Are they just boring? In that case you could just experiment with new ways to lace them, or find a way to make them light up when you walk into a room. Or you could draw on the shoes with markers or sharpies. You could also paint them, going with the theme of your choice: Art Nouveau, Picasso, Day of the Dead, or any of the ideas here. You could cut motifs from fabric and glue them on to your lace-ups, cover your flats with new fabric, bling up a pair of strappy shoes with glitter, or embellish your flip-flops with some yarn. Is the old upper worn out? Knit or crochet a new one. Want to get where you're going faster? Make custom roller skates, or modify your bicycle. Do your shoes hurt your feet? Put them on your face instead as a wrestling mask, or turn them into an iPod case. Your shoes could also become a birdhouse, a planter, a centrepiece, or an integral part of a coat rack, bookends or leg lamp. If you're really not up to crafting, here are 11 non-crafty ways to recycle old shoes. But what fun is that?!?
posted by orange swan on Oct 29, 2008 - 22 comments

Livejournal user absinthetic's girlfriend is having a birthday, so he made her a Wonderland Expedition Kit.
posted by Pope Guilty on Aug 2, 2008 - 60 comments

Paracord is a perennial survival kit favorite, but why carry a boring ol' hank of it when you can get crafty? Parachute cord lanyards, bracelets, watchbands, belts, and other braided items are surprisingly easy and fun to make by following some simple instructions. But they're just the beginning! From water bottle carriers and camera tripods to knife handles, Khukri conversions, flashlight & stick wraps, pace beads, magazine pulls, rifle wraps and rifle slings, there are tons of useful things you can make out of paracord! [more inside]
posted by vorfeed on Apr 28, 2008 - 21 comments

Scandinavian Grace's beard cap has inspired the internet. Now plans are available to make your own bearded cap. Have a large head? No problem! Skeleclavas lack a beard, but make warming your head a little more hardcore
posted by betaray on Feb 17, 2008 - 15 comments

Templates that you can use to make custom cards, envelopes, and boxes , requires only minor paper folding skill to make one of a kind gift holders/presenters. I like the take out box and the trapezoid box for some reason.
posted by jonah on Jan 21, 2004 - 12 comments

Lost or broken CD case? Ripped a disc and now it's just floating around on your desk? Freewheeling College students to the rescue! You give 'em the lowdown and you get a formatted paper CD case as a .pdf file. Input your own song titles or run an album search through their DB. They even archive mixes for you to share with others.
posted by donkeysuck on May 11, 2001 - 4 comments