New Uses for Satellite Dishes

Hello everyone,

Well, I haven't blogged in a while as I was out in Arizona spending some time with my in-laws! But, while I was out there I saw something along the road that I was unfortunately unable to snap a photo of in time to capture. I saw one clever homeowner who had taken an old satellite dish, cut it in half, and attached it as an awning over a window. And, it really didn't look half bad! You could probably even decorate it with a canvas cover or even some vines to spruce it up. But, I thought it was a cool idea.

I don't like to post anything without pictures though, so I thought I'd peruse the web for some other things people have done with satellite dishes. I found some pretty creative ideas, like this satellite dish gazebo.



...even a feeder & shelter for llamas!



Here's someone who uses small dish satellite's as a canvas for artwork.

Colored Pencil Jewelry

Ever wondered what to do with your colored pencils once they get too short to hold? I've recently stumbled upon the work of artist and fellow Industrial Designer Amy Pfaffman, who links together short bits of colorful pencils to create some really unique jewelry.



I saw her jewelry in my Uncommon Goods catalog, and after google-ing her name, found that she makes all kinds of beautiful jewelry out of various recycled findings, from glass animal eyes to guitar picks to resistors. You've just got to check it out!

The colored pencils made me smile as I remembered this collage I made when I was in 3rd grade. I was sharpening my colored pencils when it became painfully obvious to me that the shavings looked exactly like miniature tutu's. So, being the creative kid that I was, I felt the need to illustrate this in this collage, which I amazingly still have in my stash of old childhood artwork. Not nearly as useful as Amy's jewelry but it still makes me laugh!

GreenDimes Junk Mail Tree!

Check out this "Junk Mail Tree," sent to me by Jill from Green Dimes. She built this "tree" by drilling through 6 feet of junk mail and threading it on an umbrella stand. The tree weighs 100 pounds, which is the amount of junk mail the average household receives every year!

Green Dimes is a company that offers a service to reduce your junk mail for you, and plants a tree in your honor every month!

Craftstravaganza 2007

Well, this is posting is totally belated, but I did get out to the 2nd annual St. Paul Craftstravaganza on Saturday for a bit...it was super crowded but there was a lot of cool stuff there!! Too bad the fine arts building doesn't have a retractable roof...it was a gorgeous day outside! But, everyone knows that it's not worth the stress to plan an event outdoors and rely on good weather... Anyway, I highly recommend going next year if you didn't make it this year. Here are a few snapshots...



In the Fine Arts building...



These little gnomes & mushroom houses were the cutest!



Live music all day long...