What You Will Learn

• DIY home kits include all necessary materials and instructions for various projects, from crafting to home improvements.
• They provide convenience by saving time and effort, as everything comes in one package.
• These kits foster skill development and allow for personalization, enabling you to express your unique style.
• The growing popularity of DIY projects is driven by increased accessibility to resources, community support, and potential cost savings.
• When evaluating DIY kits, consider hidden costs, including tools, maintenance, and time commitment beyond the initial purchase price.
• Joining a DIY community can enhance your experience by providing tips, support, and inspiration for future projects.
• Exploring sustainable building practices can not only benefit the environment but also lead to long-term cost savings in your DIY endeavors.

We Want to Hear From You!

What type of DIY project are you most excited to tackle next? Share your thoughts below:

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Recap of Key Points

Here is a quick recap of the important points discussed in the article:

• DIY Home Kits: Offer a hands-on approach to home improvement with everything needed for a project in one package.
• Types of Kits: Include craft kits, home improvement kits, and garden kits, suitable for various interests and skill levels.
• Benefits: Save time and money, promote skill development, and allow for personalization of projects.
• Evaluation of Costs: Consider total costs including hidden expenses like tools, shipping, and time commitment.
• Retailers: Explore options from Amazon, Home Depot, and Lowe’s for a wide variety of DIY home kits.
• Community Engagement: Join DIY communities for support, resources, and shared inspiration to enhance your projects.
• Sustainability: Explore sustainable practices and innovations to make eco-friendly choices in your DIY projects.

Evan Brand tipped us this summer that he’d be traveling to Japan and Korea this fall, and visiting Maker Faires in both countries, and would we like him to report for Make:? Of course we would! Here’s Evan’s dispatch from Maker Faire Seoul, September 27-28, and Maker Faire Tokyo, October 4-5. (For more coverage of the Tokyo event, see Make Books editor Kevin Toyama’s report here.)

Maker Faire Seoul 2025

This past week I had the opportunity to check out Maker Faire Seoul. Hosted at the Seoul Science Centre, this event showed off a large variety of makers and projects. Though I couldn’t cover everything, I have noted a selection of the fantastic exhibits below.

WHEELY-X by Kangsters

A video gaming and workout device using a wheelchair for its controller.  By varying the speed and intensity of spinning each wheel, you are able to control different aspects of each game. The treadmill setup has an accompanying app that can track fitness and give feedback regarding each game or workout! Really cool device with a fun demo to explain the technology.

Interactive Gunpla by Side B Lab

These Bandai Gunpla (Gundam Plastic models) are modified by Ji Hyun Ko, adding lights and control circuitry. The variety of projects light up or can be moved via controllers and different sensors around the models, turning normally inanimate models into interactive experiences closer to their inspiration, the giant robots of the Gundam franchise.

AR Origami by Picker Studio

This booth displayed different books of origami bugs with an accompanying app. When built, the AR app would animate the different bugs and bring a person’s creation to life!

Unimat by The Cool Tool 

This was an all-in-one desktop woodworking tool that allowed for a variety of different configurations to transform it for different uses. Similar to a desktop version of a Shopsmith, the tool was being demoed as a wood lathe by allowing folks to turn their own pen blanks at the event!

Geekble

Lighting Round!  The folks behind YouTube channel Geekble had several projects of note, some of which are listed below:

— MacroController

This large scale 3D print of an ESP32-powered microcontroller that was also designed by the group shows off the design in full 3D printed glory.

— Electric Guitar Bike

This bicycle turns into a fully playable instrument, which was created for the band QWER and presented to them at the Pentaport Rock Festival. When the switch is flipped a pneumatic actuator extends the guitar neck out, primed to play.

— Meat Slapping Machine

Exactly what it sounds like.

3D Printed GLaDOS by Blackout.Retech

This 3D printed bot, a character in the Portal video game series, was printed in parts on a Bambu Lab  P1 S. Somehow the entire thing was built in the month leading up to the event.  Aperture Science would trip over themselves for that type of engineering skill!

Vacuum Light by 유리공방 기미기

A bottle pushed under vacuum to cast dazzling displays of light. Each pedal pressed at the base of the project causes plasma to arc to different points in the bottle. 

Electronics Demo by {w_b} 더블유엔비

Badges! Different badges and electronics projects powered by ESP32-C3 boards. A variety of demos were on display from boards showing the weather to small lamps to sit on your desk. 

Maker Faire Tokyo 2025

Heading to the Tokyo Big Sight Expo Center, I had a chance to explore and talk with many of the makers at this year’s Maker Faire Tokyo. Below is a small selection of the many groups and projects at this year’s event:

OpenAgriTech

This collective wanted to make weighing crops easier and so created an open source scale for agriculture. The scales read off a settable table, being able to categorize objects based on weight. It then saves the data to a spreadsheet so the user can keep track of stock!

Memory Game by Makerspace KM1

This clever  test of skills takes the form of a memory card game that works using RFID stickers. Match the correct cards together and the holder lights up green!

Miniature Concert by Robotics Technology Study Group

This love letter to idol concerts reproduces the magic in miniature. Built from laser-cut acrylic and around 100 servos, LED wands move in sync with the musical performance based on a custom-made movement model. The build also includes a train to move the singers between the crowd to complete the feel of the show.

Bots by Miseclinic

Looking down I happened to spot these Strandbeest-inspired robots. With builds that can be created out of mainly chopsticks, these bots are great to introduce robotics and kinematics to someone looking to jump into making.

Wearable Keyboard by Generative Idea Flow

Always a fan of wearables, I spotted this keyboard sewn into an apron using conductive thread. A microcontroller processes the inputs and sends the information wirelessly to a paired device.  A brilliant way to thread the needle between wearables and electronics; bravo!

Controllable Mech

For anyone looking to build big, but unsure what they can do with their machines at home, this 8-foot-tall mech from Brave was largely 3D printed. The controls on the side of the display allow passersby to move the robot in real time!

Micro Electric Bikes

These extremely tiny electric bicycles are actually rideable! Balance is tricky, but there is an impressive amount of torque behind the motors.  Just don’t kick up any rocks!

Walking T-Rex

This costume is made out of corrugated plastic sheet and zip ties. Outside of the large costume, the team worked to teach kids how to make smaller versions of the dino for themselves!

Joshibi Robot Research and Development

A pleasant departure from the hyper-optimized project sphere, this group aims to bring the fun back into robotics. Coming at the problem from the design angle instead of engineering, these makers are trying to make friendlier and emotion driven bots.

Kuquri

This articulated robot caught my attention dancing around the exhibit booth. Using spherical wheels it moved in all directions, bobbing up and down as it went.

Robot Band

Following the sound of bells I came across a small band or bots playing music. The songs varied over the course of the event but always lent a cheery tune as folks walked around!

Non Planar 3D Printer

This 3D printer can adjust its build plate to allow for printing at different angles. The group also created the software necessary to slice the 3D models to run on such a machine.

Street Legal Kotatsu

You know it’s a Maker Faire when someone turns a household object into a car. This heated table is ready for the road. Not only is it drivable but it is actually street legal and registered, classified as an e-scooter.

Pneu Logics

A fun use to show off pneumatics. Each button press actuates the physical logic gates to perform addition., forming a mechanical computer!

Hermit Cone

It can’t be a Maker Faire without a hidden robot wandering around. When it feels the need for some new scenery, this hermit crab bot flips up its cone and walks about.

Circuit in a Bottle

A truly impressive show of patience. Combining the attention-to-detail of model shipbuilding and the intricacies of electronics, the project is a testament to persistence.  Every circuit at the booth was assembled by hand in the bottles and are fully functional.

TwinHAM

An amazing wheelchair add on. The pieces of this project attach onto an existing wheelchair and turn it into an electric powered device. The device is still a prototype but from the demo was extremely easy to operate and pick up.

Desktop EDM Machine

For those looking into subtractive manufacturing, this EDM device can cleanly cut into metal parts. It uses a geared motor to get some extremely precise cuts.

Particle Accelerator 

Against all odds, my expectations were blown away by a particle accelerator in miniature on display. The build was completed by a high-school club, with other high schools building them and planning to compete to see which one has the best build!

There are so many great hat knitting patterns out there, but as I start thinking about knitting for winter (which is the only time I really wear hats) I want my hats to be as colorful as possible. And of course there are new colorwork hat knitting patterns being released all the time, but here are some that have caught my eye. 

You couldn’t ask for more color than is found in the Ridged Stripe Hat knitting pattern from Yarnspirations. This one uses a multicolored yarn to make the stripes easy, and slipped stitches to make those elongated stitches that move the colors around. It also has a foldover ribbed brim for plenty of warmth, and comes in one size to fit an adult. It’s a free pattern. 

Speaking of slipped stitches, they’re the key to mosaic knitting, which is how the Fold in the Cheese hat is done (shoutout to the Schitt’s Creek fans!). This one is worked in two colors of a DK or light worsted weight yarn, and using a multicolored yarn makes it look more interesting without any more work. It comes in three sizes and you can knit it as a beanie or slouchy if you prefer. You can find this pattern from Mary Annarella on Ravelry.

The color is subtle on Carrie McKie’s Surprise Hat (a free download from Ravelry) but it wouldn’t have to be. I wanted to include this one because I like the idea of it, having a colorwork pattern that looks good on either side so you can reverse the hat when you want to change up the look. This one also uses slipped stitches, and it’s fun to see how you can get different looks with such a simple technique.

The simplest way to add color to a project, apart from stripes, is by adding little stitches of color. A single knit stitch in a contrasting color looks like a heart, which is where the Loving Hat gets its name. This is super simple stranded colorwork done in bulky yarn, and the free pattern from Garter Stitch Witch includes sizing for babies through adults. 

If you’re ready for more detailed Fair Isle knitting, check out A Foray into Fair Isle from Little Blue Pedal Car on Etsy. This colorful hat knitting pattern would be a great stash buster because you can change colors with every band of colorwork. It uses worsted weight yarn and looks adult sized. 

Take stranded knitting in a totally different direction with the Bad Medicine Beanie from A Lil Loopy. This bold hat features large skulls all around the hat that are worked in a multicolored, super bulky yarn. The hat has one adult size and looks like it would be a lot of fun to knit. 

Bands of Colorwork Add Direction to This Sweater [Knitting]

Colorwork Cardigan Knitting Patterns [Knitting]

Knit Matching Colorwork Hat and Mitts [Knitting]

Ten smart kitchen storage ideas and DIY projects that make the most of your space!

I’m always trying to utilize our storage spaces well — from small drawers to big closets, I really enjoy trying to figure out how to use all the available space and make them function better. 

Even though I’m a decor lover and want things to look great, my priority is to make them function just as well as they look! 

Over the years I’ve figured out some great ways to create an organized kitchen that fits our needs. These storage solutions work for smaller gadgets to larger appliances, and make our spaces work how we use them! 

I’ve gathered ten of the best ways I’ve made the most of our kitchen storage…some are easy, some are more involved DIY projects. 

Most of these solutions are hidden, but I’ve also created some storage that has become part of the design of the kitchen! We’ll start with the pretty ones first…

1. Utilize the side of your fridge

This is one of my all time favorite kitchen DIY projects! If you have a built in fridge with cabinets around it, you may be able to put that big space on the side to good use.

I just love how it looks! The leather straps and wood boards add some warmth to our kitchen. 

But it’s also so nice to have such easy access to serving and cutting boards like these. They are large and awkward, so finding a spot to store them in lower cabinets is difficult. 

You can also use the side of your fridge to hold a family command station with calendars and mail, or add small shelves to hold spices or oils if you don’t have a lot of pantry space. 

2. Window seat storage in the kitchen

This is another favorite…because what’s prettier than a window seat in a kitchen? Nothing, I tell you. 

If you add one in your home, make it functional by creating access to all that empty space inside! 

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience. 

It was wonderful! 

That deep extra storage space is perfect for items that you don’t reach for every day — maybe appliances you only use occasionally or big serving dishes. 

It’s such a great secret space and of course looks great from the outside! I always knew the window wall in our dining area off the kitchen would be the perfect spot: 

We use that storage for some outdoor items like citronella candles and bug spray, since it’s so close to the patio door. The other side is usually empty, so I use it to store year-round decor from around the house when I decorate for Christmas. 🙂

3. Add storage by extending your kitchen island

This is another one that adds so much storage but also looks GOOD! 

Even the rod with hooks to hold the towel and pot holders was so handy!

Now let’s move to the storage ideas inside the cabinets! 

4. Tip out trays by the kitchen sink 

I discovered these when we were building our first house and thought they were brilliant. 

They are small, but in the kitchen hold sponges, the sink stopper, scrapers and our dishwasher pods. You just tip the drawer out to access the trays. 

We had two in our first house pictured above, and now we have a long drawer front that has two: 

They can be a little tricky to install because you’re working in such a small space. It’s easier to install these before the sink, but you can definitely do so after as well. 

They are so useful, we used them in our bathroom as well. They are perfect for toothbrushes and toothpaste!

5. Awkward pan and tray storage

I use the Variera organizers from IKEA so I can slide these longer kitchen necessities in and out easily. 

If you build in your fridge using my tutorial above, measure your items to see how much space you’ll need! 

The key is storing these items vertically — if you stack them up it’s a pain to get what you need. 

Although you could build very small shelving inside those cabinets that holds one item on each shelf. That brings me to my next simple fix!

6. Make base cabinets functional with DIY shelves

I hate regular base cabinets with small drawers and doors. They are an abyss of underutilized and hard-to-reach space in my opinion, and if we ever redo our kitchen, it will have mostly drawers like our mud/laundry combo. 

They allow me to store way more in that tall space, and are super easy to make! I usually have plenty of scrap wood to throw one together. 

The assembly isn’t fancy — I use a couple screws into each “foot” or the side supports. 

7. DIY pull out pantry drawers

I just shared this project last week, and it has allowed us to store SO MUCH food in the new pantry makeover. 

I used tall pantry cabinets in there, and as is, those are almost as bad as the base cabinets I hate. I knew I could make them way more functional with these pull out pantry drawers: 

You can make them fully extend or soft close (or both!). 

The best part is they allow you to create storage that works for your family — add a bunch to hold a ton or space them out for taller items. 

8. DIY pull out shelf for appliances

These rolling shelves are along the same lines, and work well both inside a cabinet or on open shelves. They are a great way to free up some counter space in the kitchen! 

Our pantry had melamine shelving before I started the redo, and a few years ago I wanted to store some of our small appliances on one shelf. 

We quickly realized we’d need more clearance above (especially for the toaster!), so I used full extension drawer slides to create this easy pull out appliance shelf: 

If you’re planning to use this for a mixer or other heavy appliances, make sure the shelf your pull out is attached to is secure and that the slides can hold the weight. 

Those IKEA racks are also great for storing container lids or plates. 

And finally, some of my favorite organizing products for inside the kitchen drawers! 

9. Expandable drawer dividers 

They come in different sizes that fit narrow to wide drawers. 

These expanders are perfect for organizing forks, spoons and knives in a cutlery drawer as well!

Not only do they keep things separate, but also keep things from moving around when you open and shut the drawers. 

The spots for Ziploc bags are GREAT and make for very easy access. The rolled items like the foil aren’t quite as handy, but we don’t reach for those as much anyway. 

This organizer can go in a drawer or hang on the wall. 

10. Coffee pod drawer storage 

 

My husband started drinking coffee about a year ago, so all the sudden we had all of his coffee items I wanted to corral into one spot. 

It allows us to see what we have at a glance — I’m always looking for hot chocolate, he only wants his coffee. 😉 

These K-cup inserts come in a ton of sizes and shapes. Check the depth of your drawers to make sure it will fit! 

Thankfully we have full extension drawers so we can open them allll the way out and access everything. 

There you go…my top ten favorite pantry and kitchen organization ideas I’ve incorporated in our home. I’m always thinking about how we use our spaces and trying to figure out the best storage solutions. 

Do you use any of these as well? I’d love to hear some of the ways you’ve organized your kitchen!

Makers generally have something interesting to say about why they do what they do, how they’ve made their next best thing, new ways other makers can approach the challenging questions they face building their projects, or even what it means to live a creative life. Each year at Maker Faire Bay Area the Make: Live Stage is home to some of the brightest minds and most interesting projects in the makerverse. From the best way to harness new tools to old machines used in unexpected ways, Maker Faire presenters always have something interesting to say. It might be hard to drag yourself away from the cacophony of fascinating bells and whistles and shiny things that crowd the esplanade at Mare Island, but we assure you its worth your time to engage the stage! Read on to learn more about this year’s Make: Live Stage line up. There’s even a maker movement origin story in the mix!

Looking to learn a bit more about how Maker Faire got its start? Tune in on Saturday, September 27th at 2pm where Make: magazine and Maker Faire founder Dale Dougherty will share his experiences of 20 years of publishing Make: and producing Maker Faires.

Don’t miss the rest of the fantastic speakers Saturday and Sunday on the Make: Live stage. They are listed in order of appearance, on the half hour, starting at 10:30am. The last presenter will go on at 4:30 pm each day.

Phone Powered Outdoor Robot: Concept to Completion – Survy Vaish

Follow Survy Vaish‘s journey of creating a robot for RoboMagellan, an outdoor autonomous navigation challenge where robots use GPS to reach waypoints while avoiding obstacles. This talk shares the complete process—from the first “shoebox” prototype to a robust system with computer vision (YOLO-based cone detection), 3D-printed chassis, and adaptive wheels for rough terrain. 

Making With(out) Intention – Kayte Sabicer

Kayte Sabicer is an expert model maker and contributor on Adam Savage’s Tested! She’s known for building the Blade Runner Blimp, animatronic robots, and work on Mad God with Tippett Studio. Kayte also hosts Model Behavior on Tested.com, where she shares pro tips and behind-the-scenes model magic. Get inspired with her talk Making With(Out) Intention and the importance of making things even without an end goal. Come meet her in person and get inspired with her talk Making With(Out) Intention and the importance of making things even without an end goal. Her work in (and on the cover of) Make: magazine and in the Vol 94 Launch Party.

Drone On! Building STEM Pathways through hands-on flight – Elaine Westbrook

Join our team as we share how building, programming, and flying drones can inspire youth to envision themselves in STEM careers. Our drone camp model serves students from grades 3–12 and includes a specialized all-girls camp to foster equitable participation. In this interactive session, we’ll present our curriculum, camp structure, and the role of STEM mentors—including drone pilots in fire science, criminal justice, and engineering. We’ll also demo student-built drones and share insights on integrating real-world tech skills into informal STEM education.

How To ID LEGO! – Sam Suskiri

Have you ever come across a strange LEGO piece and wondered what set it came from? Or was there a set you remember playing with as a kid but can’t remember what it’s called? Sam Suksiri has helped hundreds of LEGO fans reconnect with lost LEGO sets by identifying them with just a few pieces or even just a faintly remembered description. Sam will share his LEGO knowledge from working as a LEGO Master Model Builder and online LEGO Master on how you can ID LEGO sets using helpful LEGO search terms, online LEGO catalogues, even AI image search!

The Role of Generative AI in Engineering Education – Ross Satchell (Microchip)

The recent rise of “Vibe Coding” is just one part of AI Large Language Models (LLMs) being used in ways that the user may not fully understand. Particularly in engineering education, the use of such AI tools while allowing for rapid prototyping for weekend projects, can result in the user potentially not understanding the generated code. Furthermore, it can result in unintended security vulnerabilities or codebases the user can’t fix or scale for production. Chatbots are an invaluable educational tool for students to help them learn by using LLMs to provide instant feedback with suggestions for improvements, or to act as a tutor to clarify the student’s understanding. Unfortunately, some students use them to cheat on assignments, resulting in them failing to develop the requisite knowledge. This talk will explore some of the ways AI and LLMs can be used to improve education and discuss ways that educators can identify which students are using these tools to cheat.

Lots o’ Rots! Making materials from fungi for fashion, packaging and building on Earth and beyond – Rachel Linzer and Rolando Perez of Open Fung

There is a wave of interest in using fungi to grow materials for building, textiles, packaging, and remediation to address some of our most pressing global challenges. Fungal materials are easy to create at home, unlike many other contemporary biotechnologies. Rolando Perez and Rachel Linzer from Open Fung – a scientist- and artist-led nonprofit building accessible tools for applied mycology – will talk about the possibilities of fungal materials on Earth and beyond, and how you might begin making mycomaterials of your own.

X-Tool – Stein Shi

At xTool, we’re transforming the world of metal working and laser engraving and cutting by offering powerful, easy-to-use tools for everyone. Whether you’re a DIY enthusiast or a business owner, our machines are designed to bring your ideas to life on a wide variety of materials – from wood and metal to leather and acrylic. With xTool, creativity knows no limits! https://www.xtool.com/

Twenty Years of Make: from DIY to AI – Dale Dougherty

My twenty years of publishing Make: and producing Maker Faires is based on a set of beliefs about what individuals can do and what we can do together as a community. We have a lot more in common than a set of tools or a set of skills, and our core beliefs can help us understand where we’ve been and where we want to go.

Hack Your Fashion: Illuminating Your Ensemble with LEDs – Debra Ansell

Debra Ansell of GeekMom Projects makes all sorts of things pop with lights! This talk will cover practical techniques to add LEDs to clothing, costumes and, accessories for fun and fashion. Debra will discuss different methods to light up your wearables aimed at makers with a wide range of sewing and electronics skills. You’ll learn some common wearable pitfalls to avoid and what qualities work best when selecting a garment or accessory to illuminate.

Try, Try Again at Game On – James Hopkin

The Riddle of the Sphinx. Rubik’s Cube. Wordle. The Kobayashi Maru. If you’re a maker, you probably enjoy puzzles — discovering how something works scratches an itch and brings a sense of order to the world. That thrill is at the core of Game On, a live-action puzzle experience in Berkeley, California, cofounded by childhood friends James Hopkin, Tim Alley, and Eric Mittler. Unlike an escape room, where players linearly move through a puzzle-solving narrative like, say, a zombie apocalypse, Game On features puzzle rooms that operate independently. One room not to your liking? Try another that has a different type of puzzle to solve. Our motto is “try, try again” both in the experiences we create, and in our approach to imagining, prototyping, building and rebuilding our game rooms. In this presentation we’ll show off what we’ve built and rebuilt, what we’re working on now and some of the many dead ends we’ve gone done along the way. Read more about them in V.94 of Make: Magazine.

Off-Grid Home Assistant Considerations – Chloe Madison

Chloe has lived in a short school bus for the past 5 years and spent much of her time fighting the disparate solar and IOT ecosystems. Home Assistant has made much of that easier, but there’s been a lot she’s learned and many considerations to take before jumping in. She’s even taken her time to create open-source hardware with ESPHome to make it easier for everyone. She chronicles her journeys with tech, off grid living, and the aptly named Gary Bussy at https://www.clomads.com/featured/gary-bussy

Making a Path in the Film Industry – Jesse Velez, Hannah Chu, Kayte Sabicer

The film industry is more than just actors and directors—there’s an amazingly broad set of roles that contribute to the art and entertainment that grace the silver screen (and stream to your TV!). Join three movie professionals with diverse backgrounds as they share their unusual journey to working in film, as well as reveal unexpected positions that have played key roles in some of the most popular Hollywood blockbusters. They’ll also be judging the inaugural Two-Minute Film Festival – check out the submissions in the big bus down the alley and cast your own vote!

Casually Glowy – Charlyn Gonda

Wearing LEDs isn’t just for raves, robots, or Burning Man. Why not wear them to brunch? Or your next Zoom meeting? Or while waiting in line at the DMV, radiating calm, glowy energy? In Casually Glowy, Charlyn Gonda — coder by sunlight, maker by moonlight — invites you to add a touch of futuristic fantasy to your daily life. She explores the world of wearable LED art and shares her quest to normalize wearing LEDs like they’re just another accessory. You’ll discover how she finds inspiration, balances aesthetics with wearability, and creates interactive pieces that express unique style. Charlyn will show off some of her favorite creations: from dazzling jewelry to glowy home decor like enchanted lamps and wall art that vibes time. These gently illuminated objects prove that a few glimmers of light can completely transform how something feels. With a mix of code, craft, microcontrollers, and lots of brass, Charlyn turns everyday items into delightfully glowy artifacts. LEDs are like modern-day gems: bright, hypnotic, and dangerously hoardable — and honestly, they go with everything. So if you’re into wearable art, cozy glows, and things that make people say, “Wait… how is that lit up?”, this talk is for you. Fair warning: you may leave with the urge to put LEDs in everything. (Sorry not sorry.)

V1-V2: The Optimistic Side of Upgrading Robots – Jorvon Moss

Join Odd Jay as he shares his experience working on taking his comet crawlers robots from Version 1 through Version 2. Jorvon Moss, a self-taught maker and robotics enthusiast, developed the Comet Crawlers to share his work and inspire other people to build their own projects. The Comet Crawlers are a series of compact, walking robots, with version one (V1) being open-source. Moss has created many different robots, often using 3D printing for the components. Interested in trying it yourself, he’s also created a DIY guide with DigiKey HERE.

Prototyping Anything – Bam Singhasaneh of Crunch Labs

Mastering prototyping can boost your productivity, creativity, and resilience. CrunchLabs toy designer Bam Singhasaneh shares the what, why, and how of prototyping, and reveals how embracing a prototyping mindset can enhance your everyday life. In fact, ANYTHING can be prototyped! Leveraging her interdisciplinary experiences as a mechanical engineer, designer, and educator, Bam develops toys that inspire children to become creative problem solvers by evoking their curiosity in science and engineering. Outside of work, Bam is a member of team Valkyrie on the show BattleBots, as a designer, builder, and driver. She also competes regularly with her own robot at local events, sharing her love for engineering and problem solving through the excitement of combat robotics.

Plasma! – Greg Leyh

Electrical engineer Greg Leyh is no stranger to high voltage. He invites it, measures it, and controls it. You could safely say he’s been a lifelong enthusiast and researcher of high voltage and nature’s incarnation: lightning. Notably, he’s previously built two coils that were the largest in the world at the time they were built. Recently, he’s been playing with large scale physics and plasma effects — he been smashing watermelons with lightning scale currents — and he’ll be sharing the details!

Chomp Shop: Safe Tools for Young Inventors – Kausi Raman and Max Leichty

Hi! We’re Kausi (“cow-see”) and Max (“max”)! As product designers, we know the power of quick, hands-on prototyping for testing ideas and refining designs. We’ve seen how this process sparks problem-solving and creativity, especially for kids. However, the tools that make prototyping easy for adults are often too complex or unsafe for young makers, making materials like cardboard more frustrating than fun. We’re here to change that!

THING Lives! Next Gen Remote Control for Animatronics – Jesse Velez

How has our small special effects shop stayed afloat while the US entertainment industry has faced huge challenges? By staying ahead of new tech to cut our development time in half. Join RHFX owner Jesse Velez and members of his team to learn about how they once again brought Wednesday’s THING to life for Netflix’s Season 2 Premier. Using advanced prosthetics, drone batteries, common wifi modules, and state of the art motion capture gloves. The video above – the Korean trailer for Wednesday – really shows just how vividly this project comes to life.

New Nordic Tinkering in Formal Education – Niels-Peder Osmundsen Hjoellund

What happens when the maker movement meets the Nordic school tradition? In Denmark, through big national educational initiatives like cfumaker.dk and the Playful Learning program, we have explored how tinkering and maker activities can become part of everyday classroom practice—not as an add-on subject, but as a new pedagogical foundation. With New Nordic Tinkering, we connect tinkering and maker culture to core Nordic educational values such as community, democracy, and character building. This approach is about more than just building and experimenting – It encourages students to ask big questions, share their insights, and develop the agency needed to navigate in an increasingly complex world.

Mind-Altering Gadgets – Alex Glow

Manage your moods, make mischief, and manufacture magic! This talk is crammed with real-world hardware devices that can make our lives better (or worse) – including 13+ years of open-source tutorials by presenter Alex Glow. We’ll take a tour through DIY wearables, robots, and other tools for self-actualization, then some notes on how a technology-mediated environment can produce weird and exploitable effects in our brains.

DIY Capacitive Touch Piano/Synthesizer/MIDI Keyboard – Sridhar Rajagopal

In this presentation, I’ll talk about how I built a Capacitive Touch Piano/Synthesizer/MIDI Keyboard. The platform consists of a Raspberry Pi Pico, capacitive touch sensing, RGB Leds, audio synthesis and more. We’ll look at the design considerations and how the project came together. I’ll end the presentation with a demo, and open it up to piano/keyboard virtuosos in the audience!

Connect 4 Musical Instrument – Ben Einstein

The Connect 4 Musical Instrument transforms a classic game of Connect 4 into a live musical performance. Two players face off in a standard game, but with each move, they collaboratively generate a unique musical composition. The red player triggers the drum patterns, while the yellow player controls the melodic sequences. As the game progresses, lights flash to indicate the rhythm and position of each beat in the musical grid. Learn how Ben created this novel use for an off the shelf toy and give it a try yourself.

Band in a Briefcase: Make a Mobile Music System – David Battino & Mark Vail

Author/musicians Mark Vail (Vintage Synthesizers) and David Battino (The Art of Digital Music) invite you to a backstage tour of their mobile music systems — battery-powered and built into briefcases for instant jamming in concert halls, cafes, and parks. The duo discusses how to choose instruments and effects; route audio, power, and MIDI; capture high-res recordings; and package everything in a compact case that’s easy to carry and play. Mark and David also show ultra-portable rigs they’ve played on airplanes and one-of-a-kind DIY instruments like SwineWAV, SoundBite, and Slugoscillator Pro. 

Check the Make: Live Stage schedule to get the exact times and updates! If you can’t make it to Mare Island for Maker Faire Bay Area, you can catch the Live Stream on the Make: YouTube channel.

The tape on the side cabinets still won’t stay in place, and I realized that it’s because of the force of the air movement that’s blowing into the room through the air vent, and then the pull of the air into the intake vent in the hallway. The plastic starts billowing out towards the foyer, pulling the tape off of the cabinets, and I have to keep going back and pushing it back in. But at least it has stayed attached to the ceiling, so that has made things so much easier and less frustrating. Patching those tiny holes from the pushpins won’t be difficult at all.

Earlier in the week, I finished up the sanding in on the foyer walls. They still look like a complete mess, but they’re smooth and ready for primer. And then I turned my attention to the bedroom. I couldn’t just prime over the stripes on the bedroom walls because those areas where I had taped off those white stripes left ridges. They were slight, but they would have shown through a coat of primer. I had considered filling them in with drywall mud, but I ended up sanding the walls instead to smooth out those ridges.

Easy DIY decorative wood riser for countertop or display.

I’ve seen some really cute decorative wood risers in stores and online over the past year or so. I don’t NEED one, but I’ve always thought they would be a nice little addition around our home. 

Problem is, I had particular spot in mind, and could never find one in the size I wanted. I thought it would be cute to prop up our pretty glass containers in the basement bar on a riser:

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The other problem was, I knew I could make my own for so much less (especially for the size I wanted)! This one is 16 inches long, but deeper than I’d need. 

I thought I had everything I needed for this project in my DIY stash, but I didn’t have scrap wood in the size I needed. That’s the only part I had to spend money on!

I picked up a four foot pine board for $10 and then beat it up a bit. 🙂 I didn’t get a picture, but you can take out your frustrations on the wood — I used a hammer and a couple pry bars (in two sizes) to give the clean wood some “character.”

Next up, I measured the decorative trim to fit around three sides of the riser. I mitered the trim at 45 degree angles so it met up on the sides and front corners: 

I wanted the riser to fit flat against the backsplash, so I didn’t add trim all the way around. I used wood glue along the back of the trim to attach it to the pine board. 

The decorative trim isn’t necessary, but keep in mind the two cut ends of the pine board will be rough. You can also use iron on edge banding to give the edges a clean finish. 

If you’re making a riser for an island or coffee table, make sure to cover all side of your wood panel similarly. 

Once that glue was dry (about an hour or so), I grabbed these wood “feet” I have in my craft stash: 

Since they have holes, I used screws to attach them, but you could also use wood glue. 

You could also cut small square pieces of wood (or one long scrap along each end of the stand) instead of these feet. Kind of like this decorative riser. 

Usually I’d use a pre-conditioner before staining this bare wood, but I knew I’d be doing a paint/stain combo so most imperfections wouldn’t be noticeable. 

I gave the DIY riser a quick coat of dark walnut stain: 

And then let that dry overnight. 

The next morning I mixed some black paint (I used regular latex paint in the color Tricorn Black) and mixed it with a bit of water to create a “wash”: 

I let it sit for a minute or so and then wiped up the excess paint with a damp paper towel. This lets the stain show through a bit.

We have butcher block counters in our basement bar and a honed black tile backsplash, so I wanted to combine both of those finishes on this decorative stand.

For the smoothest finish, it’s best to give the wood a very light sanding between each one of these steps. (Before staining, after staining, in between washes of paint.)

It took a couple coats of this watered down paint to get into all of the grooves on the detailed trim. 

After letting everything dry thoroughly, I gave the riser a couple light coats of wipe on polyurethane: 

And that was it! I let everything dry for an hour or two before handling.

Here’s a full list of the supplies I used for this exact project: 

• pine wood board measuring 1x6x48 inches
• decorative trim (one eight foot length will be more than enough)
• round wood feet 
• wood glue
• dark walnut stain 
• polyurethane protective coat

I created exactly what we needed for our space! It took me a couple hours over a day or so to finish up this easy project, and I only spent $10:

This project is so easy to customize to your needs and style! Use more elaborate feet or trim for a farmhouse look, or paint it all glossy black or white for a sleeker version. 

We use these for candy and snacks, but they would be lovely with baking necessities like sugar and flour as well. 

I may move the feet out to the corner a bit more, since you don’t really see them much: 

But overall I LOVE how it turned out! Not bad for $10 and a couple hours of my time.

This is a great beginner project if you leave off the mitered trim on the edges of the wood board. You can have the wood cut the length you need at most hardware stores. 

The video zooms in on what looks like a standard power outlet wall plate. Then a hand reaches into frame and opens the outlet like a tiny doorway to reveal a detailed miniature living space replete with illuminated desktop computer, microwave, blinking router lights, mini-mini fridge, and everything else you’d expect to find in an efficient workspace, just at a microscopic size.

Laboring over three months, artist Mozu (aka Mizukoshi Kiyotaka) used plastic boards, LED lights, wood, and more to make his Miniature Secret Base Inside an Outlet. The most difficult part, he says, was making the blinking LEDs for the Wi-Fi router. Living in Tokyo, Japan, Mozu has been creating miniature models since he was 16 years old. It’s an ongoing childhood dream of his, and one that he’s had commercial success with as well. He made background miniatures for the adorable stop-motion animation Rilakkuma and Kaoru on Netflix, and recently started his own design studio.

The magic of his tiny, hidden office isn’t just that the scene is so small, it’s how much the space looks lived in. The RCA plugs from the video game system are connected to the front of the TV because plugging into the back is a pain; the slight curl of the calendar on the wall suggests a person who regularly looks ahead at upcoming events.

At one point I had forgotten that I had the video open in a browser tab, and when I clicked back I legitimately thought another video of a real office had started autoplaying. But nope — it was still Mozu’s tiny world. It’s that good.

This article is from Make: Vol. 73! Subscribe now to make sure you don’t miss out on any of our awesome builds.

Thanks for stopping by! I'm Rhoda, from Atlanta, GA and I love decorating and DIY projects. Decorating a home doesn't have to cost a fortune and I've spent years thrifting at antiques markets and yard sales, finding those treasures that make a home unique. I'm here to inspire and encourage other women to find their own inner creativity. Won't you join me?

Thanks for stopping by! I'm Rhoda, from Atlanta, GA and I love decorating and DIY projects. Decorating a home doesn't have to cost a fortune and I've spent years thrifting at antiques markets and yard sales, finding those treasures that make a home unique. I'm here to inspire and encourage other women to find their own inner creativity. Won't you join me?