Last year and the year before that, I gave some suggestions on DIY holiday gifts that you could make for family and friends, and this year, I wanted to follow up with even more Christmas gift ideas.
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The NPD Group is a market research firm that issues the most trusted sales numbers for video games. They just released their second quarter 2011 report, and the trends it reveals confirm much of what we here have been speculating here at Indie Games Ichiban (and what we've been hoping for): downloadable games have risen, while full-box retail games have fallen—that is in the US, at least.
Congrats to WonderHowTo Jackass 3D prank contest winner Grayson Robison! His winning idea: Connect Knoxville to a real life Operation game with shocking devices. Every time a player screws up and the buzzer goes off, the "patient" gets a burning shock to the correlating body part.
A croquem-what? A croquembouche is not the easiest dessert pastry to pronounce, but trust us, once you've made this sugary, fluffy French dessert once you'll never forget its name again.
The holiday season means you're going to be doing a LOT of entertaining and a lot of going to parties where you'll be expected to offer up a thoughtful hostess gift. While you could always make a last minute run to the store to purchase boxed chocolates or a nice bottle of wine, it's so much more personal to make something.
There's nothing like glass panes moving randomly on a screen. Learn to create the stunning bars like the ones in the show open to CSI: Miami. Follow along with Stephen Smith, the Final Cut sleuth, to learn how easy this effect really is. Create a glass pane look in Final Cut Pro.
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From a holiday window display in Paris, France last Thanksgiving.
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Aurora borealis (or the northern lights) is a naturally occurring, beautiful light display caused by "the collision of charged particles directed by the Earth's magnetic field." Below, an electrifying display of time-lapse footage taken in Tromsø, Norway, by Tor Even Mathisen. Shot with the Canon EOS 5D Mark II.
Check out behind the scenes and Casey Templeton http://blog.caseytempleton.com/photography/holidaypartyguide/
Mylenium goes over working with sound in MoGraph in CINEMA 4D. He explores techniques and tricks that will allow you to tie in sound with motion and create stunning visuals. Work with sound in CINEMA 4D's MoGraph.
Make Magazine presents UC Berkeley's professor of architecture, Cris Benton.
Holiday nuts are a go-to snack during this busy season. But those canned cashews and almonds and pecans you can get at the store have been sitting there on the shelves for longer than you can imagine.
Christmas music makes the holiday season just that much more enjoyable. And the folks over at Google must be feeling the holiday spirt since they are making Michael Bublé's Christmas album free for a limited time. The Grammy Award winning artist debuted his Christmas album in 2011, and it went on to top the Billboard charts and snag a nomination for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.
Though the holiday season is just wrapping up, don't throw away your torn leftover gift wrap paper just yet. Whether for next year's holiday season or for year-round use, leftover gift wrap can be reused for a variety of creative and practical uses.
Get into the holiday spirit by fixing yourself a hot alcoholic drink. What better way to warm your body and spirit for the cold winter season?
Start this Chanukah off with a spin and learn how to make an awesome Milk Carton Dreidel, like the one in this how-to video. You will need a small milk carton, blue paint, a paintbrush, glue, a pencil, scissors, gold glitter, a styrofoam ball, a table covering, amd a plastic plate. Follow along with this video holiday activity tutorial and learn how to make a dreidel for Hanukkah out of a milk carton. Make a Chanukah milk carton dreidel.
A great holiday treat! For the cookies, you will need: 2 cups all purpose flour, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, 1 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 cup hot water, 1 cup molasses, 1/2 cup melted butter and 1 egg. Bake delicious gingerbread men cookies.
A great holiday cocktail, this recipe calls for: 1 1/2 ounces espresson vodka, 1 ounce vanilla vodka, 1 1/2 ounces chocolate creme liquer, 1 ounce peppermint schnapps (100 proof), chilled chocolate syrup, crushed peppermint candy, ice and a peppermint stick to garnish. Make a Peppermint Mocha martini.
To make this delicious holiday drink, you will need: 2 cups of water, 4-5 whole star anise, 10-12 whole cloves, 1 cinnamon stick, 15 ounces cream of coconut, 14.5 ounces coconut milk, 14 ounces of condensed milk and 2 - 2 1/2 cups of white rum, plus raspberries and nutmeg to garnish. Make a "Cocotini" coconut martini.
Whether you’re pro or con on the death penalty issue, there’s nothing more terrifying than having a real live electric chair in your own home! So you should probably just use these simple steps to create a mock-electric chair to “shock” your guests! This Fear.Net Halloween video shows us how to make a homemade electric chair to frighten the Trick or Treaters this holiday season! Make a homemade electric chair.
We all know that November 1 marks the beginning of the madness that is known as the holiday season, but did you know that November is also host to a whole bunch of quirky celebrations as well? If you're not into turkey, there's lots of other, more unique offerings to partake in.
Corn is a Thanksgiving tradition, and corn husk dolls, like the ones in this how-to video, make great holiday decorations! So set a festive mood this Thanksgiving with a homemade craft. You will need 6 corn husks (dried from craft store), twine, scissors, and the step-by-step instructions in this video activity tutorial. Make Thanskgiving corn husk dolls.
Work along with Laura and her friends in this how-to video as they make a beautiful bluebird ornament! Just follow Laura's step by step instructions and you'll have your very own ornament in no time. They're the perfect holiday gift! Watch this video activity tutorial and learn how to make a festive blue bird ornament. Make a blue bird Christmas ornament.
So you've made a lot of beautiful cookies, bars and brownies to give out as presents but don't have that much pretty packaging. Don't worry; Anne shows you how you can use things you have lying around the house to make some gorgeous presentations. Save yourself not only stress, but also some of your hard-earned cash as well.
The possibilities are infinite when it comes to DIY gift wrap. Instead of the usual Christmas-themed wrapping paper, make your packaging look funky with old maps, music sheets, calendars, and other material to encase your loved ones' presents.
Learn Tagalog Today Episode 5, Body Parts ! In this lesson, we will be looking at how to say certain body parts in Tagalog. You might be visiting The Philippines when you experience some pain and need to communicate this with a doctor or nurse.
Sugar cookies are a simple and sweet treat that you can easily dress up by decorating for holidays and special occasions. See how to make sugar cookies from scratch. Sugar cookies ingredients are butter, sugar, egg, milk, salt, baking powder and flour. You can find all types of cookie cutters for every holiday as well as every day. Make simple and sweet sugar cookies.
Gift-giving to your loved ones shouldn't be too time-consuming or strain your savings. Immortalize your special Instagram moments with family and friends by turning them into refrigerator magnets.
If you're using an Android phone or tablet with Google Now, then you and your little ones are in for a little treat. Just tell Google, "Let's Go Caroling," and watch the holiday metamorphosis as your device changes into a personal, karaoke caroling machine. Just in time for the holidays! Choose from one of five famous Christmas songs (Jingle Bells, Up on the House Top, Deck the Halls, O Christmas Tree, and We Wish You a Merry Christmas), press Play, then keep up with the bouncing ball as it h...
Thanksgiving is just around the corner, but there's no need to spend a lot of time or money on a fancy centerpiece for the dinner table.
Gardening hose starting to leak? Don't throw it out just yet. Cut it up into smaller lengths and slice it open to use the hose as a protective barrier for outdoor electrical cords, or as added grip on a metal paint can handle.
In an ideal world, the art of gift-exchanging is a joyous, wonderful thing that makes both parties feel equally good. But as many of us already know, gift-giving is also an emotionally charged social minefield that can leave many of us feeling... awkward.
Decorating your Christmas tree does not have to be an expensive ordeal. You can easily make personalized, unique ornaments for your tree by using things lying around your home, like toilet paper tubes, paper towels, wine corks, old newspapers, CDs (remember those?), plastic water bottles, and even dry pasta.
With the help of a hot glue gun and other basic craft supplies, the iconic red and white candy cane sticks can be used to make candy cane vases, candy cane wreaths, and candy cane candle holders.
Don't toss out those cardboard tubes just yet. Whenever you have one leftover from a roll of paper towels, toilet paper, or wrapping paper, hang on to it, because it's got some great DIY potential.
