Minecraft Fireworks Display

My amateur attempt at a pretty fireworks display. Eventually I hope to make it more complicated... Maybe.

How to Make Paper from Scratch

Making paper can be a great project for a family or a group of crafters! You can be as creative as you like, and it looks beautiful when used in gifts and other crafts!

You'll need: an old blender, a few sponges, several towels, a baking sheet with sides (optional), paper towels, recycled paper (newspaper, old notebooks), an iron, and some paper-making screens and frame. You can get screens of many different sizes from craft supply stores, or online.

Tear up the recycled to small pieces into the blender, and cover with water. Blend to a pulp. The smaller the pieces, the thiner and smoother your paper will be. Pour into a bucket; I usually put enough water in the bucket to cover the frames, and about three blenders full of pulp. Refresh the pulp after every page or every other page.

Stir the water to make the pulp float evenly through the water. Keeping the frame level, scoop the frame along the bottom of the bucket and turn flat. Level out the frame and lift out of the water. Wait for the water to drain down, and place on towel, or on a baking sheet.

Remove the wooden frame, and cover with a screen. Press sponge and remove as much water as possible. The more water you take out now, the faster the paper will dry. There are other ways to remove water, by using a roller or press. Whatever you do, make sure to cover the paper on either sides with a screen first, and never press directly onto the pulp sheet. At the point, you can also add texture by using different screen patterns and other flat objects.

Flip the screen over and continue removing water with your sponge. Transfer the page to a pressing cloth or towel, and carefully remove the paper-making screen. Keep in mind that whenever you transfer the page, you should sponge the top, and the page will attach itself to the layer below. You'll want to peel the top layer off carefully so the page doesn't come apart.

Transfer the page to a drying surface-- either on drying racks, concrete, or boards. When transferring the pages, remember to keep a thick screen, frame, or towel on the page and do not handle directly. I layered paper towels between the pages and concrete, to make sure the pulp didn't attach to the concrete. Allow to dry as much as posible.

If you want your pages to dry faster and stay more flat, you can iron them. Sandwich the page between two layers of a thin towel or pressing cloth, and iron the top. Be sure not to apply the iron directly to the page, or the paper will stick to your iron.

Once dry, the pages will be much lighter than during the rest of the process. After they are dry, you can trim the edges and use them to do any project you like! Homemade paper makes great greeting cards, small art notebooks, or gift tags!

Minecraft Portfolio

Minecraft Portfolio, a set on Flickr.

I've been playing Minecraft a lot lately, and needed to pull together a portfolio for an application to Voxel Box... Here it is!

Sketchup House Video

In this video, I have created a room design using a program called Google Sketchup. This program allows for scale models of 3D objects, such as architecture, furniture, and more. Click here to download Google Sketchup.

More coming soon!

I know I've only posted a few vids so far, but I've been working and planning to come out with some more, so please be patient!! Watch this next one, where I created a room design using Google Sketchup!

The Box Swipe

This video show you how to create a box swipe using the program Motion. This technique can be used in different graphics, and used in videos as transitions.

The Corkboard Collage

This video show you how to create a corkboard collage using only one photo. This technique can be used in a lot of different ways.

All the elements used in this example can be found on my Flickr Account.

Flickr!

I am now on Flickr. I will be uploading all of my photos, elements and examples, among other things, so go ahead and check it out! I have already uploaded the ones from my first Photoshop Elements 4 lesson, so take a look!

http://www.flickr.com/insanemaniacalgenius

We'll be up eventually!

This vlog's purpose will be to help people create digital graphics using programs like Motion, Photoshop, and Final Cut. I will eventually fill it up with tons of instructional videos and examples of techniques that I created, and that I link to.

Right now I are in the process of finding and creating brand new material for you, so come back in a few weeks and see whats up!

- Jazz