Route 66 Treasures by Jim Hinckely: Book Review

Route 66 Treasures: Featuring Rare Facsimile Memorabilia from America's Mother Road by Jim Hinckley is a treasure trove of memorabilia, as well as offering a colorfully styled book that features some great photos of Route 66 Icons, Menu Reproductions and more.




If you are fan of Route 66 Memorabilia, then you will enjoy this book. I have made a short video of what is in the book to give you a better idea of some of the great photos, signage and more that is included in this hard cover book.




I initially got it so my daughter could use it to do a report on Route 66 for school. The books we looked at were kind of boring and more historical in nature, which is good but try getting a kid to read one. As you can see from the video, this book is colorful and full of cool reproductions of ads, restaurant menu's, photos and more from iconic sites on Route 66. There is also a small map included as well as some fun post cards. My daughter really enjoyed flipping through this book and using it as a great historical reference for the visual part of her report.

What sold me on this book is that the editors presented the material with such flare in their choice of page designs, as wells the representation of the signage, architecture and interior design of the many landmarks in Route 66. There is also an envelope in the back with reproduction ephemera that my daughter was able to use for her report. After she gets the pieces back, I can use them to incorporate into my mixed media art projects. This book is a great coffee table book and/or a gift for the Route 66 fan in your life.

Time Traveler Weekend at Renaissance Faire

This last weekend was "Time Traveler Weekend" at the local Renaissance Faire.

There was an interesting selection of classic Ren Faire costumes like the Italian Royal Court.

Members from Queens Elizabeths court, along with a peasant or two.

There were plenty of other types of costumes on hand as well.

Exploring the Shur Tech Brands New Duck Tape and Frog Tape Patterns

The Duck Tape Booth at the CHA Mega Show had this amazing Duck Tape Dress on display.  The dress was made by Michelle Lesniak Franklin for the Project Runway, Episode 7 (Season 11) Duck Tape Prom Dress Challenge.  This particular sixties looking dress was the brightly black, red, and silver hounds tooth patterned design that won the Sticky Situation Challenge.

Project Runway Challenge Winning Design by Michelle Lesniak Franklin

Shur Tech Brands are the folks who manufacture the Duck Tape and
FrogTape  lines.

They also have an a large product line that includes various office supplies.

The Shur Tech booth displayed some fun office supplies ideas of various materials that were covered with patterned Duct Tape, like the folder below.

Did you know that Frog Tape is treated with special polymers that react with latex paint by creating a gel that helps keep paint from bleeding under the frog tape.  This means that you will get a better edge when working with the tape and no paint bleeding through and ruining your work.

This year they released Frog Tape Shape Tapes that make it easier to do special effects while painting. I particularly liked this chevron pattern.  It can be used for many different types of projects.

A sample piece of the Frog Tape Shape Tape

Frog Tape is currently available in three patterns (as well as the traditional straight line) for a nice variety of design options to consider when you are planning your project.  The current shapes available are: Chevron, Wave, and Scallop.  These can be used horizontally, vertically, or diagonally on walls, furniture, and other solid objects.

Below you can see how the tape can be used with stain to create this fun pattern on a piece of wood.

We also got to enjoy Shur Tech's extensive selection of Duck Tape patterns.  They had all these rolls

out and invited us to craft with them. I saw a few people covering their coffee cup sleeve's with Duct 

Tape. The rest of us enjoyed making various types of bracelets. 

Here are a few more patterns, I just love the Despicable Me Minion Duck Tape Pattern and the cherry patterned Duck Tape.

Shur Tech also has these fun Duck Tape Sheets available in a variety of patterns.  These are hand for covering books, home decor projects, and other large square surfaces.

It is hard to see in the photo but the Prism Duck Tape collection is very reflective and has a lovely glitter look that is really pretty in person.

Below is a bracelet that is made entirely of folded pieces of Duck tape in a fun multi colored hounds tooth pattern.

Here is a back view of the bracelet, which closes with a piece of Velcro tape.

They even had a display of how Duct Tape is actually made that was really cool.

Below are some of the more traditional duck tape products that most of us use on a daily basis to do minor repairs at home or for DIY products.

Shur Tech also had a fun display of their new Duck Washi Crafting Tapes in a variety of patterns.

The Washi tape is .75"x240" and is really easy to tear which makes it great for card making and other

Duck Washi Tape

craft projects.  The surface is specifically created to allow the user to write on it, so it can be used for labeling purposes as well. I like the designs and variety that the Duck Washi Tapes come in.  The patterns and colors are vibrant and work well with jewelry design projects.

The Shur Tech Brands has even released a new Duck Tape fabric tape.  It looked pretty neat.  I haven't personally worked with it yet, but I will write a review once I get a hold of some to play with.

What do you make with duck tape?  Leave a comment below and let me know.

Handmade Charlotte's New Cross Stitch Kits and Folk Art Stencil Lines

Rachel Faucett, of the Handmade Charlotte Blog, was on hand to give us a peek at her new "Bohemian Bazaar Stencil" line in the Plaid booth at the CHA Mega Show. These are really neat stencils that are globally inspired designs which you can see by looking at these Moorish and Tangier Patterns.

She used the Suzani Splendor patterned stencil to paint the surfaces of these plates.

The same stencils used on a flat wooden surface. These are really nice light weight stencils which make them flexible and perfect for using with both flat and curved surfaces.

Rachel was demonstrating how to use her stencils by doing a scarf "Make & Take" using the stencils and Folk Art Multi Surface paints.

The Bohemian Bazaar Stencils were so easy to use and the results were great.

If you look closely at the project in this picture, you can see that she used her Ikat patterned stencil to paint this project.

Rachel Faucett also has a new line of wooden cross stitch projects that are so cute and portable.

Each kit comes with a pre-cut wood shape, floss, needle and instructions.

The Handmade Charlotte Wooden Base Cross Stitch Projects are available and several different shapes making it a fun beginning cross stitch project.

Another advantage to these wooden cross stitch projects is that they can be displayed or used in a variety of ways.

For more inspiration, I recommend visiting the Plaid blog to see the various projects that Rachel Faucett has posted there.

A Look At The 3Doodler Printing Pen.

One of the new products on display at the recent CHA Mega show that caught my eye was the 3Doodler.

3Doodler 3D Printing Pen

The 3Doodler is a 3D printer in a pen that can be used on a surface or building up free hand to create some fun pieces.  The 3Doodler started off as a Kickstarter Project and is created by Wobble Works LLC.  Wobble Works is a toy and robotics company that creates some pretty imaginative products, judging from the 3Doodler.  Now with Darice distributing the 3Doodler, it should be easier to purchase one.

Of course you will not get the same type of results with the 3Doodler that you would with a traditional 3D printer like in the picture below. As you can see a  regular 3D Printer takes up a lot of physical space,  plus you have to be able to work well with the software.

Airwolf 3D Printer

That is not an issue with the 3Doodler. While you won't get the same results, you will be able to use your own creativity to create some pretty fun stuff.   The 3Doodler looks like a regular pen

 and seems to work more like a traditional glue gun.

It is pretty easy to use.  You plug the 3Doodler in and wait for it to heat up.  Don't forget to push the button to indicate what type of plastic you are going to use to get the correct temperature.  Then wait for the appropriate light to come on.  Once the indicator light is lit, you feed the plastic into the hole on the back of the 3Doodler (just like you would on a glue gun).

Two different types of plastic rods.

Then you can begin to draw all types of fun shapes and make some cool projects like the sailboat below.

You can see in this picture that the artist has created this really cool 3D Ferris wheel with the various plastic sticks.

The 3Doodler is not being advertised as a child's toy.  Like a glue gun, the tip of the 3Doodler can get very hot so it is recommended for use with adult supervision and by adults.  It is also perfect for use in Maker Spaces.  Since the 3Doodler uses 3mm ABS or PLA plastics, a foot of this plastic does seem to go a long way.  The designers are so committed to providing the end user with a quality product that they held off releasing this product for a year in order to find the best components and factory to produce the 3Doodler.  This is a fabulous new product that is geared to give the end user a quality product to create some and unique art pieces and allow their creativity to jump from a drawing into a 3D piece.