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It was (most of) a day off for me today. I played a little Galaga (made it to Stage 16; haven’t been there since I was eleven), and saw Stardust (meh).
And then, inspired by this post on Craftlog, I busted out the Spirograph. This beauty came from the craft supply swap. My friend Bridget scored it, and after seeing my stricken look, offered to let me keep it sometimes, too. Bridget rocks.
Look how old-school this is – with almost all the original wheels! The pens are sadly dead, but I improvised with fine-point Sharpies.
Spirograph rocks, too! I loved this as a kid — it’s absolutely hypnotic, that rhythm of the little wheels going round and round inside each other, making all these beautiful patterns.
And this set has that wonderful little book, with patient instructions for making lots of different patterns. I never had the patience myself to follow these instructions, vastly preferring to select a wheel at random, pop my pen into one of the pinholes, and see what emerged.
There are even some odd-shaped wheels, which I don’t recall playing with as a kid, that make really cool shapes.
I’ve become convinced that I will make all my holiday gift wrap this year by Spirographing all over large sheets of butcher paper. (Hopefully I will come to my senses before trying to execute this plan.)
Ooh! And, remember the square wheel? It makes the oddest shapes . . .
. . . which eventually resolve into these lovely frames.
I couldn’t resist making up a foil sheet, to see if I could emboss Spirograph designs. It works pretty well – I just used an empty ball-point pen. You have to move a little more slowly, and things get a little crunchy when you emboss over previous lines. But it’s cool. With a wash of some alcohol ink into the lines, and then rubbed off the surface, I think it’ll be even cooler. Maybe these are in fact my holiday cards.
COOL! That is so awesome! I’m so jealous – I never had one as a kid, but coveted them. Love the foil designs, too! :)
COOL! That is so awesome! I’m so jealous – I never had one as a kid, but coveted them. Love the foil designs, too! :)
ooo, i love galaga! those foil-o-graphs are pretty snifty-looking. :)
ooo, i love galaga! those foil-o-graphs are pretty snifty-looking. :)
Ok, now I’m going to have to call my mother and see if she still has my old set…
P.S. I’ve been enjoying your podcast a lot lately – I listen to back-issues while I do boring things like wash the dishes. It helps temper my disappointment at having to do something mundane instead of being creative!
Ok, now I’m going to have to call my mother and see if she still has my old set…
P.S. I’ve been enjoying your podcast a lot lately – I listen to back-issues while I do boring things like wash the dishes. It helps temper my disappointment at having to do something mundane instead of being creative!
Hi there,
Could you tell me what brand is this one? I would like to buy one just like yours. Love your projects…can’t wait to try them.
Thanks :)
Hi there,
Could you tell me what brand is this one? I would like to buy one just like yours. Love your projects…can’t wait to try them.
Thanks :)
oh I like the foil thingies!
oh I like the foil thingies!
Man! I bought some incomplete sets at Goodwill a couple of years ago, but didn’t think about the cool fine point Sharpie idea! I’ll be on the lookout for more now!
Man! I bought some incomplete sets at Goodwill a couple of years ago, but didn’t think about the cool fine point Sharpie idea! I’ll be on the lookout for more now!
Oh, this brings back some wonderful childhood memories. I spent hours at a time making these cool patterns!
Oh, this brings back some wonderful childhood memories. I spent hours at a time making these cool patterns!
I can’t believe how complete that set is! Wow. My little plastic wheels always popped out of the box and scattered across the room on their little knobbily cogs… kind of like the gingerbread man… Okay, so maybe I just never put them away and my bed ate them. Klutz makes a version that my daughter has, but its like the sane, sanitized version that isn’t half as wacky as the original.
I can’t believe how complete that set is! Wow. My little plastic wheels always popped out of the box and scattered across the room on their little knobbily cogs… kind of like the gingerbread man… Okay, so maybe I just never put them away and my bed ate them. Klutz makes a version that my daughter has, but its like the sane, sanitized version that isn’t half as wacky as the original.