Superhero Project

Image: IGN

The world is full of superheroes.

Well, superhero movies.

Hollywood has spent the best part of three decades perfecting the 'Superhero Franchise' and with successful movies like X-Men, Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, The Avengers and the soon to be released The Dark Knight Rises, Amazing Spiderman and rebooted Superman, (along with sequels to all those aforementioned movies) there seems to be no hint of slowing down.

They've hit on a successful formula, which simply put, is this. The good guy always wins.

In that case, if you can't beat them - join them.

Make Do and Mend Project

Image: green LA girl

Buying jeans has become a bit of an ordeal for me.
I know that might sound a bit extreme when put into context with the real issues of the world today but I feel I'm not alone in this torment.
Like most people, I have a few eccentricities, which seem to bubble to the surface with quickening pace any time I find myself buying new jeans. In particular, I have two - let's call them - "quirks".

Starburst Clock Project

So today is the longest day of the year.
And it's raining...again.

They say this is the longest day of the year but I think you'll find it's pretty much exactly the same length of time as every other day in the year. The only difference is - from tomorrow, we start the countdown to winter, which judging by this weather should hit around the middle of next week.

If you had wonderful plans for today, maybe heading out to the beach, or possibly a picnic in the park and now you find yourself stuck in doors staring at the clock or staring at a place where there should be a clock, fear not. I can solve those two problems. Right here. Right now.

Starburst Clocks are enjoying a bit of a comeback in the world of Interior Design.

Image: Patent Pending Projects

Now you can design and make your own version.

Personalised Mug Project

Why does tea and coffee always taste better out of your favourite mug?

Drinking tea or coffee is often a very ritualistic exercise and people become quiet addicted to the way they make it. Black, no sugar. Weak, lots of milk. Honey instead of sugar. Herbal, decaf and never instant - only filter. Whichever way you make it, you genuinely think it tastes better out of a particular cup.

So why not have the perfect cup?

Image: Lemonade Makin' Mamma

Father's Day Crafts Project

Image: gettyimages

Father's Day rolls around again this Sunday and personally, I find it hard to define what that actually means.
But I'll try.

Growing up, one of my favourite TV shows was MASH and even as I type that sentence, I feel the need to restrain myself from parroting out a long list one liners and favourite scenes. I will share one scene that might help with my definition.

It's A Wonderful Project

This is my 100th post.

That sentence sounds a lot like self congratulatory back slapping and in a way, it is. When I started this blog I never thought it would last more than a few months and now, just over a year later and 5,000+ views a month, I feel ready for another 100 posts.

So for #100 I wanted to pick something special.

In trying to figure out what this post should be about, I created a mosaic image of some previous posts, to see what I had done in the last year. I used Flipcard, which allows you to view any site powered by Blogger in one of five different ways: Flipcard, Mosaic, Sidebar, Snapshot, or Timeslide. Click Here to test it out on Patent Pending Projects. You can see what other blogs look like too, all you have to do is go to the address bar and replace the "patentpendingprojects.blogspot.ie" with another URL.

Image: Patent Pending Projects

This image got me thinking about when I was a teenager and I'd covered my bedroom wall, as so many of us did, with images of singers and movie stars, film posters and art work. I'd rip pages from magazines and arrange them into a massive collage on the wall. Spending hours piecing them together like a giant jigsaw and in doing so, subconsciously try to paint a picture of who I was.

Cable Spool Table Project

Image: Halligan Smith

Step 1.
To build this amazing table, designed by Halligan Smith and made from a repurposed wooden cable spool, you should search a salvage yard for the spool.
You’ll also need at least 12 three-quarter-inch-thick wooden dowels that measure as tall as the spool when it’s lying flat on either wheel.

Trashy Wallet Project

Here is a fun project that turns an old paperback into a wallet.

I don't usually suggest ideas that involve tearing up books but in this case, it seems the cheaper the book, the better the look. Try a bargain bin somewhere or local charity shop for a trashy novel with an interesting cover.

Also, it seems to be easily transferable to other paper media like magazines or prints so it doesn't have to be books, that's if you feel the way I do about ripping them up.

Trashy Novel Wallets

Image: ReFabulous