A Chopstick Fruit Bowl

The finished Make That! fruit bowl
(with a pumpkin as stand-in for fruit)

I've seen lots of references online to a diy chopstick version of the MOMA "Satellite Bowl".

As far as I can tell, the knock-off version originally appeared on a website called "Design Without Reach" and was then linked to by other sites. Design Without Reach has either vanished or renamed itself, so we're left with the other websites' pictures of the finished product and a handwaving suggestion to hold everything together with an elastic band.

("Design Without Reach" appears to have been a play-on-words on "Design Within Reach", a store that I'd never heard of but that does still exist.)

Knock-off Chopstick Bowl (upper)
& MOMA Satellite Bowl (lower)

From the photo, it looks like the MOMA version is screwed together. I may try making one that way if I re-accumulate enough chopsticks.

The elastic band diy suggestion does not work. If you're patient, and if you have just the right amount of fruit, you may get something that stays together long enough to take a picture. But you certainly won't get anything that you'd trust with an unattended apple.

My version does work.

It's not quite as sturdy as I'd like.

But, it does the job, it looks ok,

... and it gets rid of all the chopsticks that have been cluttering up the back of the cutlery drawer.

1. Take your chopsticks. I used 20.


2. Drill two holes in each chopstick. I made the holes a 1/2" apart. I put the upper hole 4 1/2" from the fat, square end of the chopstick and the lower hole 5". Were I to do it again, I would drill the holes closer together. I think that would make a taller, narrower bowl.

3. Thread the chopsticks together. I used copper wire. If I was to do it again, I'd try using fishing line. Run the wire through the lower hole of one chopstick and the upper hole of the next. Then wrap the wire half way around the second the chopstick and thread it up through the second chopstick's lower hole. And so on.

4. When all the chopsticks are sewn together, you'll have a tight chopstick fence. Bend the fence around into a circle and run the wire through the upper hole on the first chopstick. Keep following the original wire path through the chopsticks for a bit to secure things and to get rid of the end piece of wire.

5. Finally, pull the square end of the chopsticks apart to create the open top of the bowl. The chopsticks should twist naturally to create the spiral shape and the base.

Chalkboard Mugs

What to do when inspiration strikes over breakfast, but a notepad is nowhere in sight?

Chalkboard coffee mugs!

Pébeo makes a chalkboard paint designed specifically for porcelain.

The directions are straightforward:

1. Use tape to mask off the area you want to paint.
2. Paint.
3. Let dry for 24 hours.
4. Bake for half an hour.

Voila. Your mug is now an easel.

Pébeo have put together a how-to video. (It's in French, but there are English subtitles.) And Google turns up a number of artsy blogs, all of which imply that making a perfect chalkboard coffee mug is dead easy. But I'm still struggling to make one that I'm completely happy with.

1st attempt. Masking tape leaves an uneven edge.

2nd attempt. Remove tape quickly or paint will peel away.
Still can't get a really smooth surface.

3rd attempt. Mask with electrical tape for an even edge.

5th attempt. Good enough.

Here's what I've learned:

Don't use cheap painter's tape to mask off the area you want to paint. The paint will bleed under the tape. (See first attempt.)

Black electrical tape leaves a much cleaner edge. (See third attempt.) You'll still get some bleeding at the corners. Scrape that off with a toothpick.

Peel the tape off immediately. If the paint has started to set then it will pull away from the mug when you start to peel the tape off. (See second attempt.)

I haven't been able to get a completely smooth surface. If you paint too thin then you get white streaks of porcelain showing through. But if you paint too thick get 'drips'. (You can see the drips on mug 2.) Some user recommend painting multiple layers, but you can't paint multiple layers and still peel the tape off quickly.

Dollar store bristle paint brushes drop their bristles, which then get stuck on the painted surface. A foam brush is easier. You can trim the tip down small enough to dip it in the paint container. Pébeo recommends a "fan" bristle brush. I may try that next to see if it gives a better surface.

After five mugs, there's still a little under a quarter of the paint left. One jar of paint can certainly make a half dozen mugs, assuming you don't screw any up. How likely is that?

Trying to write on a full mug of coffee is risky.

To increase the odds that you'll have something novel and clever to draw/write on your mug, better drink decaf.