Idea Lab Creative Resources
These are links that may be useful to Idea Lab users and the creation of their projects.
Pottery
The Clay Lady
- Throwing a Pot: Part 1 | Throwing a Pot: Part 2 – Tutorials on centering, throwing, pulling and finishing properly
- Glazing 101 – Glazing tips
- The Clay Lady Channel – Great videos for beginner potters
Carvey - Tabletop CNC Router
- Easel – Create your Carvey projects using this free web-based platform
- Inventables Store – Purchase materials directly from the creators of Carvey — Inventables
- Walnut Hollow – Purchase wood blanks for carving projects
- WoodCrafter – Purchase wood blanks for carving projects
Graphics Software
You can use these free programs to create designs for posters or t-shirts. You can also create SVG designs which can be imported in to Easel and VinylMaster to create cut files.
Vector
- Vectr – Create SVG, PNG, JPG files (Platform: web/desktop)
- Inkscape – Create SVG, PNG, JPG, PDF files (Platform: desktop)
- Gravit – Create PDF, SVG files (Platform: web/desktop)
Raster
- Pixlr – Create PNG, JPG, BMP, TIFF files (Platform: web)
- GIMP – Create PNG, JPG, BMP, TIFF, and more file types (Platform: desktop)
- Canva – Create custom PDFs from templates (Platform: web)
Vector vs Raster: Raster graphics are composed of pixels, and vector graphics are composed of paths. Raster graphics cannot be scaled larger without losing quality and become blocky and fuzzy (pixelated). Vector graphics can be scaled to any size without loss of quality.
Sewing
Craftsy – Crafting blog with sewing fundamentals, techniques, pattern making, and more
Embroidery
Find & purchase different designs to stitch using the embroidery machine.
Please note: the Idea Lab does has BES 4 Dream Edition embroidery software for use in the makerspace.
Brother
iBroidery – Marketplace for Brother embroidery machines – features licensed designs by Disney, Marvel & more.
Stitching Sewcial – Brother’s blog on sewing, embroidering, and more.
Crafting Projects – Tutorials and projects from the Brother site.
3D Printing
Create 3D designs with these free web-based programs:
- Tinkercad – Great for beginners. Create 3D models that can be exported as a OBJ or STL for the MakerBot Printer.
- SketchUp Free – Create and export STL files. This free web-based design program is better suited for intermediate designers.
Find & share 3D designs from these file-sharing databases: