Instructables user quasiben writes:

Persistence of Vision (POV) is the illusion that an image continues to persist even though the image has changed. In essence, we are taking advantage of the limitations of the brain-eye processing time. With a camera we can tune our eye for a longer exposure. The Lilypad POV (row of LEDs) is a fun toy to build with minimal programming and electronic needs.

• CRAFT Video: LilyPad Arduino 101
• CRAFT Video: LilyPad Arduino Bike Patch

If you're planning on tackling painting a room anytime in the near future, be sure to check out this handy and thorough list of tips and advice from Nicole of Making it Lovely. She shares her years of experience and covers everything from prep through clean up.

Upcoming craft fairs! Please add any you know of to our calendar, and if you have a call for entries you want listed in this weekly post. Call for entries is after the jump!

Coming Up This Weekend:
The Pink Parlour Festival 2010
Arcadia, CA
Sunday, Mar. 14, 11am - 6pm

32nd Annual Dollhouse Miniature Show & Sale
Phoenix, AZ
Saturday, Mar. 13, 10am - 5pm
Sunday, Mar. 14, 11am - 4pm

2nd Annual Funky Finds Spring Fling
Fort Worth, TX
Saturday, Mar. 13, 9am - 3pm

Indie Craft Revolution
St. Louis, MO
Saturday, Mar. 13, 10am - 6pm
Sunday, Mar. 14, 10am - 4pm

Sugarloaf Crafts Festival in Somerset
Somerset, NJ
Friday, Mar. 12, 10am - 6pm
Saturday, Mar. 13, 10am - 6pm
Sunday, Mar. 14, 10am - 5pm

Calgary Weekend Market
Calgary, Canada
Saturday, Mar. 13, 9am - 5pm

By Katie Goodman

If you have trouble making tender and flaky biscuits, give this recipe a try. The combination of the two different flours and the very cold butter makes a big difference. I like to use a box grater to grate the butter, as opposed to cutting the butter using other methods such as a food processor or pastry cutter. It works great for me this way, but it certainly isn't the only method that works. I do think it's faster than cutting with a pastry cutter and definitely has less clean up than a food processor, but feel free to use whichever method you prefer.

When kneading the dough to form a ball, it helps to press to flatten and then fold over, press to flatten and then fold over, repeating until your dough comes together. Folding the dough on top of itself helps form layers to create flaky, pull-apart biscuits.

We like to cut the biscuits in half and fill with scrambled eggs for a yummy breakfast or dinner egg sandwich. Serve with a side of fruit.

With the nautical look hitting us this spring, make this stylish DIY rope necklace by ...love Maegan.

Bust has a great tutorial for tie dying tights on their site. It's written by Callie Watts, and she uses a conversational style that is clear and concise. I have always been intimidated by the dying process, but she makes it seem simple. Oh, and the tights are super-duper cute too!

Andy Johnson writes in:

I'm a guy that sews. No, I'm not afraid to say it, I think it is one of the best skills my Mother taught me, besides cooking. I sewed this magazine protector to keep my latest copy of MAKE looking newsstand fresh. I carry MAKE in my backpack, and I carry my backpack everywhere. With all the junk I carry banging around in there, it can get my stuff pretty hammered. I took my favorite T-Shirt, that unfortunately has worn out, and cut out a rectangle 1/2 inch larger than my copy of MAKE on both sides, and doubling the length so it can be folded over. I created a flap on the top and sewed velcro to both the flap and the reverse of the protector. Surging the seams would be the best, but I only have access to a regular sewing machine. If you have extra t-shirt, you can use it to make ipod sleeves, calculator protectors, whatever you like.

• How-To: Sew a Simple Fabric Book Cover
• HOW TO - T-Shirt Book Cover
• Kate Spade Downloadable Book Cover

Filth Wizardry shares her brilliant trick for whipping up a whole slew of cheery mushrooms using foil and plastic Easter eggs.

I love the look of this wine bottle garden edging. If only I had that much wine! [via Lifehacker]

My son happened to be sitting in my lap when I pulled up this R2D2 felt pin tutorial from our pal Bonnie over at StarWars.com on my computer. He went nuts. Guess who's making one of these for her kid today?

Spring Cleaning sale in the Maker Shed!

Spring is in the air! The snow is melting, the birds are chirping, and we're looking to do some cleaning in our warehouse. What does that mean for you? Well, for starters, we have a bunch of products on sale in the Maker Shed. We'll even throw in free shipping on orders over $125! Just use the code "CLEARME" at checkout.

I've seen a few variations on ways to mount completed embroidery, and I'm liking this latest tutorial from Maximum Rabbit Designs. I particularly appreciate her use of double-sided tape, and find her technique for padding the embroidery really interesting. [via Mr. X-Stitch]

Instructables is getting ready for Halloween early this year with Sarah James' Care Bear baby costume tutorial, modeled here by the inimitable Corvidae. I'm speechless.

• 3-Armed Baby Costume
• How-To: Infant Pumpkin Costume

It didn't take much convincing to go visit my crafty pals at Wholly Craft! once I heard "Crafty Superstar" Grace Dobush was giving a lecture on the business basics of crafting. Just a few bottles of pop, some salty snacks and a charged iPod were all I needed to head south on I-75 last weekend.

Punched metal is a classic technique used worldwide that transforms tin scraps and old cans into beautiful and delicate pieces of art. This project uses a recycled tomato can filled with ice to create a sturdy and safe candle holder. The standard motifs for this type of project include hearts, stars, and spirals, but I was inspired by the flickering lights of the EQ sound frequency display on my car stereo. Download the PDF of my pattern, or print your own onto photo paper to make a template to work from. Photo paper is my secret weapon because it resists the condensation and holds up to the nail and hammer.

Our two favorite crafty places in NY are merging into one location in Soho! Purl and Purl Patchwork will be moving together under one roof and under the new name of Purl Soho sometime in April. Congrats to our friends there! We can't wait to take a visit. In the meantime, this post on the process of designing the new Purl Soho logo is inspiring me to flip through my vintage craft books.

Sean @ Make: Online writes:

This week's clever maker-entrepreneur award goes to Etsy sellers Cleaner Science, who make and sell these awesome soaps that look like petri dishes full of growing germs. They're easy to make (I presume), inexpensive to buy, light enough to ship cheaply, and totally original. Home run! Bonus: some include glow-in-the-dark spots!

I love this brilliant hardware sorting box from Craftster user Wulf. A simple series of graduated boxes allows pieces of hardware to be dropped into their proper storage location. [via Dinosaurs and Robots]

Comes perforated and in two aspect ratios for your convenience and customization! [via Core77]

LampGustaf's Stitch Lamp

Dana of MADE shares how to whip up these fun split pea shamrocks for St. Patricks Day. She shows a whole handful of ways to use them as decor, accessories and even games for the kids!

The Hand Embroidery Network has a simple and beautiful tutorial for the fern stitch. The steps are clear, the photography is great, and the result is lovely.

Catarina Mota put up a nice tute on creating a handshake-sensitive mitten which senses high-fives and hand-holding, too. It's a simple circuit suitable for wearable tech beginners! [via Fashioning Technology]

• LED Firefly Baby Booties Tutorial
• Electronic Embroidery - CRAFT Video

A few new Handmades are up here at CRAFT! One is all about fiber artist Riita Ikonen:

From the forests of Eastern Finland to a masters at the Royal College of Art, Riitta Ikonen has crafted a fascinating life for herself. An artist, costume maker, teacher, and lecturer, her photographed work draws attention to small moments with large impact, whether the plight of the tiny House Martin bird as it faces climate change or the misunderstandings that occur as gossip is passed from person to person. Ikonen says her mother "is the master tailor of all times, and my room was also her sewing studio when I was growing up," so it only made sense to take the literal threads of sewing to create a metaphorical thread connecting what we see and what we know about the world.

Head on over to check out the rest!

This weekend I went nuts spring cleaning. I opened boxes of things that have been packed away for ages, including my husband's grandmother's sewing supplies. I found many wonderful things in her sewing basket, including a wooden egg for darning socks, tiny crane scissors, and lots of vintage bias tape. I also found this strange needle, and I have absolutely no idea what it's for! I could use your help in identifying it, dear CRAFT readers. Can you offer your ideas in the comments. and bonus points if you have an example of something made with a tool like this. Thanks in advance!!!

By Diane Gilleland

I love digging in my recycling bin for potential craft materials. A recent surplus of empty plastic soda bottles inspired this easy organizer, which is endlessly customizable. Use any size bottles you like, and arrange them in a configuration that fits on your desk or in a drawer.