If you are anything like me, you LOVE to do Arts & Crafts with your kids. The downside to this is sharing your supplies LOL!! In all seriousness, there is a chance that they are going to make a mess and maybe even damage your supplies. My two boys love to be creative and I really want to encourage their creativity so I put up with the mess an turmoil so that they can have their fun.
Recently I was contacted by Tom Meeks (some of you early eCraft users may remember him because he was instrumental in helping a lot of us early users overcome the learning curve of the eCraft). Tom has ventured into unchartered waters with 3D printing and he believes that one day 3D printing can be implemented into the crafting world. From the videos that I have seen and my own interest in being able to create things like embellishments, I have to say that I do think 3D printing definitely has a place in the crafting community. It may be awhile before any of us can justify having a 3D printer in our homes, because they are still quite expensive, but who knows right? That day may be here sooner than we think.
Tom really wanted to get a crafter’s perspective on the final product that 3D printing can produce, so he generously sent me TWO gift certificates to a place called My Robot Nation. Why two? Well because after looking it over, I knew that this would be a perfect project for my boys and he didn’t want one of them to be left out or for the two to argue over what they wanted their robot to look like. Thank you for that Tom because it really was an amazing experience for each of them.
I sat down with each of them and let them have free reign as they designed their robots. They got to pick the body shapes, colors, accessories, and even stamps to add onto their robots. They even were able to add their names onto their robot! The website was very user friendly and the boys had no problem doing what they wanted to do. Once they were done with their robots, they got to name their robots. Once the orders were completed the waiting began and so did the “Are the robots here yet?” questions. A few days after we placed the orders, we got an e-mail from them letting us know that the robots were being made RIGHT NOW. This only added to the excitement! Then later on, we got an e-mail letting us know that the robots had shipped and it even came with a picture of the finished robot. How cool is that? At that point, my 7 year old, Jared was diligent about checking the mailbox.
The other day, the robots arrived! I cannot tell you how excited they were, they almost didn’t give me any time to get the camera! The robots were packed very well, here are some pictures of the boys unpacking their robots…First we have Jared.
And next we have my 4 year old, Mason who was so excited he climbed up on the table!
And the reveal….first off Mason’s robot who he named Zombie Robot (he is in love with the Plants vs. Zombies computer game LOL!)
And now Jared’s robot named Mr. Blasting….
As you can see from the pictures, these guys are only 2” tall. The amount of detail on them is outstanding. Jared insisted that I get a picture of the two robots about to do battle so here they are together…
The boys are already asking when they can make more robots! I should tell you that although these robots look like toys, they really are not meant to be played with so we have them displayed on a shelf and I am sure that we will be adding to their collections. Ever since these little guys have arrived, I have been experimenting in my mind with things that I would like to make. I can see a world of possibilities opening up and I for one will be following all the developments.
If you are interested in learning more about 3D printing, be sure to check out Cubify Fans which is Tom’s blog all about the new Cube 3D printer.
