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A maiden visit to Maker Faire (photos)

Here's a look at this year's Maker Faire, as seen through the eyes of a first-timer, CNET's Ina Fried.

Ina Fried

May 24, 2010 12:02 p.m. PT

Ina Fried

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Lego Jeep

The Lego Jeep, curated by Kevin Mathieu, made a stop at Maker Faire, but is also available for private parties and street fairs.

That was just one of many things CNET's Ina Fried saw during her first visit to Maker Faire.

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Microsoft's T-Shirt cannon

Microsoft's Clint Rutkas took his T-shirt cannon on the road to Maker Faire.

The current version uses off-the-shelf parts, is powered by Windows, and can launch from a Windows Phone. However, it also costs in excess of $10,000. Rutkas is working on the design for a much-lower-end version that can be built for just a tiny fraction of that cost.

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Ace of Cakes, here I come

Provo Craft showed off its just-released Cricut Cake, which takes the same approach to cutting foodstuffs that the original Cricut took to cutting paper into patterns.

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Cricut Cake in action

Here, the Cricut Cake does its stuff on some gum paste, cutting out a butterfly and a snowflake.

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Etch-a-sketch art

Among the myriad DIY art on display were these images painstakingly drawn on an Etch-a-Sketch.

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Now that's some fake blood

Hot Blood, seen here, is a moldable, non-toxic fake blood that can be positioned using a hot glue gun. It was one in a section of macabre crafts.

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No speeding ticket

One of the few things I couldn't get to work was this speedometer vest, which was supposed to light up and tell how fast I was cycling. Perhaps I didn't get it over the minimum speed.

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Where did I put that funny bone

Who couldn't resist a life-size version of the board game Operation. Unfortunately, its creator was at lunch when I stopped by, so I wasn't able to reaffirm that I made the right choice by skipping med school.

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Simmering paella

Although this simmering pot of paella was impressive, I decided to go with a spinach and potato knish instead.

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On-demand poetry

My only actual purchase of the fair was from this woman, who cranks out poems in less than three minutes on the subject of one's choosing. I'm a sucker for anything that is made on a typewriter.

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Like silly putty, only less silly

One of my favorite finds of the day was Sugru, a moldable silicon created by Irish inventor Jane Ni Dhulchaointigh. The substance feels a bit like Play-Doh or Silly Putty, but it interacts with the moisture in the air to harden and form a bond with nearly any substance it is placed on.

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Sugru on sale

Sugru can be worked with for about a half hour before it starts to cure, fully hardening in a day, depending on its thickness and the air temperature. It was shown being used to create a moldable handle or joining two tools together, among other things.

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You are what you eat

Just before heading out, I climbed inside this giant cupcake for a photo op. There were other of the mobile, oversized pastries roaming around Maker Faire.