Franz Kafka, 1912

your life is not an optimization problem

Finding me elsewhere

I'm not going anywhere for the foreseeable future (I enjoy it here! I like being able to receive and answer asks very easily, and keep up with the blogs I follow!), but if you want to cover all your bases, you can find me at:

Bluesky (hpowellsmith)

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itchio (hpowellsmith)

The Choice of Games forum (HarrisPS)

Appreciation post // favorite video games Inspired by this post

DIY Tutorial - Bottle Cap Pins

I was asked to show how i make pins so this is what i do to make a pin from shit around my house. If youre a can tab collector like me, you’ll like this one too. (Ps, in the photo above, mine are a lil scuffed because i wear these on my every day jacket so that can happen too so beware)

Supplies

- Metal bottle cap, you can get those from beer bottles or sodas, usually theyre found on a lot of glass bottled drinks, ive also found them discarded on the road and sidewalks

- Can tab, any works for this really, as long as its not like huge or somethin

- Safety pin, you can use whatever size for this part really, i would think the only issue is if the safety pin is too small. Mine are about an inch

- Pliers, it doesnt have to be needle noses or anythin, just pliers

- Superglue or hot glue, this is entirely optional for makin this more stable

- Paint/paint marker, mod podge/varnish, nail polish and clear nail polish, etc, this is technically optional but thats the stuff you would use to customize said pin

The steps

1.) Use your pliers to flatten down two of the back edges of the bottle cap, if you wanna keep the design upright, do this on either side of the design on your cap.

2.) Bend your can tab slightly in half, very slightly, not too tall.

3.) slide your can tab into the back of the bottle cap vertically, the bent edges should be on the left and right of your tab.

4.) Slide your safety pin with the pin/pointy side facing up into the can tab with either end of the safety pin nesting in the flattened edges from before, you can do this through that middle rung on the tab if you want, i never do.

5.) bend all the edges of your cap down and around the tab in the middle, you can sorta control the shape here if you choose to. Also beware that this might scuff up the front, it typically does for me

6.) Now you have a pin, at this point you can glue it for extra hold on the can tab or the back of the safety pin if you want or you can design the front of the pin with paint or markers, id imagine you could even print a design to glue onto the front if you want a pin with a certain photo but ive never tried it personally.

After that youre done and have the ability to make pins with anything you want on them now !

spongebob web graphics

requests are open!

“A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it. It just blooms.”

— Zen Shin Talks

— Trista Mateer, from “i still forget we’re not even friends”

Love how by late game in stardew valley you can cast spells and teleport and change the weather and talk to animals and commune with spirits and dwarves and shadow entities but the only person who even acknowledges that you aren't a normal farmer and you've literally become a wizard is the one other wizard in town