Needle and Thread

A Huge Collection of Embroidered Temari Spheres by an 88-Year-Old Grandmother Temari balls, a form of folk art originating in China, are often created by parents or grandparents as a special gift for children on New Year's Day. Flickr user NanaAkua photographed this amazing collection of hundreds of the geometric spheres created by her 88-year-old grandmother.   Creative Compulsive Disorder: Remembering Zina Nicole Lahr This short clip about artist and maker Zina Nicole Lahr may be as tragic as it is beautiful. Earlier this fall Lahr approached her friend Stormy Pyeatte and asked if they might shoot a quick video for her portfolio. Only a few weeks after the completion of the video Lahr was killed in a hiking accident in Colorado.     No Reverb Added: An Acoustical Experiment in Drumming With a cheap plugin almost every hack producer on Earth can give their mix the acoustic properties of exotic locations like the inside of a auto body shop or a the middle of a wide open field. But, as you can see here, digital reverb is no substitute for the real thing. Audio Zero and Wikidrummers filmed drummer Julien Audigier playing the same beat in a variety of locations and then stitched it all together into one glorious clip, sometimes mixing different locations in a single fill.   New Paper Hummingbirds by Cheong-ah Hwang Korean paper artist Cheong-ah Hwang who is currently based in Columbus, Ohio creates delicate paper sculptures that blur the line between 2D and 3D art using dimensional illusion. The paper is cut and layered to give the final object depth and form, but remains essentially a flat piece.   Macro Bee Portraits by Sam Droege and the USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab Sam Droege is the head of the USGS Native Bee Inventory and Monitoring Program in Maryland, an organization that monitors the health and habitat of bees in the U.S. as well as creating archival reference catalogs that aid researchers in the identification of bee species in North America. With what are often extremely subtle differences separating the thousands of bee species in North America, Droege needed incredibly high resolution photographs to properly identify them. These gorgeous images are the result.   Photographer Víctor Enrich Imagines the Same Building in Munich Configured in 88 Ways Victor Enrich is known for his warped and skewed interpretations of architecture in locations around the world. As a part of his latest project NHDK, the photographer challenged himself to digitally reconfigure the same building in Munich, Germany in 88 different configurations.   Misty Traffic Lights in Germany Photographed by Lucas Zimmermann These eerie images were captured by photographer Lucas Zimmermann on a very foggy night in Weimar, Germany.   Beneath the Surface: Sublime Underwater Portraits by Samantha French Born and raised in Minnesota, artist Samantha French wanted to explore her memories of swimming in the northern part of the state as a child. This series of portraits portray people in and out of the water in the midst of perfect, tranquil moments, gracefully captured in oil paints.   Last Minute Gift: Colossal Shop Gift Cards We know, there's just way too many awesome things in the Colossal Shop to choose from (and lots of new stuff coming soon). So when you're looking for a gift how are you supposed to find the perfect item from all that awesomeness? Impossible! But don't worry, with a Colossal Shop gift card you can give that impossible choice to someone special. And since it's all digital and instant, there's still plenty of time for that last minute gift. Happy holidays.