Turn any printer into a wireless printer with a Raspberry Pi

Once you've bought a wireless printer, you never want to go back to the dark days of having to plug in all the time. But good wireless printers are expensive, and many routers that let you make network printers out of USB ones don't necessarily do all the driver-work for you.

With a $25 RPi Model A, a $2 power supply, a $5 SD card and a $5 USB Wifi dongle (be sure to find one supported in Raspbian or other OSes) you can turn any printer from the CUPS printer list into a wireless network printer. A lot of added functionality for under $40!

If you look for a laser printer from the early 2000s on that list, chances are it will be heavily supported and very efficient with toner, not to mention cheap.

Step 1: Set up your OS

This is pretty simple stuff if you know anything about the RPi, so I won't tell you much about it, but if not the foundation has made an awesome instructional page.
Any OS should do, but make sure it has WICD for easy setup!

If you can't find it on your OS, here is a good guide to setting it up from scratch.


(Check out this guide to installing Raspbian if you need help.)

Step 2: Setting up CUPS to print

CUPS is a printer driver to make Linux work more like Windows with printers.

To install it, type this into terminal:

sudo apt-get install cups

After that add yourself to the CUPS admin files, with

sudo usermod -a -G lpadmin username

Since CUPS doesn't have a standalone GUI, you connect to it with a web browser. Find your IP address by typing in

ip addr show

Then enter into a web browser your ip address followed by a colon then CUPS default port number of 631.

Click the "printers" tab and find the driver for your printer model. Install it, then print a test page.

Step 3: Sharing Your Printer

Once you have the printer working with test pages, you need to go to the printer's profile then under administration set it to sharing.

Step 4: Finished

Your PiPrinter should be showing up from any other machine on the network as if it were a shared printer. (Note the @RaspberryPi)

Rename it and give it a location if you want! Use "Generic Postscript printer" on your connected machines since CUPS on the Pi is handling the printer-computer driver relations.

How to make a vase for a single flower

I introduce a way to reuse burnt out a light bulb to the vase for the single flower.

Step 1: Materials 

Prepare materials, burnt out the light bulb, pliers, a hammer, an awl, a bolt

Step 2: Remove Parts

Remove metal parts of the tip with the use of pliers.

Step 3: Break a Grass

Break a grass of the tip with the use of the awl.

Be careful not to cut your fingers with the piece of broken glass!

Step 4: Pierce a Filament

Pierce a filament in the light bulb

Step 5: Wipe Off

Wipe off silica powder in the light bulb with waste cloth

Step 6: Transparency

Turn the transparent light bulb.

Step 7: Finished

Credit to Ishiyasu in Instructables.

Quick Easy Leather Mask

You will need:
Pencil
veg tanned leather, 4-6 oz
olfa knife (box cutter) with a fresh blade
beveling tool (optional)
tragacanth gum (also optional)
burnishing tool/edge slicker (even more optional)
hot water (not optional)
acrylic paint (preferably soft bodied) and/or leather dye (assuming you want to paint the mask after)
All of the leather masks are made with vegetable tanned leather. Everyone has a preference; I prefer to work with 5-6oz leather, which has a weight and thickness that I find molds best and yields the best results. Some prefer lighter leather, but I like a bit of substance – much heavier though and we would be better off making armor.

Step 1: Trace Desired Mask Pattern

Leather with the pattern traced onto the back side.

Step 2: Cut Out The Mask

Mask right side up, all cut out.

Once the mask blank is cut out, the edges need to be examined: often they will have snags or burrs, especially at tight corners. Any delicate corrections can be made, before moving on to the next step – beveling the edges. Some people skip this part but I feel it makes the finished piece look that much more finished. If you don’t have a beveling tool though, don’t fret! Your mask will be fine.

Step 3: (This Step Applies If You Have A Beveling Tool)

This step also helps to smooth out any of the snags that you may have missed, and creates a nicely rounded edge (after you've burnished it).

Step 4: Soaking And Molding The Mask

Once this is done, you are ready to soak the mask in hot water for approximately 5 minutes or until you stop seeing bubbles forming on the underside of the leather. The hotter the water, the less time you will have to sculpt it after, and the harder it will end up. If the water is really hot you will also notice more shrinkage. Tempting as it may be, do not attempt to create boiled leather, by dousing your project in boiling water. I tried

I started molding while it was drying. When it is removed from the water, the leather should be flexible and soft. Lay it on a towel for... well, you have a while. Initially, the leather is too wet to maintain any form. You can heat it with a hair dryer or in the oven (on VERY low heat!), but I prefer to let nature take its course. After a while, you will be able to mold it and the leather will start to hold the shape. The best way to make sure that the mask is a comfortable fit is to mold it from time to time upon your own face, or the face of the intended wearer if they are accessible.

Step 5: Let It Finish Drying, Then Paint

Sculpted mask drying on a Styrofoam head.

Once you are satisfied with the shape, prop it on your face, or a convenient replacement, until it dries fully. Depending on the leather, humidity, heat of the water and such, you will likely have up to a few hours afterwards where small reinforcing pinches or tweaks can be made to the design, but the overall mask is the way it is going to be. Let’s let it dry for a day or two, and you’re ready to paint!

Credit to DxwDude in Instructables.