I used to love making paper snowflakes when I was a kid, but there was always a problem of structural fidelity. If you cut an overly intricate pattern, the flake would be more air than paper; it was thus really hard to open the flake up, and and once open, it would flop all over the place, like a doily from hell. Being a math-nerd kid, I was continually trying to create Xtreme snowflakes with deranged fractal patterns, but it was totally frustrating.

Imagine my joy, then, to discover Make-A-Flake, an online app that allows you to create a virtual pattern! Much, much easier to go to town with whatever byzantine pattern you can dream of. That one above I did on my first try.

As we slowly but methodically replace all the homespun joys of childhood with their virtual replicants, there’ll be no reason for the kiddies to ever leave the keyboard.

(Thanks to Incoming Signals for this one!)