Did I make a hobby horse from a hockey stick?
Yup.
And why stop there? Why not make a hobby dragon too?
Rawr.
Showing posts with label toy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label toy. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Kids' Cheesy Cardboard Camera
Hi everoyne!
Happy belated Earth Day!
Today I'll share about how I made this cheesy cardboard camera for Chuck. This crapt was inspired by his love for eating cheese and touching my camera. Here's what the camera looks like from the front:
And here's what it looks like from the back:Today I'll share about how I made this cheesy cardboard camera for Chuck. This crapt was inspired by his love for eating cheese and touching my camera. Here's what the camera looks like from the front:
Materials:
- small metal cylinder container with lid (or you could probably use a paper towel roll)
- can opener
- small, sturdy cardboard box
- craft knife
- scissors
- self-healing mat
- drill
- pencil
- 3 caps (I used 3 baby food squeeze pack caps)
- 3 brass fasteners
- packing tape
- lanyard (or string)
- disposable baking sheet (or plastic container lid or heavy duty aluminum foil)
- glue
- craft paint
- paint brushes and foam brush
- Mod Podge
1. I used a can opener to remove the bottom of my small, cylinder container. I made sure that the can opener made clean cuts so that I wouldn't cut Chuck's fingers. This cylinder became my camera "lens."
2. The photo below shows my original box. It was initially too big, so I chopped off a couple of inches off the right side of the box. I used the cut off bits to fashion a top for the camera.
4. I also cut a rectangle from in the top, right hand corner of the front of my camera. This became my "flash."
5. Hubby drilled five holes in my cardboard:
- Two holes in the back to insert my back red knobs
- One hole on my top piece to insert my top green knob
- A hole on each side of the camera to string my lanyard strap through the body
He also drilled a hole into each of my three caps. All the holes had to be big enough so that a fastener could fit through them.
Here's how the camera looked like with the top piece on:
I took this photo before cutting out the rectangle hole for the flash. |
7. Once the paint dried, I attached my "knobs", "lens", and "flash." I used the brass fasteners to fasten the knobs onto the cardboard pieces. I cut out a rectangle from my disposable baking pan and taped it over my rectangular "flash" hole. I used a lot of packing tape to attach my cylinder to the inside of my camera.
9. I strung lanyard through the body of the camera and then used glue and packing tape to attach the top piece to the body.
10. To further protect my paint job, I ended up putting a thin strip of packing tape on the edges of the camera. (I've noticed that paint chips off the edges first, so I made sure to protect those with tape.) I also put some tape near the lanyard hole in case the weight of the camera pulled on the lanyard and ripped the cardboard.
Phew. Once I was done, I couldn't help but smile a cheesy grin. (Hee hee.) Here are some photos of Chuck playing around with his new cardboard camera.
Say "Cheese!" |
Thanks for joining me on another crapty adventure. If you're interested in making other crapty cardboard toys, check out my cardboard guitar, cardboard rattle drum, cereal box elephant, or cereal box giraffe.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Make Eggshell dolls
During a recent trip to our library, I found a couple of old craft books showing how to create dolls from eggshells. I'd never seen this type of craft before, so I was super excited to try it out.
If you're like me, you have a thing for Matryoshka dolls... and fairy tales. (Random tangent time: As a kid I used to read tons and tons of fairy tales. Magical powers? Fairies? Elves? Yup. Yup. Yup. I loved it all. This love for fairy tales ended up morphing into a love of science fiction and fantasy novels later on... but I digress.)
If you're like me, you have a thing for Matryoshka dolls... and fairy tales. (Random tangent time: As a kid I used to read tons and tons of fairy tales. Magical powers? Fairies? Elves? Yup. Yup. Yup. I loved it all. This love for fairy tales ended up morphing into a love of science fiction and fantasy novels later on... but I digress.)
Here are my results:
Make Eggshell Dolls
I had fun making them... but I had way more fun decorating them. In my opinion, painting cute things is the best part about crafting.
If you'd like to make your own eggshell dolls, read on!
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Make a cardboard guitar
Whenever I play the guitar, Baby Chuck seems keen to join in. He pulls on strings, turns the tuning keys, and inevitably drops picks (and possibly raisins- ick) into the body. I figured he'd like his own guitar, so I made him this black and white cutie. It's the size of a ukulele.
(Why cow print? Well, whenever we ask him "What does a cow say?" he responds "Mmm mmm." Then we always cheer because that's close enough for us.)
Want to make your own guitar? Read on!
(Disclaimer: I got the template and directions from Make It and Love It. They wrote a really comprehensive set of directions packed full of lovely photos. Check out their post for detailed directions and cute kid pics. I'm posting up this set of directions because I did things slightly differently.)
(Disclaimer 2: This project takes a long time. Crapting helps me to relax, so I didn't mind.)
- Exacto knife
- Aleene's tacky glue (you'll need something stronger than Elmer's, hot glue didn't quite work for me)
- Scissors
- Nice cardboard (no bends or stains) <-- crap
- Ruler
- Drill
- Paint, paint brushes, Mod Podge
- 4 jumbo 7 inch rubber bands (purchased at Staples)
- 2 paperclips (I used jumbo sized ones, but I think 1 inch ones would work too)
- heavy books
2. Glue together two of your full length guitar pieces. Now you have a nice sturdy base. (You don't want your rubber bands to bend the cardboard.)
3. Cut out 4 rectangles out of cardboard:
4. Glue your two large rectangles, one on top of each other, about 1 inch below the cutout circles on your previously glued together guitar cutouts. Glue your two smaller rectangles, one on top of another, around the neck of your previously glued together guitar pieces.
5. Now it's drilling time. (Aka- Time to call hubby because drills totally freak me out.) Drill four holes approximately 1/3 inch below your larger rectangles and about 1/2 inch above your smaller rectangles. Honestly, the measurements aren't that important. You can just eyeball it. Just make sure that (a) your holes are evenly spaced and (b) four rubber bands could potentially be strung from one set of holes to the other. Oh yeah, when drilling the holes on the head of the guitar, try not to place the end holes too close to the edge of the cardboard. Otherwise your rubber band will periodically slide off...
6. Now it's painting time (Aka- Let's get funky and creative!)
7. You may notice that your cardboard starts bending. This isn't good because it will prevent your cardboard pieces from properly sticking together. Don't worry! Just use some heavy books to flatten your cardboard out. (Sadly, my two previously glued together guitar pieces were coming undone. I reattached them by squeezing in more glue between the crevices.) Let glue dry.
8. Now let's string the guitar! Cut your four jumbo sized rubber bands to make four long strands. Double knot each rubber band to a paperclip. Then, string your four strands through the holes in the neck of the guitar. Pull to make sure that your paperclip sits flush against the cardboard. Pull those strands down one by one through the holes in the body of your guitar. Double knot the strands to another paperclip. (I had some problems tying my middle rubber bands to the paper clip, so I just double knotted them to each other.) Trim all your excess rubber band bits.
9. Make four small indentations in your cardboard rectangle bits (on the front of the guitar) to keep rubber bands in place.
10. What? Aren't we done yet? No way. Crapting is not for the weary. Time to cover up the ugly rubber band ends and paper clips. Spread a thick layer of glue on the back of your newly strung guitar and glue on your third full guitar piece. Make sure the painted neck is shown. Apply pressure to make sure the pieces stick together. Then, glue on your small guitar body on top of that. Again, apply pressure.
11. Note: I found that my pieces wouldn't stay glued together because my jumbo paper clips were pretty thick. If you find yourself with this problem too, you may need to cut out two "wells" in your cardboard so that the paperclips have a nice place to rest. Then your cardboard pieces should sit nicely together.
12. Enjoy and rock out.
Phew. I'm exhausted. Time for bed. Goodnight!
(Why cow print? Well, whenever we ask him "What does a cow say?" he responds "Mmm mmm." Then we always cheer because that's close enough for us.)
Want to make your own guitar? Read on!
DIY Cardboard KidsGuitar
(Disclaimer: I got the template and directions from Make It and Love It. They wrote a really comprehensive set of directions packed full of lovely photos. Check out their post for detailed directions and cute kid pics. I'm posting up this set of directions because I did things slightly differently.)
(Disclaimer 2: This project takes a long time. Crapting helps me to relax, so I didn't mind.)
Materials Needed to Make a DIY Kids Guitar
- Already cut out and assembled guitar template (follow her directions on how to resize, cut, and assemble pieces)- Exacto knife
- Aleene's tacky glue (you'll need something stronger than Elmer's, hot glue didn't quite work for me)
- Scissors
- Nice cardboard (no bends or stains) <-- crap
- Ruler
- Drill
- Paint, paint brushes, Mod Podge
- 4 jumbo 7 inch rubber bands (purchased at Staples)
- 2 paperclips (I used jumbo sized ones, but I think 1 inch ones would work too)
- heavy books
Directions to Make Your Own DIY Cardboard Guitar:
1. Trace and cut out 4 guitar pieces out of your cardboard:- 3 full length guitar cutouts (with holes cut out of the center of them)
- 1 body only guitar cutout (cut your template at the dotted line and just trace out the bottom portion)
2. Glue together two of your full length guitar pieces. Now you have a nice sturdy base. (You don't want your rubber bands to bend the cardboard.)
3. Cut out 4 rectangles out of cardboard:
- 2 larger rectangles- approximately 3 inches x 1/4 inch
- 2 smaller rectangles- approximately 1 3/4 inches x 1/4 inch
4. Glue your two large rectangles, one on top of each other, about 1 inch below the cutout circles on your previously glued together guitar cutouts. Glue your two smaller rectangles, one on top of another, around the neck of your previously glued together guitar pieces.
5. Now it's drilling time. (Aka- Time to call hubby because drills totally freak me out.) Drill four holes approximately 1/3 inch below your larger rectangles and about 1/2 inch above your smaller rectangles. Honestly, the measurements aren't that important. You can just eyeball it. Just make sure that (a) your holes are evenly spaced and (b) four rubber bands could potentially be strung from one set of holes to the other. Oh yeah, when drilling the holes on the head of the guitar, try not to place the end holes too close to the edge of the cardboard. Otherwise your rubber band will periodically slide off...
6. Now it's painting time (Aka- Let's get funky and creative!)
- Completely paint one side of the smaller guitar body (I painted it cow print)
- Completely paint one side of your glued together guitar cutouts. (I painted it red and cow print.)
- Paint the neck of your third guitar cutout (That's the only part that will be showing in your final product
7. You may notice that your cardboard starts bending. This isn't good because it will prevent your cardboard pieces from properly sticking together. Don't worry! Just use some heavy books to flatten your cardboard out. (Sadly, my two previously glued together guitar pieces were coming undone. I reattached them by squeezing in more glue between the crevices.) Let glue dry.
8. Now let's string the guitar! Cut your four jumbo sized rubber bands to make four long strands. Double knot each rubber band to a paperclip. Then, string your four strands through the holes in the neck of the guitar. Pull to make sure that your paperclip sits flush against the cardboard. Pull those strands down one by one through the holes in the body of your guitar. Double knot the strands to another paperclip. (I had some problems tying my middle rubber bands to the paper clip, so I just double knotted them to each other.) Trim all your excess rubber band bits.
9. Make four small indentations in your cardboard rectangle bits (on the front of the guitar) to keep rubber bands in place.
10. What? Aren't we done yet? No way. Crapting is not for the weary. Time to cover up the ugly rubber band ends and paper clips. Spread a thick layer of glue on the back of your newly strung guitar and glue on your third full guitar piece. Make sure the painted neck is shown. Apply pressure to make sure the pieces stick together. Then, glue on your small guitar body on top of that. Again, apply pressure.
11. Note: I found that my pieces wouldn't stay glued together because my jumbo paper clips were pretty thick. If you find yourself with this problem too, you may need to cut out two "wells" in your cardboard so that the paperclips have a nice place to rest. Then your cardboard pieces should sit nicely together.
12. Enjoy and rock out.
And here are our two new cardboard instruments:
(Click here for directions to make a cardboard rattle-drum.)
Phew. I'm exhausted. Time for bed. Goodnight!
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Make a rattle-drum
Chinese New Year is quickly approaching. To help get us in the mood, I made this rattle-drum for Baby Chuck using directions I found in a book of crafts. Do you like the black and white? I chose those two colors to give it a modern look.
Wanna make your own? Here's how I did it.
DIY Musical Instrument: Cardboard Rattle-drum
Wanna make your own? Here's how I did it.
Friday, November 16, 2012
Crapty Fridays- DIY cardboard roll kaleidoscope
Last night I finally succeeded in crapting a cardboard roll kaleidoscope. Yes!
Please excuse me while I do a happy dance.
My crapting dreams finally came true. This was actually my fifth attempt at making a kaleidoscope. Yup, I tried four previous iterations and failed miserably. So here's a big virtual thank you to Genuine Mudpie for her beautifully detailed and photographed set of directions.
Thank you!
Please excuse me while I do a happy dance.
My crapting dreams finally came true. This was actually my fifth attempt at making a kaleidoscope. Yup, I tried four previous iterations and failed miserably. So here's a big virtual thank you to Genuine Mudpie for her beautifully detailed and photographed set of directions.
Thank you!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)