Ancient Sword Prop

All throughout the internet are a thousand and one ways to come up with a pretend sword or weapon of some sort. Being someone who has been fascinated with sword fights in movies, I found my son's need for a prop blade to be an opportunity for me to (likewise) pretend to be ~ a sword-smith.;D

A prop weapon inspired by a traditional Filipino sword the talibong.

 I practically did not spend a thing for this project. For the 'blade' I used a thin but sturdy PVC material that I covered with a silver paper salvaged from a chocolate box packaging.

You had only need to look around to find PVC on used folder, clear book or notebook covers and other office supplies. I found it better than using corrugated board because it is thinner and stronger and much easier to draw from sheath if ever your prop sword would require one.

For the sheath and handle I used corrugated board covered with paper and decorated with aluminum inner milk-can seal with pressed-in design to resemble engraved metal. A heat glue gun should easily hold all the materials together.

DIY Faux Gold Armband

Thanks to my son's school activity, I was forced to find a way to create a faux gold armband for his ethnic costume. Luckily all the materials needed (which consisted of just 2 main items) can be found just around the corner. 

It was that of a pintados (painted) prince costume that inspired this project.

 Materials needed:

 ~ duct tape, metallic gold wire and a paper pattern cut to fit.

The paper pattern should be in the shape of a trapezoid with slight angles on the sides.

 Procedure:

Step 1: Prepare the duct tape by laying a portion down ( sticky-side up) the table; if the tape is not wide enough for the band, stick two pieces together then cut and shape according to the paper pattern.

 Step 2: Stick the metal wires on the duct tape one by one. The length of each should exceed the length of  the tape by about half an inch on both sides. Carefully curve the wires as you go along.

Step 3: Fold in the exceeding wire ends on the 'wrong' side of the band.

Step 4: Cover the folded ends of the wire with a small piece of tape so as not to cause any discomfort.

Step 5: Curve the band all the way till you achieve the desired result.

Armbands are integral and defining to many kinds of costume and to those who need to come up with a pair asap, I hope this post helps.

Red, Black and White Infant Mobile

 According to research, young babies' eyes are attracted to high contrast patterns and in colors red, black and white. Mobiles designed with that in mind grab their visual attention, promote brain development, keep their mind in pursuit while getting their diapers changed for instance and will therefore work very much to your advantage.

 This is the high contrast pattern mobile I made for my infant son few years ago. I've no sewing patterns or step-by-step guide to offer this time but only some ideas for inspiration.

All stuffed shapes here is hand stitched. I already have red and white fabric from previous projects but was out of black so I cut from an extra black shopping bag instead.

Cube

Pyramid

 Star 

Rainbow, Moon, Heart and Sun

Lady Bug

To hold everything together I made this round frame below out of  2 pieces corrugated board about a foot in diameter.

It was then covered in cloth ribbon after every string was attached.

An infant mobile basically made out of scratch.

Creativity Quote ~ E.B. White

“Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder.” ~ E.B. White

Designer Chair Inspired Miniature

Today's project draws inspiration from the creative genius of world-renowned designer Kevin Cobonpue. From one of his television interviews, according to him, he takes much of his inspiration from nature. His creations are known for their organic elements in both design and material, and for their exemplary craftmanship.

It may relieve you to know however that no weaving will be required for this diy miniature project; just hot glue, a bunch of floral wires and a cork or two will do.

    

Things needed are: floral wires, 1 or more corks, washers, a pair of scissors, glue gun.

(1) ~ (2) Cut Floral wires to desired length, about 3.5"-~4" is suggested. (3) Hot glue wires to the cork in batches. (4) Attach washer to the base of the cork as stand.

 For practical purposes, this miniature may also be used as a place card holder. You may experiment with other materials to go with the floral wires or tweak up the design a bit, like say by twisting the wires or something like that. Inspiration sure begets inspiration, so thank you gifted designers for enriching the world with your creativity and innovativeness.

Creativity Quote ~ Eriko Horiki

“I didn’t know what I could or couldn’t do and therefore thought I could do anything. In this sense, I was a person that did what I didn’t know I couldn’t do.”- Eriko Horiki

Papier-Mache Dinosaur World

Dinosaurs though extinct for millions of years can still pretty much roar and live in the imagination of young children everywhere, and my son is no different. Now at seven-years old, that fascination still shows no sign of fading-away. Making them/ with them a little dinosaur world is a guaranteed path to their heart's fondest memory. Papier-mache is a practical and easy medium to work with; you just need some scrap paper from your recycle bin, some starch, paint, and a fairly sunny weekend.

Papier-mache can be executed by stripping scraps of paper and pasting them to shape or on to a mold- layer by layer; another way is to make paper clay by mixing little pieces of paper with cooked starch.

How to Make Paper Clay

(1)Paper pulp - Made by processing torn pieces of paper with little water into a blender. Strain afterwards.

(2)Starch glue - Made by cooking a little starch dissolved in water. You'll know it's cooked when the mixture becomes transparent.

(3) Paper clay - Mix the paper pulp and the starch glue to a right consistency, and by that it means not too runny.

Papier-Mache Dinosaur World

For this miniature world, I decided to create separate land forms to give free rein to the player's(my kids) imagination and to make storage more convenient. This project also has the secret mission to familiarize my children specially my preschooler with the different land forms.

Volcano Island

A volcano is imperative in a dinosaur world.

An old plastic plate was used as base for the island. An upside down plastic cup was set on the plate with some tape, then covered with paper strips using starch glue and an outer layer of  paper clay for texture. Plastic trees and plants can be stuck in directly to the land form or separately by paper-mache-ing them inside plastic bottle lids

Mountains and Valley

More upside down plastic/ paper cups set on an ice cream tub lid covered by more paper strips and paper clay. Drying can last several days depending on the thickness and the intensity of sun.

Hills, Cave and Plateau

For the cave, cut an opening at the side of a paper cup before covering.

Paper clay pulps can be piled on selected spots for vegetation or terrain texture. The final look will be dictated largely by how well the land forms are painted. It is best to observe from pictures or actual surroundings. Generally for both vegetation and terrain, it is usually the topmost part that appear lighter; use the darker tone to add depth and dimension.

Kawaii Faces on Hearts

Kawaii faces

Kawaii-faced hearts for V-day, why not? Kawaii graphics are easily obtainable using the internet, but for those interested to draw them by hand without having to measure everything along the way, here are the steps in pics and a few simple tips:

Tip#1  Start at the center to easily achieve symmetry.

Tip#2  Mind how the details of the face align to each other.

Creativity Quote ~ Tuli Kupferberg

When patterns are broken, new worlds emerge ~ Tuli Kupferberg

3D Paper Fruits and Vegetables

A simple way to make 3D paper fruits and vegetables is to cut out a shape in duplicates of 3 or more; fold the pieces together at the center and open, then sew with needle and thread at the crease to hold them as one.

Scraft-o Toy: Milk Carton Dog Trick

It only takes a couple of minutes to complete this trick. Amuse your kids on a rainy day over a warm drink with a Scraft-o toy creation or encourage them to come up with their own.

Butterfly Decor from Paper Umbrella

The holiday season is over and so is the string of parties, family gatherings and dinners. You've probably got your hand on a paper umbrella in one of your drinks. Here's another way of using parasol picks to decorate a future party, because one can never plan early enough. 

(1-2) Pull the tiny rubber band up to fully open the umbrella, (3-4) make 3 cuts toward the center with 3-2-3 umbrella spine intervals (paper umbrellas have 8 spines). Mind which two umbrella spines to assign as the butterfly's antennae (as most of these are irregularly spaced).

(5) Carefully tear paper where 'antennae' spines are projected, trim antennae to proportionate length. (6) Cut curve at the sides where the two lower wings are supposed to be, you can also cut the tiny part of the spines that peek at the sides. (7) Cut the wooden pick right below the band. (8) Decorate with them anyway you like: make a wall statement by using a double-sided mounting tape; or string them together to make a dainty garland.

Very simple to make, craftventure your way to these butterfly's papery transformation.

Here's to a colorful year ahead.

Creativity Quote ~Albert Einstein

Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions. ~Albert Einstein