Accordion Paper Decoration

Accordion Paper Decoration

Add a splash of color and texture to your walls!

Supplies

  • Paper
  • Scissors
  • Tape

Instructions

  1. Accordion fold a piece of paper on the short side into half inch pleats
  2. Cut the piece of paper in half on the short side so you can tape together the pleats into one long strip.
  3. Make sure the pleats line up, trim if necessary
  4. Tape together pairs on one side of the pleats to gather the pleats into a fan shape.
  5. Repeat, taping together taped pairs to hold the shape.
  6. If the paper is curling towards one side, flip the fan over and tape together pairs of pleats on the other side to balance out the fan.
  7. Optionally, tape the bottom together to hold the fan more open or closed.

Origami Box

Origami Box

Make cute little storage boxes for your desk!

Supplies

  • Paper

Instructions

  1. Make a square piece of paper
  2. Fold the paper into 8ths (folding in half lengthways, vertically and diagonally)
  3. Fold in all four corners to the center to make a smaller square
  4. Fold this smaller square into thirds on both axis to create lines that separate the square into 9 tiny squares.
  5. Open up one of the corners of the smaller square, then fold in the left and right tiny squares in the top row until it brings in one of the walls of the boxes. There will be a little triangle sticking up. Tuck that in.
  6. Repeat on the other side.

Candles

Candles

Make some trendy bendy candles!

Supplies

  • Long candles
  • Hot water

Instructions

  1. Soak candles in hot but not boiling water for 10 minutes or until pliable
  2. Slowly mold candles, adding more hot water as needed to keep candles soft.
  3. Make sure the candle can be balanced on a surface.

Vision Boards

Vision Boards

Create a vision for 2021!

Supplies

  • Board (corkboard/paperboard/cardboard)
  • Adhesives (tape, push pins, putt)
  • Decoration (magazine cutouts, stickers, drawings, ornaments, written goals)

Instructions

  1. Create a collage to inspire you through 2021!

Yarn Pom Poms

Yarn Pom Poms

Add some festive flair with yarn pom poms!

Supplies

  • Yarn
  • Scissors

Instructions

  1. Hold on to one end of yarn between your fingers
  2. Wrap yarn around your 4 fingers 200x or depending on how full you want your pom pom to be.
  3. Cut off the other end of the yarn and use the 2 ends to tie a knot around the center of the yarn loop. If you slide it off your hand, make sure to hold onto the shape of the yarn.
  4. Tie the ends together tight, then trip the loops with scissors, taking care not to cut the center loop
  5. Trim into sphere shape.

Flip Book

Flip Book

Bring any notepad to life!

Supplies

  • Pencil
  • Pen
  • Paper Pad

Instructions

  1. Plan out your animation path, keeping in mind how many frames/pieces of paper you’ll need.
  2. To give your animation more life, keep in mind the 12 principles of animation
  3. Flip back and forth between pages, outlining your animation with pencil.
  4. Flip through to check your pacing
  5. Trace with pen when you’re happy with it!
cardboard automata

Cardboard Automata 2

Designing your own Automata

Build on your skills from the first Cardboard Automata to begin designing your own!

Supplies

  • Cardboard
  • Scissors
  • Wooden Dowels/Skewers
  • Glue
  • Straw

Instructions

  1. Using inspiration from other automata, design the movement you want your automata to have.
  2. Cut out a box with one side exposed, stick in wooden dowel for the central turn mechanism
  3. Arrange your other cardboard pieces
  4. Glue down non-moving cardboard pieces, mark where you’ll have moving cardboard pieces.
  5. Consider the range of movement of the wooden dowels that will move your cardboard pieces when designing your gears.
  6. Place feet on moving wooden dowels to better slide across gears.
  7. Use straws to help guide wooden dowels and reduce friction.
  8. Assemble your pieces together and test before gluing in place. This may take some trial and error. Consider changing the direction of spin, making gears more smooth and moving pieces around.
  9. Decorate!

Cardboard Automaton

Cat Chasing Mouse Automaton

Learn how to make an automaton of a cat chasing a rat! This is a beginner friendly crafts project that will help you understand the basics of the mechanics behind these projects.

Supplies

  • A cardboard box
  • Two skewers
  • Straw
  • Artwork you’d like to see spin
  • Scissors
  • Glue

Instructions

  1. Get a cardboard box and use scissors to cut off the bottom and a side
  2. Using one of the pieces you cut off, cut a small strip of cardboard
  3. Using another piece you cut off, cut two circles with the same diameter
  4. Grab the straw and cut off a piece that is 2cm long
  5. On the top of the box, puncture a hole large enough to fit the straw
  6. On the sides of the boxes, puncture two holes that are across from one another
  7. At the center of the circle, puncture a hole in each
  8. Stick a skewer through a circle and glue them together
  9. Repeat step 7 for the other skewer and circle
  10. Stick one of the skewers through the top hole of the box and cut the remaining end of the skewer. You should have a decent length of the skewer sticking out of the top of the box
  11. Stick the other skewer through the sides of the box and cut off any excess wood. You should have a decent length to spin the skewer
  12. Make sure that the top hole’s circle is sitting on top of the other circle
  13. Take the piece of straw and put it through the top of the box. The straw should be stuck inside the hole of the box with the skewer inside the straw
  14. Grab the cardboard strip and fold the edges of the cardboard away from one another
  15. Glue the cat onto one end and the mouse onto the other end
  16. stick the top skewer through the middle of the cardboard strip
  17. Spin the skewer on the side to see the cat chasing the rat!

Radial Symmetry

Radial Symmetry

Make some cool art!

Supplies

  • Paper
  • Pencil
  • Pen
  • (optional) Coloring pencils, crayon, markers

Instructions

  1. Make your paper into a square.
  2. Fold the paper into a triangle into 8ths.
  3. Draw a pattern on one of the 8ths.
  4. Unfold and trace your pattern with a pen or darker marker.
  5. Fold the paper in half and trace your pattern on the other side of the paper. It would be helpful to have some light underneath your paper.
  6. Keep folding and tracing until you filled every 8th of your paper.
  7. Color it in if you want to!

DIY Jumbo Chalk

DIY Jumbo Chalk

Relive your childhood with some jumbo sized chalk!

Supplies

For the mold:

  • Toilet paper roll
  • Parchment paper
  • Tape
  • Scissors

For the chalk:

  • Cornstarch
  • Water
  • Dye

Instructions

  1. Cut toilet paper roll and tape it to the desired size of your chalk.
  2. Line the sides and bottom of the toilet paper roll with parchment paper and seal it with tape.
  3. Mix equal parts cornstarch and water together or to a thick consistency. Add drops of food coloring for color. (If using natural dyes, the natural dye is quite watery so substitute the water for the dye)
  4. Fill the molds with this mixture
  5. Let dry 12 hours or until solid
  6. Unwrap from the molds.
  7. Use to your heart’s desire! Cleans really easily with a wet paper towel.