Art School

Making Fizzy Art with Baking Soda and Vinegar

2017-11-07T21:25:00.000-08:00

Spice up your art projects by making Fizzy Art. Why watch is dry naturally? With a little baking soda and vinegar, watch your work of art bubble to make an imprint on a piece of paper.

Here are some simple steps to get you started...

Materials:
Baking soda
Vinegar
Small plastic containers
Food Coloring
Medicine Dropers
Clean Paper
Spoon
Plastic Drawer or Large Plastic Container

Procedure:

1. To make your Fizzy paint, put small amounts of vinegar on your plastic containers. Add small drops of food coloring and stir the mixture.

2. Place a clean sheet of paper into a plastic drawer or large plastic container. I'd prefer using a plastic drawer as it gives you enough space to work around, minimizing the spillage, and it's easy to clean.

3. Using your spoon add a thin layer of baking soda on your sheet of paper. Spread it evenly over the sheet of paper so it can easily dry.

4. Using your medicine dropper, take some of your coloring mixture and spread it over your paper to form your desired pattern and watch the pattern sizzle onto your paper. Move the container gently from side to side to make interesting color combinations.

5. Let is dry a little bit in the plastic container to prevent the paper from tearing apart or your can
gently put it aside to work on another sheet of paper. Shake off the excess baking soda from your paper and hang it to fully dry.

6. Congratulations your done...

Abstract Art Using Marbles

2016-02-17T23:01:00.003-08:00

Art is truly fun and exciting. Make your own abstract art using marbles and paint. Do something fun with family and friends.

Materials:

Marbles
Any Water Based paint
Pallet or Container
Water
Paper
Spoon
Plastic container or carton box

Procedure:

1. Mix your favorite colors of paint into a pallet or container with water.

2. Gently place the marbles into the pallet or containers.

3. Put a sheet of paper inside your plastic container or box. For this example, I used an empty drawer from a plastic cabinet so I could easily clean the excess paint with soap and water when I'm finished.

4. Using your spoon, gently scoop out the marbles and place them on top of the papers.

5. Shake the container to roll the marbles on top of the paper to form your desired pattern. You can either use 1 marble at a time or use a combination of several colored marbles to produce different effects.

6. Congratulations your done...

Recycling Broken Crayons Into Fun New Shapes

2016-02-11T23:14:00.000-08:00

Don't throw away short or broken crayons. Set them aside and turn them into new and fun shapes. Mix and match different colors to make a new and exciting colors. Experiment with different molds to make an entirely new crayon and just have fun.

Here are some simple steps to get you started...

Materials:

Broken and short crayons
Cooking Oil
Brush
Rubber Molds
Stove
Tin can, Aluminum container, or frying pan
Oven Mitts

Procedure:

1. Collect short and broken crayons for melting. Make sure to remove the paper labels before melting.

2. Brush a little bit of cooking oil on the molding tray to avoid the crayons from sticking and to easily remove the crayons from the mold. Rubber molds are also better to use as you can turn them inside out to easily remove the crayons and minimize breaking.

3. Place the crayons inside your container and place it on top of the stove for melting. Mix and

match colors to produce different effects.

4. Using your oven mitts, gently pour the melted crayons into the mold. Set aside to cool. You could also put them inside a refrigerator for 30 minutes to harden the crayons. Try using different molds to produce crayons of different shapes.

5. Congratulations your done...

How to Make Your Own Mini Desktop Terrarium Gift

2015-03-30T23:51:00.000-07:00

Looking for some new and Eco friendly gift to give your friends on their birthday, or something to give away as a souvenir for a very special occasion? Why not try to make your own Mini Desktop Terrarium? It's low cost, Eco friendly and ideally suitable for people who are not good at taking care of plants. Who knows, It may even peak their interest and eventually lead them to starting their own home garden.

Here are some simple steps I did to make make my own Mini Desktop Terrarium...

Materials:

A Cactus or any small plant that is small, requires little water and can grow indoors and low lighting conditions though it would be nice to take it outdoors every once in a while.

A Glass Container

Marble Chippings, Small Rocks, Sand, Shells, marbles, etc.

A Glass container

Potting soil

Eco bag

Colored paper

Wooden Skewers

Glue

Procedure:

1. Choose which plant to use. For this Terrarium I chose a Golden Barrel Cactus, it can survive indoors, requires less water and grows slow.

2. Choose your glass container. Your can either use a drinking or wine glass, a fish bowl or any glass bottle you have at home. Be sure to clean it with soap and water. Towel dry to make sure that there is no soapy reside left on your container.

3. Add the marble chippings, small colored rock, shells or small marbles to your glass container. It's up to you whatever combination works for you. This will also help drain the excess water from the soil.

4. Add about 2 to 3 inches of potting soil to your mixture, or just about enough for your plant to take root.

5. Add your plant to the soil and cover the roots with more potting soil.

6. Decorate around your plant by adding more marble chippings, small colored rocks, shells, or marbles. the combination is up to you. I make about 20 of these, so i ran out of marble chippings during the process.

7. To make your gift extra special, print-out a little to attach to your terrarium. Give it a name, tell something about the plant, how to take care of it and the benefits of taking care of the plant.

8. Place it inside an Eco bag and your ready to give away to your friends.

9. Congratulations your done...

How I carved my first pumpkin for Halloween

2014-11-02T01:30:00.001-08:00

Halloween is fast becoming a popular in these parts of Asia. I myself was not really ready to jump into the band wagon, if not for my kids who were already at the age to appreciate the costumes, treats, candies, and the joy's of trick or treating. We never even planned to put up any decorations for Halloween. Unfortunately, during one of our trips to buy plants and seeds for our garden, We came upon some pumpkins for sale at The Garden Center in Mother Ignacia Quezon City. This can be found right beside St. Mary's QC just in front of Baluarte Resto Bar and Grill in Timog Ave. QC. Pumpkins are very rare and aren't freely sold in super markets so it was refreshing to see lots of them here. The pumpkins just looked to good that We couldn't resist to take one home. We chose a medium sized and not yet ripe pumpkin, for easy storage and could last us through Halloween.

We decided to carve the pumpkin and turn the pumpkin meat into soup. Here are some of the steps I did to carve our very first pumpkin:

1. Wipe the pumpkin dry with a paper towel and cut of the top of the pumpkin.

2. Using a spoon scoop out the seeds and the meat of your pumpkin. Don't throw away the pumpkin meat, you can still make them into a soup or dessert. There are a lot of recipes that can be found in the Internet.

3. A not too ripe pumpkin seems best for carving as the skin is still hard enough to last and won't crumble easily. However, the pumpkin meat may still be too hard for a spoon as you may need a hand held coconut grater to remove the pumpkin meat.

4. From this point you can either make your own Jack'O Lantern patter or you could download Lot's of free patterns from the Internet. Since this was the first time I was going to carve a pumpkin, I decided to download a free pattern from the Internet to be safe. I got the pattern from www.dtk-holidays.com.

5. Print the pattern and cut-out the pattern using your NT cutter. Be extra careful that you don't cut your hands.

6. Lay-out the pattern on the face of your pumpkin and secure it in place using tape.

7. Trace the pattern using a push pin by poking the pumpkin and making dotted lines along the pattern. Remember that you're tracing the pattern on a curved surface, so you may need to hold the pattern in place along the pumpkin's face.

8. Using a carving or pointed serrated knife, you can now trace the pattern and start carving you pumpkin. Please take extra precaution not to cut your hands.

9. Smoothen-out the edges with your knife to remove any excess.

10. You can now place a lighted candle inside your Jack'O Lantern and put back the top.

11. Congratulations, your done...

How to make Christmas Bells out of Plastic Bottles

2014-10-29T00:06:00.000-07:00

Christmas Bells have long been one of the symbols of Christmas. It has been used to decorate homes and Christmas trees. Christmas decorations won't be complete without these colorful bells. Why not try to make your own Christmas Bells out of plastic bottles and ordinary house hold items.

Materials:

Plastic Bottles

NT Cutter

Scissors

Soldering Iron

Round head fastener

Colored Tape

Ribbons

Yarn

Stickers

Glue Stick

Glue Gun

Keys, Nuts, Bolts, Coins, etc.

Acrylic Paint

Paint Brush

Procedure:

1. Thoroughly clean your empty plastic bottles with soap and water.

2. Carefully cut the top from the bottom parts of the plastic bottles using your cutter and scissors. Do not throw away the bottom part of the plastic bottles you can still turn them into a Flower Pot or Toothbrush holder. Towel dry to remove any excess water.

3. You may need to trim the top part of the plastic bottle into the desired size of your Christmas Bell.

4. Make a hole on top of the Plastic Bottle cap using your soldering iron enough to fit the Round head fastener.

5. To make a ringer for your bell attach either an old key, nail, nut, bolt, washer, coin or whatever you want to the end of your fastener using a string. Tie another string to the top for your fastener to hang your Christmas Bell. Secure them in place using your glue gun and glue stick.

6. Seal the Plastic Bottle cap using tape.

7. From this point there are number of ways you

could decorate your Christmas Bell. You could paint it with whatever design you want or just glue on any item to you want.

8. Any Christmas Bell won't be complete without a ribbon, so top it off with a piece of recycled ribbon from old presents.

9. Congratulations your done...

How To Turn Your Old CD's into a CD or Book Rack

2014-08-25T03:41:00.000-07:00

With the on-going development in technology and data storage, the use of CD's is slowly becoming obsolete. This leaves you with a lot of old and broken CD's for storage or disposal. So why not turn them into a CD rack to help you organize your CD's or use them as a book rack.

Here's a simple project to help you turn your old CD's into a CD or Book rack...

Materials:

2 Old CD's
3 Fax paper carton rolls
NT Cutter
Glue Gun
Glue stick
Colored Tape

Procedure:

1. Cut slits at both ends of your Fax paper carton rolls at least half an inch from the edge. These will hold your CD's into place.

2. Position two Fax paper carton rolls at the bottom of your CD's, this will serve as the base of your CD or Book Rack. Secure them together using your glue gun and glue stick.

3. Place the 3rd Fax paper carton roll at the side, to give added support to your CD rack to prevent them from falling out.

4. Use your colored tape to decorate your CD rack.

5. Congratulations your done...

How to recycle empty soda cans into flower pots

2014-05-02T16:52:00.000-07:00

Here's another useful way to recycle your empty soda cans. Instead of throwing them away, why not consider turning your empty soda cans into flower pots.

Materials:

Empty Soda Cans
Colored Tapes
Scissors
Nail
Hammer
Can Opener
Soil
Small Plant or Seed

Procedure:

1. Remove the top of your soda can using a can opener.

2. Thoroughly clean the soda can using soap and water. Towel try to remove the excess water.

Take extra caution in cleaning your soda can as there might still have sharp edges left on the top of your soda can.

3. Using a nail and hammer make some holes at the bottom of your soda can to help drain the excess water.

You may want to ask a friend to hold the soda can for you while you make the holes to keep it still and avoid accidentally hitting your hands with the hammer.

4. There are a lot of ways to decorate your soda can. However, for this activity I've decided to use colored tape. You can either just roll it around your soda can or you can also make patterns.

For other examples of how you can decorate soda can or plastic bottles you may also want to check-out the following links:

http://artiskul.blogspot.com/2013/09/staining-glass-bottles-using-vitrail.html
http://artiskul.blogspot.com/2013/12/toothbrush-holder-from-recycled-soda.html
http://artiskul.blogspot.com/2014/03/how-to-recycle-your-empty-soda-bottles.html

5. You can now add some soil into your flower pot and place your seed or plant inside. I chose a cactus for the plant as it is easy to maintain, can be placed inside the house or office, and is supposed to help reduce emissions from electronic devices.

6. Congratulations, your done...

How to recycle your empty Soda Bottles into 3D Character Flower Pots

2014-03-25T12:26:00.000-07:00

Are you accumulating so much empty soda bottles? Why not turn them into something useful instead of just throwing them away? Here's a simple way where you can recycle your empty soda bottles into 3D character flower pots.

Materials:

Plastic Bottles

NT Cutter

Scissors

Acrylic or Poster Paint

Crafts Glue

Paint Brushes

Soldering Iron

Old news papers/used coffee filters

Soil

Small plant or seed

Procedure:

1. Thoroughly clean your empty plastic bottles with soap and water.

2. Carefully cut the bottom parts of the plastic bottles using your cutter and scissors. Towel dry to remove any excess water.

3. Use a soldering iron to make holes on the bottom of your plastic bottles to help drain the water.

4. Choose a design for your flower pot. This can range from cartoon characters, fruits, & objects, it's up to you. For this project, I chose to use a minion design. Cover the soda bottle with layers of news paper or coffee filters until you form your desired shape. Crumpling or folding the news paper will make it faster to form the shapes. Just cover it up with layers of news paper to smoothen out the edges.

5. You can now color the body of your flower pot using a mixture of acrylic paint and glue. 1 part paint to 1 part glue should do. This will help protect the paint and the news paper from getting wet.

6. While we're waiting for the paint to dry, We'll now be making the eyes for your minion. Using a piece of empty carton roll from your fax paper. Cut 2 pieces of about 1 inch long.

7. Apply glue on one end of your carton roll and stick it into a piece of paper and cut-off the excess.

8. Color the sides with silver colored acrylic paint and let it dry.

9. For the eye balls you can put a dot in the middle using your permanent marker or can use googly eyes for added effect.

10. Glue the eyes onto your minion flower pot.

11. Using a mixture of glue and water. Paint your minion flower pot to protect it from getting wet.

12. Once dry, you can now add some soil into your flower pot and place your seed or plant inside. I chose a cactus for the plant as it is easy to maintain, can be placed inside the house or office, and is supposed to help reduce emissions from electronic devices.

13. Congratulations, your done...

How To Make a Soap Dish out of Recycled Plastic Bottles

2014-02-15T09:20:00.000-08:00

Here's another way you can recycle your empty plastic bottles and help save the environment.

Materials:

Plastic Bottles

NT Cutter
Scissors
Acrylic or Poster Paint
Crafts Glue
Paint Brushes
Soldering Iron

Procedure:

1. Thoroughly clean your empty plastic bottles with soap and water.
2. Cut the bottom parts of the plastic bottles using your cutter and scissors. Towel dry to remove any excess water.

Take extra care when handling sharp objects such as you can accidentally cut yourself. Please make sure that this is done under the supervision of an adult.

3. Use a soldering iron to make holes on the bottom of your plastic bottles to help drain the water.

Soldering irons can get extremely hot. Please take extra care when using a soldering iron as you can burn yourself our accidentally cause fire. Please make sure that this done under the supervision of an adult.

4. Now your ready to decorate your Plastic Bottles. There are actually 2 ways you can go about it:

a. Take a piece of paper and draw your desired design on it. Cut your design place it inside the soda bottles. Now you can trace the design using a mixture of 1 part acrylic paint and glue.

b. Or go crazy and go free style.

Click here to see more...

5. Congratulations your done...

Toothbrush Holder from Recycled Soda Bottles

2013-12-29T23:02:00.000-08:00

Do your part and find a good use for those empty Soda Bottles. Why not try using those empy Soda Bottles and turn them into something useful? Why not try turning them into a Toothbrush Holder.

Materials:

Empty Soda Bottles
Cutter
Scissors
Paint brushes
Palette
Acrylic Paints
Glue
Soldering Iron

Procedure:

1. Take a few pieces of empty soda bottles and wash them thoroughly clean.

2. Cut the bottom parts of the soda bottles using your cutter and scissors. Towel dry to remove any excess water.

3. Use a soldering iron to make holes on the bottom of your soda bottles to drain the water.

4. Now your ready to decorate your Soda Bottles. There are actually 2 ways you can go about it:

a. Take a piece of paper and draw your desired design on it. Cut your design place it inside the soda bottles. Now you can trace the design using a mixture of 1 part acrylic paint and glue.

b. Or go crazy and go free style.

5. Congratulations your done...

How To Make a Christmas Star from Drinking Straws

2013-12-21T04:42:00.000-08:00

Make your own Christmas Decor to hang on your Christmas Tree. Why not use drinking straws to make your own Christmas Stars.

Materials:

Bendy Drinking Straws

Tape

Colored Tapes

String

Scissors

Procedure:

1. Take 5 bendy straws and lay them down to form a star.

2. Fully stretch the bendy straws and connect the ends. The bendy part of the straws will serve as the corners of the star. Make sure to secure the ends with tape.

3. Decorate the straws with colored tape. You can use 1 or a combination of colors to decorate your straws. You can also try using straws of different colors to produce a different effect.

4. You can now form a star using your straw and secure the ends with a piece of tape.

5. Cut a piece of string and tie it to your star so you can hang it. You can hang it to your Christmas tree, any part of your house, or you could even decorate the plants in your garden.

6. Congratulations your done...

How To Make a Christmas Lantern from Drinking Straws

2013-11-23T01:45:00.000-08:00

Christmas is just around the corner. Why not try something different. Get into the spirit of Christmas and start making your own Christmas Lanterns from Drinking Straws.

Materials:

Bendy Drinking Straws
Tape
Glue Gun
Glue Sticks
Cellophane
Colored Tape
Used Ribbons

Procedure:

1. Take 5 bendy straws and lay them down to form a star.

2. Fully stretch the bendy straws and connect the ends. The bendy part of the straws will serve as the corners of the star. Make sure to secure the ends with tape. Make another star to serve as the back of your Christmas Lantern.

3. Cut 10 pcs. of straw 1 inch in length.

4. Use the 1 inch pcs. of straw to join the 2 stars together and secure them using your Glue Gun and Glue Stick.

5. Cover the frame of your Christmas Lantern using your Cellophane and secure it in place using tape.

6. Highlight the outlines of your Christmas Lantern using colored tape.
7. Add some effect to your Christmas Lantern using pieces of ribbbons.
8. Congratulations your done...

Create Your Own Santa Minion from Plastic Cups

2013-11-09T04:56:00.001-08:00

Wondering what to do with all those disposable plastics or paper cups used to hold your drinks? Here's a colorful and fun way you could try doing. Why not turn those plastic & paper cups into Santa Minions for your Christmas decorations.

Materials:

Plastic/Paper Cups
Platics Container for Jelly Candies
Old News Papers
Glue
Poster or Acrylic Paint
Brushes
Red Colored Paper
Cotton
Old/Scratched CD
Glue Gun
Glue Stick

Procedure:

1. Before starting, make sure that you clean your plastic/paper cups with soap and water. Towel dry to make sure that there are no water droplets left on your plastic/paper cups.

2. Crumple a piece of news paper into a small ball and attach it to the top of your plastic/paper cup with glue. This will make the top of the head of your Santa Minion rounder.

3. Start covering the entire plastic/paper cup with news paper until you've entirely cover it and achieved your desired shape.

Tip: Use a mixture of 1 part glue & 1 part water to attached the news paper unto your plastic/paper cup. Use a brush to help you spread the mixture.

4. Attach your plastic/paper cup to the shinny side of your CD using your glue gun and glue stick. This will make your Santa Minion stand up better and reduce the chances of being knocked over

.

5. To make the eyes of your Minion take a pair of used Jelly Candy containers. Make sure to clean it with soap and water. Towel dry to make sure that there are no water droplets left on your Jelly Candy Container.

6. To make the Goggles, roll a piece of news paper and cover the sides of your Jelly Candy Containers
using glue. Make an extra roll of news paper to be used as the strap for the goggles. Color the goggles with gray poster color or acrylic paint.

7. To make the hat, take a piece of red colored paper and roll it into a cone. Tape the ends with tape. Take strips of cotton and glue it at the ends & tip of the hat to give it some fluff.

8. Now that We have the pieces set, We can now start to form our Santa Minion. Glue the eyes of your minion in place using your glue gun and glue stick & Add the strip of paper to form the strap.

9. We can now start to add color to our Santa Minion using your poster color or Acrylic paint. In classic Minion fashion, color the body yellow. In the spirit of Christmas We'll color the jumper red. Color the eye balls white & the goggle strap black. Let it dry for a few minutes before adding the details.

10. Add details using black poster color or acrylic paint. Trace the outline of the colors, draw the mouth and eyes.

11. Attach the hat using glue. You can also add arms & hands using sipping straws for arms & news paper for hands.

12. Congratulations your done...

Staining Glass Bottles Using Vitrail Glass Paint

2013-09-14T08:21:00.000-07:00

Staining Glass Bottles is relatively a simple and fun way to recycle your empty bottles and turn them into something useful and nice to look at.

Materials:

Clean Empty bottles
Vitrail Glass Paint
Thinner or Acetone
Rags or Tissue paper
Medicine droppers
Measuring cups

Procedure:

1. Thoroughly clean used bottles with soap and water. Make sure that there is no dirt or left over water or substance left in the bottle.

2. Make sure that it is dry before you begin with Staining Your Glass Bottles.

3. Were using Vitrail Glass Paint for this project. Vitrail Glass Paint which comes in a variety of colors, cost about Php 100++ from National Book Store. Since, it's quite expensive to buy them all I've just decided to try 2 colors (blue & Yellow). For this project, I used 8 oz bottles. I wanted to know how much paint would be needed to cover the entire bottle, so I used medicine droppers and measuring cups. After a few trials, I found that it would take 5 ml or 1 tsp of Vitrail Glass Paint to cover 1 bottle. Covering the entire inside of the bottle takes much patience and quite challenging if your using pure Vitrail Glass Paint. Using the available thinners from National Book Store is quite expensive if your just be needing a small amount, just enough to help the Vitrail Glass Paint to flow smoother. So I decided to try to use Acetone to dilute the paint. After a few trials, I found that 1 drop of Acetone using a medicine dropper per 1 ml of Vitrail Glass Paint should be enough to cover the entire bottle.

Caution: Be careful not to get any of the paint on your clothes as it is quite difficult to remove.

4. After mixing the paint you can now gently pour it inside the bottle and cover it with cork or a bottle cap.

Caution: You may want to use a face mask to cover your mouth and nose as the fumes from the paint and thinner could be quite irritating to children and those people sensitive to strong smells.

5. You may now begin covering the bottle with paint by gently swirling the bottle from bottom to top. Make sure that you don't miss any spots.

Below is a sample video on how to cover the entire bottle with paint.

6. Allow enough time for the paint to dry.
7. Congratulations your done...

Make Your Own Desktop Pen Holder from used tape carton rolls

2013-08-24T00:26:00.000-07:00

Don't just throw away the left over carton rolls from used tapes, you can use them to make something useful like a Desktop Pen Holder.

Materials:

3 Used Tape Carton rolls

Card board

Glue

Scissors

Poster Paint

Paint Brush

Procedure:

1. Using your carton roll, trace it's outline on a piece of card board.

2. Carefully cut the outline and attach it to one side of your carton roll. This will become the base of your Desktop Pen Holder.

Extra care must be taken when using sharp objects and is preferred to be done in the presence of a supervising adult.

3. Apply glue to the top of your carton roll and place another carton roll to make the 2nd layer.

Though it's ideal to use carton rolls of the same thickness, you may want to try combinations of carton rolls of different thickness to produce various effects.

4. Do the same for the 3rd layer if you wish to make your Desktop Pen Holder higher.

5. Now that your Desktop Pen Holder is formed. It's time to customize it and apply your design. You could either color it by layer or add stickers or other designs.

After finishing your design, make sure to give it enough time for the glue and paint to dry properly to make your Desktop Pen Holder stronger.

6. Congratulations your done...

How To Color Glass Bottles Using Correction Fluid

2013-06-29T12:16:00.001-07:00

Don't just throw away your glass bottles. There's a ton of cool stuff you can make with your old glass bottles. Why not recycle your glass bottles into cool containers or flower vases. Here's an easy way to color your glass bottles using correction fluid and colored markers.

Materials:

Empty Glass Bottles
Correction Fluid
Different Colored Permanent Markers
Colorless Nail Polish

Procedure:

1. Thoroughly clean your empty glass bottles with soap and water. Wipe dry with a piece of cloth towel.

2. Cover the the outside of your glass bottles with correction fluid. I've found that though it's easier to use a correction fluid with a sponge type applicator, the tip also easily comes off with frequent use. So better use a correction fluid with a brush type applicator or just use Cotton Buds for your applicator. You may want to cover your nose though when using correction fluid as it gives off a distinct smell that may be irritating to sensitive nostrils or small children.

3. Though correction fluid dries pretty fast, better set time for the correction fluid to dry properly. You may need to touch up on the glass bottle from time to time and a dry base coating of correction fluid work just fine.

4. Once dry you can now put the design on your glass bottles. If you sketch your design on a piece of paper before you transfer it to the glass bottles to see how it would look. Use Black colored markers on the edges of your design for effect.

5. To protect you design, you could apply a thin coat of colorless nail polish to you glass bottles. Set it to dry and Congratulations your done...

How To Make Paper Spirals

2013-06-10T21:01:00.000-07:00

Paper Spirals are nice to look at and relatively simple to make. Ever wanted to make your own Paper Spiral. Here's a simple way how you can create your own Paper Spirals to play with or use as decorations.

Materials:

Colored Paper
Pencil
Scissors
Compass

Procedure:

1. Using your compass, draw a circle. You can use plates or bowls if you don't have a compass. Just remember the bigger the circle the bigger your spiral will get.

2. Cut the circle using your scissors.

3. Proceed to cut a spiral by carefully cutting inside the circle until you reach the middle.

4. Congratulations your done. But you don't have to use a circle every time, You can also use an oval shape for your spiral.

Check out the sample video for your reference:

Make your own Rocket Ship from Carton Boxes

2013-05-13T00:43:00.000-07:00

Every child dreams of one day reaching the stars and to see what goes beyond it. Dreams of all the wonders and mysteries of the universe and to boldly go where no man has gone before. Good news is that you don't have to be a Rocket Scientist or a member of Star fleet. With the use of old Carton Boxes and a lot packaging tape, you can make your own Rocket Ship and continue your dream of visiting distant worlds and galaxies.

Materials:

Old Carton Boxes

Packaging Tape

Double Sided Tape

Colored Tapes

Plastic Cups

Aluminum Plates

Carton Rolls

Dried-up Permanent Markers

Glue Gun

Glue Stick

Poster Paint

Bottle Caps

Styrofoam

Scissors

NT Cutter

Procedure:

1. Choose a large enough Carton Box to serve as the body of your Rocket Ship. Make sure it's clean and free from any unwanted left over chemicals. Fold the cover inside the box to strengthen it.

2. Get a smaller Carton Box or a Shoe Box and attach it to one end of your Larger Carton Box with double sided tape and packaging tape. This will serve as the front of your Rocket Ship. You could later on, make an incision on top of this box so you could have an extra compartment where you could store toys or other small stuff.

3. Get a smaller Carton Box and Cut it in half, this will serve as the wings of your Rocket Ship.
Attache it to the sides of your Rocket Ship with double sided and packaging tape. Applying glue stick will strengthen your Rocket ship.

4. Now that You've finished the body of your Rocket Ship you can now start decorating and adding some accessories. However, it would be better to paint your Carton Boxes before putting them together as painting over the tape, could get quite tricky. To make the steering wheel of your Rocket Ship, cut a piece of Styrofoam enough to fit inside the front of your Rocket Ship. Using the empty Carton Roll from your fax paper, gently insert it through your Styrofoam and attach it to the Carton box using your Glue Gun.

5. For the Steering Wheel, make a small hole in the middle of your aluminum plate and gently attach it to the Carton Roll. Secure the end with double sided tape to prevent the Aluminum Plate from falling.

6. For the Rocket Boosters, you can use the Carton Roll from your packaging tape and a plastic cup. Attach it to the back of your Rocket ship using your Glue Gun.

7. For head lights, you could attach a pair of plastic cups to the front of your Rocket Ship using your glue gun.

8. Were almost there. No Rocket Ship would be complete w/o it's own laser gun and missiles Remove the caps from your dried-up permanent markers and cover it w/ colored tape.

9. Attach the caps of your permanent markers to empty carton rolls from your fax paper using tape and cover the body using colored tape.

10. Attach them to the wings of your Rocket Ship using your glue gun. You can attach bottle caps inside your Rocket Ship as buttons.

11. Congratulations your done...

Coin Bank from Medicine Bottles

2013-02-01T19:43:00.000-08:00

Turn your empty medicine bottles into something useful and fun. Make your own Coin Banks from empty medicine bottles. Teach your children the value of saving money while having fun.

Materials:

1 Empty Medicine Bottle
Tape
Clay (white)
Poster Paint
Brush
Glue
Pencil or Marker
Correction fluid
NT Cutter

Procedure:

1. Make sure to thoroughly clean your empty medicine bottles with soap and water. Wipe dry with a piece of towel. You don't your kids accidentally ingesting or having contact with any chemicals that may have been left inside the bottles.

2. Seal the Cap with Tape.

3. Decide on the design of your Coin Bank and draw the outline using pencil or colored markers.

4. There are several ways decorate your Medicine Bottles, however, for this project We will be using clay as our medium. Using small pieces of clay carefully mold the outlines of your design. Attach the clay to your medicine bottle by applying a thin layer of glue. Continue doing this until you have covered the entire outline of your medicine bottle.

5. You may now paint over your design using your poster color. You may need to cover your design with layers of paint. You can also apply correction fluid to the smooth surfaces of your bottle to make your paint stick. Allow your Coin Bank to Dry.

6. To protect the color your Coin Bank your can apply a diluted layer of glue (1 part water mixed with 1 part glue) and let dry.

7. Using your NT Cutter make an incision at the back enough for coins to fit.

8. Congratulations your done.

Make Your Own Family Tree Collage

2012-10-26T20:45:00.001-07:00

Make a Collage to show your family tree...

Materials:

1/4 Illustration Board
Crafts Glue
Colored Yarn/String
Colored Sand
Colored Pebbles
Cotton
Poster Paint
Googly Eyes
Pencil
Scissors
Medicine dropper/Spray bottle

Procedure:

1. Using a pencil sketch the design you want to make on a piece of Illustration Board.
2. Apply an even amount of glue to the trunk of your Family Tree and gently place the colored pebbles in place (You can find them in bookstores and craft shops). Maneuver them in place using a piece of stick.

3. Apply an even amount of glue on the outline of the sun and trace it using your colored yarn/string. Cut off the excess string using a pair of scissors. Place a pair of googly eyes for effect.

4. To make the ground, apply an even amount of glue to the outline and gently sprinkle some green colored sand. Spread it out evenly using a piece of stick and set to dry.

5. To make the leave of the tree, apply an even amount of glue to the outline and gently layout pieces of cotton on top and allow to dry.

6. To color the leaves, in a container mix 1 part of water w/ 1 part green poster color and mix thoroughly. You have 3 options to color the leaves of tree:

a. Put the mixture in a spray bottle and spray it on the cotton.
b. Use a Medicine dropper to color the cotton.
c. Or use cotton to absorb the mixture and drop it on the leaves.

Note: Cotton takes a longer time to dry than usual, you can spread it up by using a hand dryer but too much application will burn the cotton.

7. One your collage is dry, you can now label it, put your family pictures, or make the finishing touches. Congratulations your done...

Tissue Paper Roll Christmas Lantern

2012-10-06T08:04:00.000-07:00

A useful project for Tissue Paper Rolls. Create Christmas Lanterns using Tissue Paper Rolls.

Materials Needed:

Tissue Paper Rolls
Used Christmas Gift Wrappers
Yarn
Glue
Scissors
Used Ribbons from Gifts
One hole Punch
Poster Paints
Paint Brush
Stapler

Procedure:

1. For this project there are 3 ways to decorate the Tissue Paper Rolls, which will serve as the body of your Christmas Lantern.

A. Cover your Tissue Paper Roll with used Christmas Wrappers. Don't throw away the wrappers of the Christmas Gifts that you receive, you can always re-use for future art projects.

B. Cover your Tissue Paper Roll with yarn. You can also use other materials to decorate you Tissue Paper Roll.

C. Decorate your Tissue Paper Roll with Poster Paint. Use your imagination and design your Tissue paper roll with poster paint.

2. Cut Strips of the used ribbons (at least 3 Inches in length) to decorate the bottom of your Christmas Lantern. Staple the ribbon strips to the bottom of your Tissue Paper Roll.

3. Using your One Hole Puncher, make 2 holes on the top of your Tissue Paper Roll. Tie a piece of string through the holes which you will use to hang your Christmas Lantern.

4. Congratulations your done..

How to make a boat out of Sipping Straws

2012-06-03T04:05:00.000-07:00

Play around and create your own toy boat using Sipping Straws.

Materials Needed:

A lot of Sipping Straws
Scissors
Tape
Glue Gun
Glue Sticks

Procedure:

1. Using your Sipping Straws form a diamond type shape which will serve as the top of your boat. Fasten the end of the straws together using tape.

2. From your diamond shape you now start forming the frame of your boat. Fasten the end together using tape.

3. Piece by piece start to construct the body of your boat by carefully laying out pieces of straw one on top of the other until you cover the entire frame of your boat. Fasten them together using tape.

4. To make you boat float on water you need to make balancers for both sides of your boat. Tape together 2 pieces of straw and gently insert it through the front side of your both. Do the same for the end.

5. To create the floaters, tape two straws together and connect them to one side of balancers. Do the same for the other side.

6. Reinforce your boat by adding some glue from your glue gun.

7. Congratulations your done...

Toy Tank from Recycled Materials

2012-03-30T08:13:00.000-07:00

Get creative and build your own Toy Tank with ordinary household materials and do something useful with your junk...

Materials Needed:

3 pcs. Tissue Paper Carton Rolls

Card boards

Masking Tape

Silver Tape

Double Sided Tape

Scissors

Cutter Knife

Pen

Ruler

Procedure:

1. Cover the ends of your Tissue Paper Carton Rolls with the Silver Tape. You could also use ordinary paper or colored paper to cover the end of your Carton Rolls and secure them with tape.

2. Tape together your Carton Rolls with Masking Tape. This will serve as the wheel for your Toy Tank. You can also use Duct Tape or any colored tape.

3. Using a piece of Card Board draw a rectangle big enough to cover the top of your Carton Rolls. This will serve as the base for your Toy Tank. Draw an extra 1/2 Inch at the ends of your rectangle to serve as your tanks bumper and fender.

4. Cut your rectangle and make small incisions at the ends enough to fold the edges. Attach your Card board rectangle to the Carton Rolls using double sided tape.

5. To make the top of your Toy Tank, Draw a square on a piece of card board and draw trapezoids on the sides of your square. Add an additional

1/4 Inch to the edge of your pattern.

6. Cut your card board pattern and fold it. Fasten the edges together using double sided tape. Attach it to the base of your Toy Tank using double sided tape.

7. Roll a piece of card board and hold it in place with tape. The size is up to you. This will serve as your Toy Tanks Gun.

8. Attach your Gun to your Toy Tank using Tape.

9. Congratulations your done... You can now color your Toy Tank or load it up with more ammunition...

String Art

2012-02-19T02:33:00.000-08:00

Create your own work of art using a piece of string and a lot of imagination.

Materials Needed:

A piece of card board

Crafts Glue

String

Glitters

Pencil

Procedure:

1. Using your pencil, draw different shapes on your card board.

2. Trace the edge of your drawings with glue.

3. Gently, layout a piece of string on the edge of your drawings until you form the outline of the shapes on your piece of card board.

4. Allow it to dry for a few minutes.

5. Go crazy and decorate you String Art with glitters or anything you can find in your drawer...

6. Congratulations your done...