Rocking Bird DIY

Materials

1. Foam
2. Safety pins (2)
3. A nail
4. Small circle made of cardboard
5. Small piece of steel wire
6. Toothpick
7. Drawing of a bird made from paper
8. Glue

Method:

1. Open both the safety pins wide and make sure the space between them is the same.

2. Push the safety pin to one end of a foam piece and the second pin on the other end.

3. Next take the circle made out of cardboard and make a hole in the center.

4. Push the steel wire in the center of the circle.

5. Next push the nail in the side of the circle as shown. This will provide the weight.

6. Draw a bird and its wing separately out of paper and cut it out.

7. Take the wing and put glue on its side and stick it in the middle of the bird. Make sure not to put glue in the center of the wing. The toothpick will be passed through here.Once the sides are stuck put the toothpick through the center of the wing.

8. Push the other end of the toothpick on the opposite side of the nail as shown.

9. Pass the steel wires through the loops of the safety pins keeping the bird in the center.

10. As simple as that. Tilt the bird forward and let it go. The bird will oscillate back and forth for a short time.

Moving Cardboard Puppet

Materials required:
1. Cardboard
2. Scissors
3. Sticky Tape
4. Scissors
5. Thread

Method:
Make a drawing or stick a picture on a cardboard and cut it out. My drawing is of a girl playing badminton.

While drawing the picture keep in mind to draw the parts you want to be moved separately. Here in my picture i want the girls hands to move. So i drew both the hands separately. Make the hands a bit longer than usual. You need to place the moving parts behind the main picture so it needs to be a bit longer.

Place the moving parts behind the picture and once you are happy with the way it looks poke holes in both the parts

Pass the paper fasteners through the hole. Make sure that the paper fasteners are not tightly fit in the holes. Keep it loose else the moving parts will not retract properly.

Next take a piece of thread and stick it across the two hands at the back. Use sticky tape.

Take another piece of thread which is a bit longer and tie a knot in the middle of the first thread.

Cut any extra thread and the moving puppet is ready

To see it in action just pull the string down. The hands will move up and down showing the girl playing badminton.

For the video tutorial click below

Door Sign

Hi Friends,
This is a fun project to do for your kid or even your selves i think. So basically i made a door sign that you can hang on the handle of your door. The sign will indicate if you are busy or free. Depending on your interest you can make different kinds. So lets get started.
You need the following items:
1. 2 Cardboard pieces
2. Sketch pens/color pencils
3. Glue
4. Thread for hanging
5. Paper fastener
 
1. Take a cardboard piece and cut a circle shape from it. Take the second cardboard piece and cut a circle shape but with a slightly protruding part as shown below.


As you can see in the first cardboard in the picture the protruding part will help us move the circle to the desired part. Draw a line in the middle of that cardboard.

2. In the plain circle shaped cardboard draw or stick your desired picture. My daughter likes to do her homework or read a book without being disturbed. So i drew a picture of a girl reading a book. You can draw any picture you want. If you like music draw a picture of yourself playing a guitar or beating drums or just singing.
In the other cardboard where you drew the line paint or color one half red and the other half green.

As you can see in the picture i have colored one half of the book. The other half where the wavy lines are drawn needs to be cut. Make sure you do this in any picture you have drawn.

3. Once done find the center point of the circle on which the picture is drawn. Place the other circle below and poke a hole in the center. Take a paper fastener and put it through the hole.


4. Once done you should be able to move the circle freely indicating your current status.


5. Stick a thread to make a look behind the first circle and hang it on your door.

Cereal box stationary organizer

Do you have a lot of empty cereal boxes which you want to recycle? Converting them into a stationary organizer or drawers is a good way to reuse them.
You need the following items:
1. Cereal boxes of different sizes/biscuit box/soap covers
2. Paint
3. Color paper
4. Glue
5. Decorative tapes/embellishments
 
1. Take the Cereal box and cut all the extra flaps. I have used biscuit cover and soap covers too for this project. I have cut slanting lines from the top of the boxes on both sides to give the boxes a shape. You can leave them as it is if you want.


2. To make the boxes a little more sturdy i covered it with pieces of newspaper and stuck them with a glue paste made out of equal amounts of glue and water. Once done leave them to dry. Once they are fully dry you can either paint them or just cover it with decorative paper. I did both.


3. Now its time to arrange them. Since i had boxes of different sizes i decided to place them according to their heights. You can arrange them in whichever way you like. I used some color tape and embellishments to decorate it.

 
4. Put you craft accessories or stationary accessories and your organizer is ready.

Cardboard box ATM / Piggy Bank

This is another cool project that you can do for your kids. My daughter has a piggy bank which is the usual pink pig with a lock and key. The only thing she does not enjoy about it is that she has to use the key if she wants to remove a Rs.1 or Rs.2 coin. So i thought it would be cool to make a piggy bank from which she could remove the coins easily. So lets get started.

You need the following items:
1. A cardboard box
2. A tissue roll
3. Paper cutter
4. Color paper

1. Take the cardboard box and place the tissue roll on the top part of the box . Draw around the base of the roll and cut it out.



2. Make a slit in the middle of the box. This is the place where the ATM card will be pushed. So the slit needs to be made to the size of the card.


3. Push the tissue roll through the hole made on top of the box till you reach the ATM slit. Place a small cardboard piece just below the slit made for the ATM card as shown below. Make sure that the size of the cardboard piece is just enough to cover the tissue roll.


4. Make another slit on the base of the box for the coins to come out.


5. Finally place another cardboard piece in a slant position as shown below.


Check out the video here:

Fun Paper Project

So guys i am a little confused as to what name i can give to this project. It is a fun project that uses a DC motor, an on/off switch, fan and paper. I reused the motor and fan from the Wiggle bot project. The only extra thing you need is a small piece of cardboard and some sketch pens. So lets get started.
 
You need the following things:
1. DC motor
2. Fan
3. On/Off switch
4. Small piece of cardboard
5. A base to hold the motor. You can use a small cardboard box

1. Connect the DC motor to the On/Off switch and place the fan on the motor. I used a thermacol as a base for the motor but it kept falling off when i switched on the motor. So use a stronger base to hold the motor.


2. Place the fan on the motor and put a double sided foam tape on the fan Place the cardboard piece on the fan.

 

3. Switch on the motor and use your sketch pen to make cool designs

Wagging tail Cat

This is a fun project that you could do for your kids. My daughter loves Cats and so i decided to do something that involved a cat after seeing it in an art and craft show on TV.
You need the following:
1. Cardboard
2. Straws
3. Bamboo skewers or sticks
4. Paint
5. Pipe cleaner
6. Magnet
7. 2 Crazy balls
8. Few pompoms
9. Masking tape

1. Draw a cat on the cardboard and cut out the shape. Make two of them. Cut the tail separately. Take a rectangle cardboard strip which will be the mount for the Cat. Mark 4 lines in front and 4 lines at the back with a 1/2 inch gap. This will be the place where the cats will stand. Paint them in the color of your choice.


2. Take 2 crazy balls or small rubber balls and cut them in half.




3.Make 2 holes in one end of the tail cut out.


4. Take the magnet and pass the pipe cleaner through it. Cover it with a masking tape.




5. Pass the other end of the pipe cleaner through the first hole of the tail and cover it with a masking tape.


6. Take 2 straws and place it in under the mount board as shown below.


7. Place the 2 cat cut outs as shown.


8.Pierce holes near the place where the tail will go in both the cat cut outs.


9.Take a small piece of the bamboo skewer and pierce one end in the hole of the cat at the back. Put a bead or pompom next, then push the stick in the second hole of the tail, put another bead or pompom and finally push the stick in the hole of the cat in the front.


10.Take a bamboo skewer and poke one end in one crazy ball, put it through the straw and poke the other end in another half of the crazy ball. Repeat for the second straw. Now give a nudge or a push the cat will go forward wagging its tail.


Check out the video here:


Add a thread in the front of the mount board and just pull the cat and check out its wagging tail

How to make a cardboard box TV

This project can done with a few simple items that you can find at home. So lets get started.
You need the following items:
1. An old cardboard box(I used a box that held a glass mug)
2. Strips of cartoon or any pictures that you like
3. 2 old sketch pens or wooden sticks
4. Decorative items like glitter, paints, etc
5. Glue
6. Scissors/Paper Cutter
 
1. Take an old unused cardboard box. I used a box that had my coffee mug. A box usually comes with a cover and two flaps. I have cut the flaps and the cover is at the top of my display. This make it easier when you have to place the cartoon strips inside.


2. Take some cartoon strips or pictures that you want to display on the box. I used some cartoon strips from my daughters magazine that she liked.


3. Arrange the strips in a line and stick them together to form a rectangular long strip.


4. Take the strip and place it on the box and mark the place that needs to be cut. This will be the space where you will display the cartoon strip.


5. Make 4 holes on the cardboard box, 2 on the top and bottom of the left hand side and 2 on the top and bottom of the right hand side. The sketch pens will be place through these holes.


6. Take 2 old sketch pens or if you have take 2 wooden sticks. Place one of them at the end of the cartoon strip (right hand side of the strip). Put some sticky tape and stick the sketch pen to the paper.


7. Start rolling the strip towards the start of the cartoon. Once you reach the first strip stop rolling. Take another sketch pen and stick it to the first end of the strip.


8. Now take this rolled cartoon strip and carefully place it inside the box through the holes.


9. To make it more realistic place a clear plastic or acetate sheet on the display part of the box.


10. Decorate it as you like and your TV is ready. My daughters idea of decorating anything is with glitter so i just left it all to her. To make your TV work all you have to do is roll the left hand side of the sketch pen. Once the story finishes just roll the right hand sketch pen. Now i noticed one thing with sketch pen is that i could not roll it from the top because the sketch pen cover kept moving and not the pen. So if you have wooden sticks it would be better to use them instead.


Check it out in action