Tuesday, 6 October 2009 by Irene Hoofs
Texture Words Book by Kristen Sutcliffe from New House Project
Use materials with interesting textures to make a fun book for your baby or toddler.
What you'll need:*Scraps of materials with interesting textures. (Try textured *papers, fabric, household items, etc.)
*Spiral-bound book with blank pages. (I used a watercolor pad because the pages were nice and heavy.)
*Exacto knife
*Glue (Bookbinding glue will work really nicely.)
*Glue brush
*Binder clips
*Computer/printer
Step one:Gather together your textured materials. The watercolor pad that I bought had 15 pages, so I needed to find seven items--one for every other page.
Step two:Leave the first page of your book for the cover. On the next page, use an exacto knife to cut a square out of the center of the paper. Continue to cut a square out of every other page of the book.
Step three:Cut your textured items into squares a little larger than those that you cut out of the book. You are basically going to sandwich the textured items between two pages of your book.
Step four:Use book-binding glue and brush to glue your pages together. Use binder clips to hold the pages together while they dry. (You could use another type of glue, but the bookbinding glue is nice because it is strong and it dries nice and flat. You can find it at an art supply store.)
Step five:Print out some text to add to your book. I just did some texture vocabulary words, and a simple title.
This would make a nice gift for a baby or toddler. Or just pass it on to your child to enjoy!
..New House Project..
Saturday, 12 September 2009 by Irene Hoofs
Jumping Cup Handmade Toy by Kristen Sutcliffe from New House Project
Make a simple toy using cups and rubber bands. I made a flying rocket and a jumping frog, but there are lots of other possibilities with this project.
What you'll need:*2 disposable cups (paper or plastic will both work)
*2 rubber bands
*scissors
*different colors of paper scraps
*double-sided tape
*clear tape
Step one:
Use different scraps of paper, and cut out the shapes that you will need to decorate your cup as a flying rocket (or jumping frog, rabbit, kangaroo, etc.)
Step two:
Cut both rubber bands so that they are no longer circles. Tie one knot on each end of both rubber bands.
Step three:
Cut four small slits into the rim of one of the cups. (One cup will be used as is, so do not cut both cups.) Then stretch the rubber bands across the rim of the cup and slide each end into one of the slits. The knots should be enough to hold the rubber bands in place.
Step four:
Use double-sided tape to decorate your rubber band cup and turn it into a rocket ship.
Step five:
Use two pieces of clear tape to make two small tabs on opposite sides of the cup. You will hold these tabs to launch your rocket.
Step six:
Your rocket is ready to go. Place the regular cup on the ground. Put the rocket cup over it and pull down on the tabs. Then let go to see your rocket fly. Please supervise your children while using this toy!
..New House Project..