50_Magnetic Racing Track

Some say electric cars are the future, but what about magnetic ones?

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

It will take you about half an hour to make a magnetic racing track with a racing car.

You´ll need:

_A small, thin cardboard box, about 20 cm high x 20 cm wide x 2cm deep

_A few sheets of white paper, enough to wrap the box

_Pencil and a black fine liner or felt tip pen

_Coloured pencils, markers or crayons

_2 wooden sticks (lolly sticks) or one long flat stick. You could also use a ruler or something similar.

_2 magnets

How to make your magnetic racing track and car:

1. Wrap the box in white

2. Draw the track in pencil. You can add some details like trees and other cars.

3. When you are sure about your drawing trace over the pencil with the felt tip pen and add colour.

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

4. On a separate piece of paper draw a car as if you were looking at it from the top.

5. Cut it out and stick one of the magnets on the back.

6. Glue the 2 sticks together to make one long stick and glue the remaining magnet on one end.

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

7. Put the car on the track and the stick and magnet inside the box to move the car around.

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

There you go… Car that races without you touching it!

Think of other things you could make using this idea… what about a horse race track or a theatre set… a magnetic maze perhaps?

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

Enjoy!

(Thanks Manuel, Ana, Lore and Chabs for your help and ideas)

49_Glover

The only hand puppet with multiple personalities…

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

Really quick and easy, this one will take you about 30 min. to make.

You´ll need:

_A glove (an old or odd one)

_Different colours of felt

_Felt tip pen

_Scissors

_UHU glue

How to make a handy puppet:

1. Cut a couple of felt circles, a bigger one, about 2cm in diameter in white, and a smaller one in black.

2. Stick the black circle on the white one to make an eye.

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

3. Put the glove on. Put your 4 fingers and thumb together as if to make a mouth and stick the eye on the side of your index knuckle.

4. Cut a little drop like shape on red felt and stick it in the middle of your hand to resemble the puppet´s uvula.

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

Personality one done:

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

5. Cut more eyes in different colours and shapes and stick them on the other fingers of the glove. Leave the thumb clear.

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

6. Now arrange your hand in any position you like to see a different personality of Glover appear.

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

That´s it!… Take good care of Glover and all his personalities.

47_Radioactive Space Invaders

Don’t believe those who claim to have seen alien life forms… this Radioactive Space Invaders are the real thing!

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

It will take you about 45 min to make a Radioactive Space Invader

You´ll need:

_To download and print this file: radioactive space invaders

_ A piece of A4 card for each Space invader you want to make. (You could recycle a cereal box or the back of a paper block for example)

_Cutter or scalpel and a cutting mat or a surface to cut on

_UHU glue

_Pencil

_Black felt tip pen or fine liner

_Glow in the dark paint

_A thin paint brush

How to make a Space Invader:

1. Download and print the file above. If your printer can take card, you can print directly on it; otherwise, print on a regular sheet of paper and stick the print on the card.

2. Using your cutter or scalpel, cut the edges of the print. The dotted lines on the drawing indicate where you’re supposed to score, that is pass the knife a few times without cutting all the way through. This will make it easier to fold all the sides to put your Space Invader together.

3. Fold the card over the dotted lines and glue it together using UHU glue.  Let the glue dry for a couple of minutes so that the Space Invader is sturdy enough for you to handle it.

4. Paint the whole thing with the glow in the dark paint. Let it dry. (Drying time varies depending on the paint you got; read the instructions on the label of your paint).

5. When the paint has dried up, use your pencil to draw a face and any details you like.

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

6. When you are happy with your Space Invader, draw over the pencil with the fine liner or felt tip pen.

And that’s it! Turn the lights off and watch your Radioactive Space invader glow.

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

If you’d like to see more detailed instructions on how to fold the space invader or if you’d like to download a slightly different character check this post.

Make lot’s of space invaders and hang them on string to make a Radioactive mobile… you could also draw a spaceship and paint it with glow in the dark paint and have a whole Radioactive fleet… what else can you do?

Use your imagination and have lots of Radioactive fun.

46_Cocodrilooooo! (Lolly stick characters)

Do you know what happens to lolly sticks once the lollies are over? They turn into crocodiles! (or snakes or ducks or whatever animal you like)

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

It’ll take you about 45 minutes to make a Lolly stick character.

You’ll need:

_6 wooden sticks (lolly sticks)

_7 small black brads

_Green poster paint (or any other water based paint)

_Black felt tip pen and a white or silver pencil/crayon

_Something pointy to punch holes through the sticks, it could be the point of a compass or a sharp needle.

How to make a lolly stick character:

1. Grab 2 sticks and using the point of a compass or a needle, punch a hole on both ends of each stick and another one in the middle.

2. Punch a hole in the middle and on one end of of the remaining 4 sticks.

3. When all the sticks are punched, paint them in green. Let them dry for a little while.

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

4. When the sticks are dry, get the brads and join pairs of sticks through the middle. Make sure to join the sticks with 3 holes together; the ones with two holes should have the holes on the same side. You’ll have 3 X’s as shown below.

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

5. Now join the 3 X’s together using the remaining brads.  You should now be able to make the whole thing longer and shorter by opening and closing the 2 sticks in one end, as if they were scissors.

6. Using your black felt tip pen draw a circle around the brad on one end to make the eye.

7. Draw a mouth and teeth too.

8. Colour the teeth with the white/silver colour and add other details like scales on the back of the crocodile.

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

That’s it! a Crocodile made out of lolly sticks. Now you can open and close it very quickly to make it take big bites!

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

You could follow the same instructions and use different colours to make other animals. What about a duck, or a jumpy fish?!

Have fun (and enjoy the lollies!)

42_Glow in the dark magnets

They look great with the lights on but even better when you turn them off.

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

Really quick and easy, this glow in the dark magnets will take you as long as it takes you to make some nice drawings and paint them… 15-30 minutes.

You´ll need:

_1 sheet of magnetic paper (try to get the thicker one, it works better)

_pencil and black marker or felt tip pen

_1 small pot of glow in the dark paint. You´ll find this at DIY shops, some paint shops and good art shops.

All you need to do is make some nice drawings on your magnet paper, paint them with glow in the dark paint and add some details with a black marker once the paint has dried up. Cut them, put them on the fridge, turn the lights off and see your magnets glow!

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

Enjoy…

 

40_Stringlanders

Behold for those made of string have landed on thy windows. (Or have fun making string creatures with string, suction cups and markers on your window)

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

Probably the quickest and easiest so far. Making and playing time is the same.

You´ll need:

_Thread, yarn, rafia, etc. At least 60 cm. but the longer your string the more complex Stringlanders you´ll be able to make

_5+  suction cups

_Whiteboard markers  (you can draw on the window and easily clean it with a tissue), dark colours work better.

How to make Stringlanders:

1. Cut a piece of string at least 60 cm long.

2. Tie both ends to make a closed loop.

3. Arrange a few suction cups on the window.

4. Start placing the string over the cups. If it doesn’t stay in place make a small loop around each cup with the string.

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

5. Keep adding cups to shape the sting and make a creature.

6. Make sure that the string is tensed by all the cups when you have the shape you want.

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

7. Get your whiteboard marker and draw all the details that will give your Stringlander personality such as eyes, mouth, hair.. maybe antennae?

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

There you go… a Stringlander on your window.

Move the cups around and re-arange the string to make new creatures

… The same shape can be Batman….

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

Or a chubby creature with hairy armpits!

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

Arrange the cups and string  in tons of different ways, use different colours and make as many Stringlanders as you can imagine.

39_Technicolor Kaleidoscope

A look into analogue hyper-reality at the reach of your hand… all you need is some coloured metallic paper, a cardboard roll and interesting things to look at.

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

It will take you about 20 minutes to make your Technicolor Kaleidoscope

You`ll need:

_A cardboard roll (from toilet roll)

_3 sheets of different colours of metallic card

_Ruler, cutter or scalpel and cutting mat

_UHU glue or glue stick

How to make your Technicolor Kaleidoscope:

1. On the back of one of the metallic cards, draw a rectangle 4.3cm wide x 10.6cm high (the same height as the roll).

2. Draw a vertical line 5mm from the edge of the rectangle (so that you have a total width of 4.8 cm)

3. Cut the rectangle and pass the cutter a couple times over the 4.3cm limit without cutting all the way through. You´ll be left with a tab 5mm wide.

4. Fold the tab back.

5. Do the same with the other 2 colours of card.

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

6. Now we´re going to put all the pieces of card together to make a triangle. So, put some UHU glue on the coloured side of the 5mm tab of one of your rectangles.

7. Get another rectangle and stick the ‘tab-less’ end to the tab of the other rectangle. You should be able to bend the 2 pieces of card together as if joined by a hinge.

8. Add the remaining rectangle in the same way.

9. Put some UHU glue on the tab of the last rectangle and close the triangle.

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

10. Slide the metallic card triangle into the cardboard roll.

11. Cut a rectangle 20cm wide x 10.6cm high off one of your metallic cards. It could be one of the colours you used for the triangle or a new one.

12. Put UHU glue all around the cardboard roll and cover it with the rectangle you just cut. Put a bit of  UHU glue on the end of the rectangle to ‘close’ it.

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

That´s it! Ready to look at the world through the eyes of a Technicolor Kaleidoscope?

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

See what happens with the colours? Try using different ones and find interesting patterns and textures to look at through the Kaleidoscope.

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

Quite fun to take pictures too!

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

Enjoy the colour!

36_Multicolour

At last! the ultimate drawing tool is here… the Multicolour!

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

This is a quick an easy one. It´ll take you about 15 minutes to make.

You´ll need:

_A piece of card or cardboard (maybe a recycled box)

_A circle cutter or a compass and scissors/scalpel

_A pen or pointy pencil

_Tons of different coloured pencils, crayons or markers.

How to make your Multicolour:

1. Cut a circle about 15 cm in diameter from your piece of card or cardboard.

2. Using the pen or pointy pencil, punch a hole in the middle of the cardboard circle (where the pointy bit of the circle cutter used to be). Make sure it is wide enough to fit your coloured pencils, markers, etc..

3. Punch as many holes as coloured pencils, markers, etc. you want to put into your Multicolour.

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

4. Insert different colours into the holes and get drawing….

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

Any use for your homework? (it´s not cheating! it´s making use of all your resources 😉 )

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

Happy multi-colouring!

 

35_Photo Filters

Augmented reality just got real…

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

More than quick, it will take you around 5 minutes to make each filter!

You`ll need:

_Acetate. You could get A4 sheets from an art shop or even recycle the transparent film of  a  product`s packaging.

_Permanent marker (s).

_Camera

How to make your photo filters:

1. Cut a few acetate squares or rectangles; if you`re using an A4 piece, you could divide it in 4 pieces.

2. Draw funny things to add to your photos, like wigs, hats, mustaches… get creative.

3. Shoot!

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

Have lots of photo filter fun!

(Ni and Manu… thanks for your help!)

 

34_The Imagination Box

So… if you´re the kind that likes to play with the box rather than the toy, keep reading.. this one´s definitely for you

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

Probably one of the easiest ones; not the quickest just because you have to let it dry overnight.

You`ll need:

_A cardboard box, maybe from a large appliance or from moving places.

_Water-based blackboard paint and a brush (You´ll find the paint in art shops and some paint shops)

_Old newspapers, recycling paper or a plastic mat/bags to cover the surface where you´ll be painting.

_Masking or parcel tape to secure the bottom of the box.

_Coloured chalk to imagine and transform your box over and over again.

How to make your imagination box:

1. Close the bottom of the box and tape it so that it doesn’t open again.

2. Paint the box with the blackboard paint, including the flaps to open it and close it. Remember to cover the surface where you´ll be painting with cardboard, plastic bags, etc.

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

3. Leave it to dry for a few hours. If there are spots that look a bit “washed out” add an extra layer of paint over those spots.

4. Leave your box to dry for 24 hours or as long as the packaging of the paint suggests.

5. When the box is fully dry, get the chalk and let your imagination fly.

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

What about a space ship?

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

What else could your box be… A monster perhaps?

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte

What about a house or a diver suit?…It could be whatever you imagine.. that´s the point!

(When you´re ready to transform your box into something else, use a DRY tissue or cloth to erase the chalk (remember, the paint is water based so if the paper or cloth is damp, you´ll take the paint away))

© 2011 Fernanda de Uriarte