Ice-Cream Stick House

A miniature house is something that both the children and the elders enjoy equally. I remember picking up and saving the ice-lolly sticks to make some crafty things like a pencil holder or a pixie house back in my school days. Let's try to make a minion's house today! With it's bright colours, this mini home looks exceptionally tempting :)

Simple requirements are:

1. Ice-cream sticks (painted)
2. Glue / hot glue gun
3. Pencil
4. Ruler
5. A pair of scissors
6. A cardboard box/ piece of cardboard
7. A craft paper to cover the box (optional)

So let's begin by sticking together some ice-lolly sticks. To make a house we need 4 walls. One with a window and one with a main door. I have used 9 pink coloured sticks to make the back wall. To make it look really bright I have used neon shades of pink, orange, green and yellow.

Put the sticks in a line one beside the other and glue one stick horizontally so that they stay together. 

Make the walls, ceiling and the roof like this,

Paste the craft paper on the box for a neat look. Measure the width of the walls and mark it on the box with the help of the ruler and pencil. We need these lines to make sure that the walls are symmetrical.

Glue the walls vertically on the box and let it dry.

Cut a small rectangular piece of ice-cream stick and fix it on the window to make a ledge. The whole structure should look like this now,

Affix the ceiling on top. For making the roof we need to join the two yellow plates we made earlier. Glue two sticks together and attach the plates on its side to form a triangular shape.Then take a row of 5 sticks and make them firm by affixing one ice-cream stick in the middle. Use the roof to mark the triangle and cut. Check the picture for details.

Fix this triangular piece on top of the ceiling. Then join the roof.

The final look.

Our cute little miniature house is ready. We can add a little ladder near the door for some more drama and adventure. Just keep two sticks half an inch apart and join together with small pieces to make the steps.

 A peep inside :)

 Kevin's grumpy but Stuart and Bob surely do look happy!

Enjoy your day and do post your comments.

Halloween Paper Masks (DIY) - Part 2

Continued....
from (Halloween Paper Masks (DIY) - Part 1)

I hope you might have finished making the witch face mask by now. So let's try to make another popular face mask - the pumpkin!

This one's my daughter's favourite as well :)

I have taken an orange craft paper and a green one. Again if you don't have papers in these colours, don't worry, simply paint a plain paper.

Make some leaves and a tendril from the green paper. Draw a pumpkin shape on the orange paper and cut. Make triangular nose and eyes and draw some teeths for that menacing look.

Highlight it with black water colour pen/paint. I have used a black brush pen. Also don't forget to cut out the holes for the eyes following the same method of calculation - 5cm-6cm gap between the two holes.

To make the tendril we need a small green paper strip about 1.5 inch in length and 1" width. And a circular piece. Draw a spiral on the circular piece and cut. Roll the small rectangular strip to form a pipe. Now paste this spiral on it and the tendril is ready to be used!

Glue all the pieces together and attach an elastic string on the sides. The mask is now ready to be played with. I have used the paper straw here.

Here are a couple of more DIY paper mask ideas so don't hesitate to try.

This one is for those who love bright colours.

If you don't want to paint then just feel free to print these images on an A4 size sheet and make your own mask.

Mask 1

Mask 2

*The masks are approx 15cms in width and 18cms in height

Halloween Paper Masks (DIY) - Part 1

Masks form an integral part of kids costumes at Halloween. They can be easily made at home with some paper and non-toxic colors or whatever stationery is available. What's more encouraging is that you don't need to be an artist to paint one! These masks are not only apt for the occasion but also are easy on the pocket. My daughter simply loves the pumpkin face mask and my favourite is the witch :) Let's get started.

Things needed:-

1. Craft paper / plain paper
2. Crepe paper
3. Paper plate
4. A pair of scissors
5. Glue
6. Sketch pens
7. Some paint and paint brush

Let's start with the witch face mask.

I have taken a yellow paper plate. You can use whichever colour you like or take a plain one and paint it. I didn't have a black paper so I painted a plain white paper. Cut out a triangular hat shape from the black paper and paste a yellow crepe paper strip on it as shown in the picutre. Also cut out eyes, lips and eyebrows. I have cut out some eyelashes as well for a dramatic effect. Cut the orange crepe paper into strips but don't cut till the very edge. Once you are through cutting and gathering all this, we need to paste them on the paper plate.

But before pasting anything, first mark the eye holes on the paper plate and cut. The gap is usually 5cm between the eyes.

 Now paste the different face parts on the paper plate.

Paste the crepe paper strips on either sides to make the hair locks. Secure the hat on top. You can use a double sided tape to stick the hat firmle in place.

To make the paper straw you can use any paper. and roll it from one edge diagonally, like this

On reaching the other edge secure the corner with some glue.

Cut off the flimsy edges.

 The straw is ready to be painted.

 Use water colour markers or paints to complete the desired look.

Continued............
Halloween Paper Masks (DIY) - Part 2
(Pimpkin Face Mask)

Paper Bird

Teaching my daughter to make an origami paper bird was getting tiresome. She wanted to make a bird with different colours and was continuously trying to make it fly! So, I changed the approach and deviced a simpler method to let her enjoy making this dual coloured paper bird with outstretched wings. She was elated that Mumma was borrowing some of her stationery to make this adorable piece of craft with her.

Things we need to make the paper bird are -

1. Craft paper (different colours)
2. Sketch pens
3. Pencil
4. A pair of scissors
5. Glue
6. Some thread
7. A jar lid / or some round object like a bowl etc to make a circle on the paper
8. Pin or a needle for piercing

Take a craft paper of your choice and make a circle on it. I have used a jar lid for making a perfect circle. Cut it out nicely.

Fold it in half and place it at the edge of the second craft paper of a contrasting colour. Now draw the outline carefully and cut. This is the wing.

Cut the tail and the beak also. For the tail, take a paper strip and fold it in the middle. Draw the outline as shown and cut it. For the beak cut a small triangle and fold it in the center.

 We have four pieces. I have cut out the wings, tail and the beak from the same craft paper for contrasting effect.

Stick the beak first, inside the fold of the body.

Then let's glue the tail on the other end of the body. First fold the tail piece in the centre and make a crease. Open it and carefully paste it in between the fold of the body by applying some glue. No need to close the edges of the tail. Only, stick the edge of the semi-circle to close it, like this -

The body is ready. After letting it dry for a few minutes, take a sketch pen and draw the eyes, on both sides. You can use goggly eyes as well if your young sweetheart likes a dramtic effect  :)

Now set the body aside and let's make the wings. Take the semi-circle piece of craft paper we cut earlier, and fold it in the middle to make a crease. Open it and draw a few curves on the straight edge.

Cut those curves just about and not too deep towards the center. The top side should look like this -

Apply some glue in the ridge of the fold on the reverse side of the wing and paste it on top of the body as depicted in the pic.

Let it dry. Use a pin or a needle to pierce a hole though the wing and body in the center at the top edge.

Insert the thread through this hole and secure by tying a knot. Cut the thread to desired length.

Fold the wings upwards to make them outstretched and the bird appears to be flying. Make some more of these winged birds in varied colours and let you little one hang them in the places they like and enjoy their  play  :)