Roll Out Writing

You Will Need:


• Oven bake clay
• Rolling pin
• Varnish
• Card





•   Start by getting your finger tips on two different colours of oven bake clay. You can buy this from most art and craft shops.
•   Roll a ball of clay into a thick sausage.

•   This will be the background colour of your sign.

•   To make the stretchy letters, roll the other colour of clay into a thin sausage shape.

•   Cut the sausage-shaped clay into little bits with a blunt knife.

•   Now build up the letters on the background with the little bits of clay.

•   It's a good idea to push the little bits into the clay quite firmly, so that they don't stick to the rolling pin.


•   When all the letters are on, use a rolling pin to gently and slowly roll the sausage out flat.
•   Once you're happy with your sign, you can bake it.

•   Put it on a baking tray and follow the instructions on the packet of clay.

•   After it's cooked and cooled down, give the sign a coat of clear varnish.

•   And when that's dry, stick the sign onto a piece of card.

•   Finally, put a couple of sticky pads on the back of the card so that you can stick the sign on the door.
•   And you don't have to stop at door signs!

•   Why not have a go at making some badges like these? Just attach a safety pin to the back.

•   Or use the signs to personalise your school books.

•   Or go large and make a desk plaque!

•   So get rolling and stretch your creative skills with Finger Tips Roll Out Writing.

Totally Organised Totem

You will need:


• lots of crisp tubes,
• cardboard,
• empty sweets tubes,
• egg box,









•   The first thing to do is draw around the base of a crisp tube onto the piece of cardboard.
•   Cut the circle out, so that you're left with a disc of cardboard. You'll need one cardboard disc for every crisp tube that you're going to use.

•   The next thing to do is connect the cardboard discs to the lid of the crisp tube. The easiest way to do this is to get some modelling clay and a sharp pencil, and carefully make a hole through both.

•   Thread a paper fastener through the hole to attach the cardboard disc to the lid of the crisp tube. Secure in place by opening out the arms on the back of the paper fastener.

            •   Now you can glue the lid with the cardboard disc onto the base of the crisp tube, ready for stacking!
•   The lids on the crisp tubes fit quite tightly. So, to make them a better fit, just carefully trim off the rim of the crisp tube.

•   To make the facial detail, cut some circles of card for eyes and stick them on with strips of newspaper and PVA glue pasted on. The nose is made from the end of the sweet tube.

•   The hands are cut from card and have little flaps folded into the arms, so that they can be bent round and stuck on at a right angle. Remember to leave a gap at the top of the crisp tube so that the next one can be stacked on top.

•   There are lots of design possibilities - but this one is called Buffalo Bill!Here's how he's made...
•   Get yourself an egg box. Carefully cut off two knobbly bits for horns.

•   and cut out one of the eggcups to make a nose.

•   Again, you can secure in place using strips of newspaper and PVA glue, pasted on.

•   Paint each pot with a coat of woody brown paint and add other bright colours by using your imagination.
                           
           

X- Ray Telescope

You will need:



         
• A sweet tube
• A round chip cone
• Some lolly pop sticks
• Some black and silver card or paint









•   Take a sweet tube and carefully cut it, a third of the way down.
•   Flatten out the small part and cut a semi circle out of either end.

•   Put the two pieces of sweet tube together like this.

•   The semi circles you cut into the smaller part will help it join.

•   Paint the whole thing, or cover it in silver and black card.

•   To make the stand, stick three sweet tubes around a chip cone in a tripod formation, and glue some lolly sticks on the tubes.

•   aint it all however you like.

•   Balance your telescope on top of the stand. You could add some film canister lids for extra effect.

         
•   Now it's ready to use! Look through the telescope, placing your hand to the side of it.
•   It will look as though there's a hole in your hand!

•   It's so x-traordinary you could fool an astronomer!

Animation Projector

You will need:


• Paper dinner plate
• Modelling clay









•   Start by cutting two slits about 4cm deep and 1cm apart at the north, south, east and west points on the paper dinner plate.
•   Now, tear out the four bits of paper plate that are between the slits you've made.

•   Put a loop of sticky tape onto the paper plate.

•   Then take the pencil and make a hole in the centre of the plate. Press the pencil through the plate, but remember to put the modelling clay underneath to protect the work surface!

         
•   When the hole is made, leave the pencil through it.
•   You've made an animation projector!

•   To make it work, you need a four picture cartoon, drawn onto a circle of card and stuck onto the flat bit of the plate.

•   To see the projector work you'll need to find a well-lit mirror.

•   Hold the projector in front of your face. Look at the mirror through the top slit in the plate.

•   Focus on the top picture, and keep looking at it. Spin the plate, and you'll see the image animate.

Magic Money Box

You will need:


• mirror card
• clear plastic box











•   To make one, you need to get your finger tips on a clear plastic box. This one used to contain greetings cards. If you can't find one of those, anything similar will work - like a tissue box, although you'd need to cut one face off.
•   Next you'll need three squares of mirror card. Make these by drawing round the side of the box and then cut them out.

•   Stick the 3 squares of mirror card in the box like this - make sure the mirror is facing inwards, and don't leave any gaps.

•   Then cover the box with some coloured card. Leave the front face clear.

•   In the top, cut a slit that's big enough to put your coins through. Make sure there's room for the biggest type of coin.
•   With a ruler, measure the diagonal of one side. Also measure the width.
•   Then cut out another piece of mirror card to those measurements. It should be a rectangle.

•   Reinforce this piece of mirror card with more card, so that it won't bend.

•   Now draw a symmetrical shape - like this star - on a piece of card. The illusion looks best with symmetrical shapes. When they're reflected they look the same, and not back to front.

•   Draw 3 identical patterns and then cut them out. You could add some extra detail to make them more colourful.

           
•   Stick the shapes to the three bits of mirror card in the box.
•   Then slide in the other piece of mirror card.

•   The illusion now works - suddenly it looks like box has a pattern on the back as well as the bottom and sides. The mirror card looks like it's disappeared.

•   So when you put your money into the top, it vanishes. Have a go at making one and see what a stash of coins you can get in the secret compartment.

Filler Frame

You will need:



• frame,
• tiling grout,
• tile, paint,
• plastic knife,
• bead,
• marbles,
• mosaic,
• coin









•   Scoop some grout onto a plate. You'll need as much as you think you'll need to cover the frame.
•   It is possible to buy coloured grout in the shops but why not colour it yourself just by adding some acrylic paint? Give it a good mix.

•   Now you can paste the mixture onto your frame. Do this with a plastic knife and don't worry if any goes onto the glass because you can just wipe it away with a damp cloth to leave a smooth edge.

•   Keep going right the way around, until your frame is completely covered.

         •   Whilst the grout is still wet you can decorate the frame. Use anything you like - beads, marbles, mosaic tiles - it's entirely up to you.
•   To finish, all you have to do is leave it to dry.

•   For another idea, cover a frame with uncoloured grout and then paint it then sand over the top to get a cool, streaky effect!

•   Or why not make a frame for your holiday photos by recycling your left over foreign coins?





                                   

Load of pants laundry bin

You will need:

• Pizza box
• Sweet tub
• Large cardboard box
• Shower gel
• Paint








•   Here's a funky looking dirty laundry bin in the shape of a washing machine!
•   To make it, start by cutting down a takeaway pizza box, so that you have just the lid and side flaps, like this.

•   Draw round the base of a shallow round sweet tub, and carefully cut the circle.

•   Now draw round the shallow sweet tub again, but this time on the pizza base.

•   Carfully cut out, so that you have a ring of card.

•   Stick the ring of card onto the cut-down pizza box lid.

•   That completes the door.

•   Next, fold in the flaps, and draw round the shape on the big box.


•   Cut the shape out carefully.
•   You can throw the piece that you cut out away.

•   Now you can glue the hinge part of the door (one of the edges of the pizza box lid) to the large cardboard box, slotting all the flaps into the hole you just cut.

•   Fill the sweet tub with shower gel, to look like water in the washing machine drum.

•   Using PVA on the rim, glue the lid on securely and stick it onto the door.

           
•   You can paint your Load Of Pants Laundry Bin any colour you like, and make them any size     depending on how many clothes you've got, and what size box you can find.
•   You could stick on bottle top lids as controls.


                       

Magnetic bookmark

You will need:


• A piece of paper
• Two magnets
• A ruler
• A pencil







•   Draw a ruler width line down the long side of the paper, like this.
•   Cut along the line with a pair of scissors.

•   Stick a magnet at either end of the strip of paper.

•   Now fold the strip in half and attach one magnet to one side of the page and the other magnet to the other side of the page.

•   The bookmark will never fall out. Brilliant!

Fila foam

You will need:

• Fila foam - available from art and craft shops.


•   Begin by folding a piece of fila foam in half. Make some little scissor snips in each corner, but be careful not to cut right to the edge.
•   Do the other side too.

•   Open out the fila foam, and fix an elastic band round each of the slit corners.

•   Slip the corner covers of a book under the elastic bands.

•   You can make these book covers in any design - even using card if you haven't got any fila foam.