Bird Kites

Bird Kites!

This one’s a heck of a project, but they’re SO COOL!

Here are your materials - a wire hanger, a small trash bag, a wooden dowel rod, clear nylon thread,

tape (I used packing tape, but other tape should work fine), scissors, and permanent markers.

This craft draws inspiration from the puppets used in the Broadway (stage) production of

The Lion King.  

Theirs are big, and awesome, and look like this.

This one is a little smaller… but is also awesome.

Let’s get started!

Step 1. Cut the bottom seal off of the trash bag so that it creates an open plastic tube. (This is

easiest BEFORE the trash bag is ‘opened,’ when it’s still folded into a rectangle, fresh off the roll).

Step 2. Bend the hook portion of the hanger so that it forms a smaller loop.
It doesn’t have to be perfect… a tight squeeze with your hand should be enough.

Step 3. Insert the hanger into the plastic tube. It should now be between two sheets of plastic. Point

the loop (which will become your bird’s head) toward one corner of the plastic, and make sure that

both corners of the hanger are fully covered. Move the hanger as close to the corner as you can get

it without exposing any of the wire.

Step 4. Fold the plastic sheet over the bottom (straight wire) of the hanger, toward the corner where

the head is facing. It should be pulled snugly over the wire, and will extend past the bent ‘head’ as

well.

Cut off the extra plastic that passes the head, as demonstrated above. This will create a triangle with

two layers of plastic, separate from the plastic wrapping our bird frame.

Step 5. Fold the triangle in half from the top point. Repeat this fold a second time, so that it becomes

a thinner triangle shape with 8 total layers, instead of a wide triangle with 2. This is your tail! Tape

the edge of the plastic into place so that it will not unfold.

Note: It’s okay if the triangle doesn’t line up perfectly! These uneven  layers add dimension to the

‘tail feathers.’

Set the tail to the side and return to work on your bird’s body

^See the edges that overlap past the wire? That's what we will be folding. ^

Step 6. Any plastic that extends past the hanger should be folded over the wires and onto the other

side. (Like you're wrapping a present!)

Step 7. Tape the folded edges in place, and trim off any excess plastic that still passes the wire

frame at the bottom.

At this point you should have a hanger that is wrapped in plastic (in a fairly triangular shape), and a

smaller triangle of just plastic and tape.

We’re almost there!

Step 8. Cut a piece of nylon thread or fishing line. I made mine somewhere between 2 and 3 feet

long. Wrap one end of the line in a full circle around the head (hook), and secure it with a piece of

tape over top of the line. This will squeeze the end of the plastic into a point. You can adjust the

shape of it with more tape to create your preferred head/beak. This can be as square or as tapered

as you like!

Step 9. Secure the other end of the line to your dowel rod. The trick to keeping this from sliding off is

actually pretty simple. Wrap the line in a stretched spiral around the dowel. Wrap a piece of tape

around the spiral to hold it in place. The spiraling leaves spaces between each ‘layer’ of thread for

the tape to secure it.

Step 10. Tape the triangular tail to the middle of the straight wire. It holds best if it is taped on both

the bottom AND the top sides.

Step 11.  Use permanent markers to add a face to your bird! This gives the kite some extra

character.

The bird kite will follow your arm movements, but be careful about who and what is around you…

that hanger might hurt!

Step 12.  CONGRATULATE YOURSELF. Seriously. This one’s a tougher craft, but it’s 100% worth it.

Enjoy!

Glitter Microphones

Glitter Microphone!

Glitter Microphones!

Here are the supplies you need for a glitter microphone! Floor gloss, glitter, plastic ornament,

toilet paper tube, hot glue gun/glue, paint (optional), and stick on jewels.

This one can get a little messy, so you may also want newspaper/tablecloths/bowls… something to

put under your crafting.

Start out by separating your plastic ornament. Because these are round, they have a tendency to

roll. Luckily, the toilet paper roll (which is needed later) works wonderfully for keeping the ornament

halves upright while you’re working!

Add a small amount of floor gloss into one half of the ornament. Very carefully, swirl the liquid so

that it covers all of the plastic. Try not to get it on your skin or clothes while you’re doing this

Note: This step is super important! Go slowly, and try to cover as much of the inside as possible. If

any spots are left dry, they won’t hold glitter.

Rotate the ornament half around in a circle, tilted so that the gloss reaches almost to the edges.

This should over all of the inside pretty nicely. You can also hold the ornament from the bottom and

swirl it like a glass of water to help cover any spots you might miss.

Once the inside is covered in floor gloss, dump the excess gloss and add some silver glitter. (You

can dump the extra gloss into the second half of your ornament, since you will be doing the same

process again).

This part can be messy, so you may want to have a bowl or a newspaper handy to catch the rest of

the glitter! Once the glitter is in the ornament half, repeat the same swirling motion to coat all of the

gloss with glitter.

The floor gloss works as an adhesive to hold the glitter in place, while still keeping a shiny

appearance. You will want as much as you can get of the inside to be covered with glitter.

Repeat the same process on the second half of your ornament, so that both insides are covered in

gloss and glitter. Set these aside while you work on the mic base.

Feel free to paint or color the toilet paper tube as you like. Alternatively, you can glue colored paper

around the tube, or simply leave it the color that it is originally.

I only added a few jewels to look like buttons and an ‘on’ light, but you can also use them to

bedazzle designs onto your microphone base. The decoration portion is up to you!

Once you are satisfied with your mic base, close your ornament pieces to form a complete sphere.

Add a thin line of hot glue around the top of your mic base, and stick the ornament down on top

(making sure that the ornament loop is inside the tube… unless you want it to be used as an

ornament, of course!)

Now practice your lip-sync skills!

Cat Ears

Here’s an easy one that doesn’t need much explanation… cat ears!

We started with a simple plastic ear headband base (packs of these are available on Amazon with a

huge variety of colors!).

There’s a lot of creativity with this one, as you can add whatever you have on hand. We simply

hot-glued items in place to decorate them.

Some suggestions of additions:

Pompoms

Sequins

Beads

Ribbon

Pipe Cleaners

Washi Tape

Paper Cut-outs

Yarn

Plastic Jewels or Rhinestones

You can have a lot of fun laying out different designs on these things!

Guitar Boxes

Here’s how to make your very own guitar shaped box!

The first step is to print these Guitar Box Templates on Cardstock. Cut them out so you’re ready to

go! On the first template, be sure to only cut the solid lines, not the dashed ones.

Next, trace both of these templates on your preferred color of cardstock. You will need one copy of

template 1 and two copies of template 2 (see what I did there?). It is easier to trace template 1 if you

fold the sides in to trace the vertical lines.

Both shapes can be traced in from the edge of your cardstock, as they have flat edges.

Cut out your traced pieces so that you have three total forms (two of the guitar shape, one of the box

shape). Cut the vertical lines in your copy of template one, but again,  DO NOT cut where the

dashed lines would be.

Fold the ‘dashed lines’ of your box form in toward the middle. The creases should line up with the

ends of your vertical cuts, making a straight rectangle in the middle of your shape. Once the top and

bottom are folded in, create creases from the vertical slit on one side to the one across from it. This

will let your shape fold into a box! Secure the box shape with glue or tape.

Once the box shape is created, glue the guitar forms to each of the open sides. The flat part of the

guitar will line up with the bottom of the box, and the box shape should line up with the thinnest

parts of the guitar.

Add a stripe of duct tape through the middle of one side of your guitar box. Part of the tape will

extend past the guitar, and will hang over the edge of your cardstock. This is perfectly fine.

Glue a black circle of cardstock (around 3” ) onto the middle of your shape.

If you’d like, feel free to decorate your box further! I used sharpies to add strings and a few other

designs to mine, but I also think they look just fine without them. You could also add stickers,

doodles, string, or anything else you want to personalize your craft!