AIM DIY: Paper Spiderwebs to Decorate Everything

October 16, 2015October 28, 2020 | Alison - Adventures-in-Making

From 2014-2016 I chronicled my crafty endeavors on the site Adventures-in-Making. I’ve selected a few of those DIY’s, Recipes, and other posts to share on the site.

Step by step this house is getting properly October spooky. I’m a big fan of decorating with the things I have around, and this collection of tarnished silver and moody ornaments needed one little touch, so I decided to make a spiderweb table runner out of scrap paper and a piece of ribbon.

SUPPLIES

A few sheets of paper, any color you fancy. I used card stock, which was a bit trickier to cut but more durable in the long run.
Small clips or tape
Your favorite craft knife
A hole punch
Ribbon
The spiderweb template

Once you have printed the spiderweb template, use tape or the clips to secure it to a sheet or two of paper, and cut the spiderweb shape out with a craft knife. You will also punch holes where each X is.

Cutting Tips

Start trimming the small center pieces out first and move to the large pieces. I actually cut all the inner pieces, then moved on the the next sheet of paper until I have enough pieces. Then I cut the outer shape out of several pieces at once using scissors.

When you’ve cut out and punched all your pieces, weave a piece of ribbon in and out of the holes to connect several spiderwebs.

I overlapped the corners of each spiderweb piece to make my table runner…

and hung them all on one ribbon for a creepy spiderweb banner.

The possibilities are, as they say, endless! I’m even thinking of creepy spiders to add to them.

The motionless, paper kind.

What’re you decorating with?

AIM DIY: Spookily Free and Easy Ghosts

October 7, 2015October 28, 2020 | Alison - Adventures-in-Making

From 2014-2016 I chronicled my crafty endeavors on the site Adventures-in-Making. I’ve selected a few of those DIY’s, Recipes, and other posts to share on the site.

When I was a kid my mom came up with all sorts of awesome crafts for us to do, and being a typical goth-in-the-making I loved the halloween crafts most of all. One year we made cheesecloth ghosts with balloons and glue and it’s a project that has haunted me to this day.

I decided that I really wanted some ghost friends, but lacking balloons and cheesecloth I decided to make some up, Alison style. (IE: Free, Quick, and Fun.)

SUPPLIES

At least a couple of feet of sheer or thin fabric – old sheets or window sheers work great!
All-purpose flour
Bottles: Soda, water, or wine. Glass or plastic.
Wire or wire coat hangers
Plastic bags
Rubber bands
Scissors
A bucket or bin to mix your flour paste in

Step 1: The Form

To begin will make a simple armature out of wire (or out of a wire hanger). Cut a piece about 24″ long, and twist it together to form one big loop.

Slip the loop over the neck of your bottle, and twist the arms slightly so that they sit securely on the bottle and point slightly upwards. Using a scrap piece of fabric or paper, form a ball shaped head over the neck of the bottle and secure it with a rubber band.

To make the armature (form of the ghost) easier to remove, cover it with a plastic grocery bag, and secure it with a rubber band.

Measure the height of your ghost form from the base, across the head, and to the base on the back side. Cut a square of fabric this size to cover your form. (This is a great time to tear your fabric instead of cutting, if you want. Frayed edges are a bonus!)

Step 2: Stiffening and Forming the Fabric

Although flour may not last forever when used as a paste, it works perfectly for a ghost that will only haunt your house for a year or two. Combine 4 parts water with 1 part all-purpose flour in a large container and mix well with your fingers. Soak your ghost fabric, and wring it gently.

Spread the fabric over the ghost form, with a corner of the fabric pointing forwards.

Using your creativity (and maybe a clip or two) shape the cloth as creepily as you want! (I loved adding a fold along the “hair line” so that it looked like my ghost was in a cloak.)

If you’d like, remove some of the excess fabric from the “arms” of your ghost. (Make sure to leave fabric puddled at the front and back; this will ensure that your ghost will sit up when it’s all dry.)

Leave your new little friend to dry overnight, with a fan blowing if you can. When it’s completely dry, gently pull the bottle form out of the stiff fabric. (If it’s not firm enough to stand, you can mix up some more of the flour and water and paint it onto your fabric while it’s still on the form. You may want to use a higher ratio of flour to water.)

Boo!

If you’re feeling extra crafty, you can paint right on your ghosts with watercolor or acrylic paints. I have some scary plans for one of mine.

Use What You’ve Got!

If you don’t have scraps of fabric lying around, this project is also fun with thin paper, tissue paper, or even paper towels. Just make one adjustment: instead of soaking the paper in your paste, lay the paper across your form and paint the paste on with your fingers or a craft paint brush. Saturate the paper slowly and let it fall again the form. You can add multiple layers of paper for more texture (like the tissue paper ghost above) and even cut out a mouth and eyes!

Stick an LED “candle” in it, and things get even creepier!

Scary Ghost Sound!

What’s frightening you this season?

AIM DIY: No Sew Woven T-Shirt Rag Rug

September 24, 2015October 28, 2020 | Alison - Adventures-in-Making

From 2014-2016 I chronicled my crafty endeavors on the site Adventures-in-Making. I’ve selected a few of those DIY’s, Recipes, and other posts to share on the site.

A couple of months ago I tore up the carpet in my office and replaced it with a wood-ish surface. It’s been great through these warm months, but I want something to stand on when the cold sneaks in. Couple that need with a stack of t-shirts left over from the quilt project, and you have my newest best friend, the t-shirt rag rug.

I built a 30″x30″ make-shift loom out of a piece of plywood and scrap wood, but if you search online you can find frames built from pretty much anything. (A Beautiful Mess used cotton scraps and a big piece of cardboard. Also, Pinterest)

I put nails along each end, 1 inch apart. Good hammer practice for a hammer novice.

With the loom assembled, I moved to materials.

SUPPLIES

Approximately 11 T-shirts
Fiskars Rotary Cutter
Cutting Mat
Metal Ruler
Scissors

Stripping

The rug was built with 1.5″ loops for the warp (base strips) of my rug, and 1.75″ strips woven through.

I used a large straight rotary blade and a metal ruler to cut three navy shirts into the 1.5″ loops, then cut the rest of the shirts into 1.75″ strips. (This is a very forgiving fabric, so estimation is ok!)

I hooked the navy warp pieces on each side of the loom using the natural loop and stretch of the t-shirt.

I prepared to weave by attaching the first strip to the first warp loop. I cut a slit in one end of the strip, fed the other end around the first warp piece and back through the slit. Then I pulled it tightly and began to weave.

Not a normal knot.

I connected a lot of strips to finish this rug using the method shown below. It’s quick and tidy, and ensured you don’t have a lot of extra bulk at your connection points.

Cut a small slit in the ends of each strip.
Feed the new strip into the hole at the end of the other.
Take the other end of the new strip and feed it through the slit on the same strip.
Pull on the new end to tighten the knot. Smooth or trim extra material if needed.

(The video below shows how I knotted at the end of a strip.)

Now Weave!

Starting at that first warp piece, I wove in and out of each loop to the end of the loom. At the end I wrapped either over or under the last piece to start back down the loom. The second strand went over the strands that the first went under, and vice versa.

From there it was basically rinse and repeat. I wove back and forth, connecting strips and changing colors.

When possible I fed the strip through the warp flat, then pulled it down with my fingers to bunch it up.

The pattern and color combination were very important to me, and I got more and more excited as I worked on it. When I put the final strip in, I tied it off using a normal knot on the last piece of navy.

Finishing it off

Here’s where I admit this rug is really just a gigantic pot holder, and I finished it off the same way. I pulled the first warp loop free and fed the second through it, then fed the third through that one, and so on down the line. (Video Below)

Once I was down to the last two loops, I changed tactics. I cut the loop of the last piece, fed one strip through the second to last loop and tied it off.

I did the same thing on the other end and suddenly had a rug in front of me.

After basking in the last moments of sunshine, I rolled up the rug and brought it inside.

Where it was immediately claimed by another friend…

Cooper.

Looks like I’ll have to weave another rug for myself.

Next Time

The next rug will be bigger. Once I took this one off the loom it shrunk down a bit, and I love it too much for it to be small.
I won’t pull the woven strands as tightly, which will hopefully help with the shrinking.
Maybe I’ll try non-stretch cotton scraps?
I will plan to move the loom frame around a lot, and possibly rig up some way of leaning it upright while I’m weaving. Working flat gave me a back-ache.
I will take it in little batches, weaving in front of the tv or in public. If I weave in public I will look very serious about turning scraps into a comfy rug.

A sign of a successful project is the ability to look forward to the next one.

UPDATE: I enjoyed this project so much that I decided to remake this rug- BIGGER! I built a much larger loom using scrap wood and screws, then followed the same process to build this monstrosity. It sits cozily by my work table now, warms my feet, and makes me happy.

AIM DIY: Marble Paper with Oil Paints

September 2, 2015October 28, 2020 | Alison - Adventures-in-Making

From 2014-2016 I chronicled my crafty endeavors on the site Adventures-in-Making. I’ve selected a few of those DIY’s, Recipes, and other posts to share on the site.

Whenever Rachel and I get together there is always a lot of making. We hang out, paint, draw, and then we party (ie: DIY TIMES). In anticipation for this visit, we made lists of possible crafts, and “Paper Marbling” appeared on both lists. Done!

We’d seen several methods, but we had almost all the supplies to marble with oil paints so we decided to try that out first. Having the best oil paints can make creating these easier. But it was a long, fun day; full of “oooooh” and “aaaaahhh,” sunshine, and turpentine fumes. We wanted to share our method and tips with you, so that you can make your own marble marvel.

Basic Supplies

Oil Paint Colors – cheap oil paints should work just fine, we used the M. Graham paints we had on hand.
Turpentine – Easily found at a hardware store.
Big plastic bin to float the paint in
Small containers to mix paint colors and turpentine
Cardstock (We loved the colored card stock best!)
Disposable bamboo skewers or spoons for stirring
Nitrile Gloves

Step 1: Prep

Before we got started we made a comb by taping toothpicks into a small strip of card stock. The comb was handy for pulling through the colors, and encouraging more “swirly bits.”

We set up our marbling table outside, which I recommend highly. You want to use a table or cover that it’s okay to get paint on. This is a messy craft, to be sure. We set out a tarp for drying our finished papers, put on our gloves and starting mixing things up.

We filled two plastic bins with about an inch or water and set them aside. Then we put out several colors of oil paints in our mixing containers.

It was a little trick to get the right mix of turpentine and paint, initially. We discovered that the ideal texture was somewhere around the thickness of whole milk.

We added turpentine to the paint containers in small pours, and mixed it thoroughly with a bamboo skewer. If we needed to add more turpentine we did it as soon as we had the paint mixed to a consistent texture.

Step 2: Pouring the Paint

Then we just poured the paints on top of the water! Simple. Sometimes we did little drops, sometimes we just chunked it all in.

Our first batch of color was always full of the same color family, so that as the colors mixed in the water we didn’t end up with a bunch of brown paper. (Towards the end we got a little more daring, and had great results adding in complementary colors to the batches.)

We got a lot of mileage out of our toothpick combs, pulling them through the paint to swirl the colors together.

Step 3: Dipping the Papers

Once we were happy with a design, we laid the card stock quickly on top of the swirled colors, and removed it as delicately as we could. (Rachel had a great dunking method that involved bending the card stock down the middle– hamburger style– then rolling down from the middle to the outside edges before lifting from the water.)

Tada! It was amazing how unpredictable the results were. What you saw on the water might not be at all what showed up on the paper. We loved the look we got towards the end, when there was less paint and it all seemed to be thinner.

We did two different color stories, one was reds and golds and one was blues and greens. The reds tended to get a little “gory” at times, but looked beautiful on colored papers.

Step 4: Drying and Future Projects with Marbly Goodness

We laid the paged out for a few hours, while we cleaned all the paint up. When we were ready to go inside we stacked the sheets and set them aside to dry. It took a good 5 days for the oil to be dry to the touch, but now they are, and I have all kinds of ideas about what to do with my collection.

Maybe I’ll revisit an old DIY, what do you think?

The possibilities are endless. I’m okay with that.

Things We Learned

Working outside is key. The Turpentine is kinda smelly, and even with a light breeze we felt like we were standing in the fumes. Working outside also made cleanup a lot easier, with a big trash can and a hose available. Make sure to dispose of turpentine properly!
Initially we tried thinning the oil paint with walnut oil, but it did not allow the paint to spread out across the water. We had to drop everything and head to the store for turpentine to make the project come together. I have seen a couple of recommendations online for turpentine alternatives, but we didn’t try any (after the oil fiasco.)
If your paint drops to the bottom instead of floating, add a little more turpentine.
Sometimes less paint is better. I loved the last sheets we printed from each batch.
Opaque paint on black paper is tres cool.
Each sheet is cooler than the last, which means you won’t ever want to stop. Ever.

AIM DIY: The Simplest Paper Flowers

May 20, 2015October 28, 2020 | Alison - Adventures-in-Making

From 2014-2016 I chronicled my crafty endeavors on the site Adventures-in-Making. I’ve selected a few of those DIY’s, Recipes, and other posts to share on the site.

A while back my friend Susan made a bunch of simple paper flowers that found a home on a shelf in my store.

Every few weeks a kid would ask me about the flowers, and I would give them one and tell them to take it home and try to figure out how to make their own. Without fail the kid would stare at the flower until it was time to leave, and I could see the parents trying to work out what materials they needed to make it happen.

Sometimes they asked me to demonstrate, but mostly I just loved the idea that I had inspired a kiddo to use their imagination and ingenuity to make something fun.

I think this is a great project to do with kids of all ages, and you just need a few simple supplies to make it happen.

Supplies

• Scrap Paper – Anything from text weight paper, to light weight card stock will work. Big pieces will make big flowers, small pieces will make small flowers. Susan used some old book pages for her flowers, you could use wrapping paper, catalog pages, or anything really!
• Scissors
• Your favorite glue – I used Aleene’s Tacky Glue but Elmer’s would also work.

Step 1

Cut an oval out of your piece of paper. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but try to keep the corners rounded.

Step 2

Starting from one side, cut the oval into a spiral. You should have a pointed end on the outside, and a rounded end on the other.

Step 3

Take the pointed end, and fold it down toward the center of the spiral.

Step 4

Starting at that fold, begin rolling the paper into a flower shape.

Step 5

When you get to the center portion of the spiral, tighten the bloom up by twisting the paper around the folded piece.

Step 6

Hold the bloom in your hand, and apply a drop of glue to the folded portion you started the flower with, then

fold it over and hold it for a few seconds until the glue holds.

The whole process takes a couple of minutes, and gives you a lovely simple flower to brighten up your day. You can put them in a basket, like I did, hang them like a mobile, or decorate a table with them. They don’t fade, and the possibilities are endless!

So make a bunch and send us a picture of your creation for the DIY Craft Challenge this month! Or share your favorite flower craft.

AIM DIY: Simple Flowers from Old T-Shirts + Free Templates

May 13, 2015October 28, 2020 | Alison - Adventures-in-Making

From 2014-2016 I chronicled my crafty endeavors on the site Adventures-in-Making. I’ve selected a few of those DIY’s, Recipes, and other posts to share on the site.

I’ve been in a major cleaning and organization mood, so most of my projects have been focused on “using up” materials I have around. One giant project used a bin full of old printed t-shirts (I’ll show you when I’m done!) and I ended up with so many colorful t-shirt scraps that I over-ran my rag box. I decided it was a perfect time to combine those scraps, and the May DIY Challenge theme to make some simple jersey flowers.

After playing with the fabric for a day or two, I came up with two basic flower-making methods that you can use to make a whole army of blossoms.

Supplies

• T-Shirt or jersey scraps
• Fabric scissors and paper scissors
• Needle and thread
• These printed template files : Stitch & Draw-up Petal Template, Pinch & Piece Petal Template

Optional Extras

• Shredding scissors, or other decorative edging scissors
• Straight pins
• Buttons
• Felt for leaves and backing. I used wide grosgrain ribbon.
• Pin-backs, bobby pins, or other clips to attach to the back
• Fabric Paints, or floss, or other decorating tools.

The Stitch & Draw-up Method

This is by far the quickest way I made flowers, and was also especially useful for adding details to the center of other flowers, or for making the smallest simplest bonus blooms to add to a flower bunch. The template includes two example petal shapes to play with, and a feathered shape that I used for a center detail. It works with basically any shape you want to use, though, so be sure to try your own ideas for rows of petals.

Step One

Cut the template shape out of a piece of jersey. (This is from the arm of a t-shirt.)

Then stitch a loose line starting close to one edge and ending close to the other.

Step Two

Put a stitch through the end you started on, to pull it into a ring.

Step Three

Pull both ends of the thread to gather the fabric into a round shape. Make sure the extra puckered fabric from below your stitch line if on one side of the flower.

Step Four

Take a couple more stitches through the puckered side of the flower (which will be the back side, tie your favorite knot, and cut the thread.

Step Five

Flip the flower over and add a button or other decoration. You can also stitch a clip or pin to the back side. I put a button in the center of this one by stitching through the middle of the bloom,

and added a couple of leaf-shaped pieces and a piece of ribbon to the back, by stitching them through the back of the petal.

Voila, a quick simple flower that I can use on a package, as a pin, or in my hair. (Or all of the above.)

The Pinch & Piece Method

This method takes a little more work, but I loved the way it makes a fuller and more complicated flower shape. I’ve given you four petal shapes to try on the template– each with a different number of petals per flower– but you can try all sorts of shapes for different results.

Step One

Cut the indicated number of petal pieces out of jersey material. For this flower, I also used the “Center Detail” piece from the other template page to create a fuzzy center for my flower (shown above in dark purple.)

Step Two

Stitch a loose line across the middle of each the petal (shown as a dotted line on the template) starting close to one edge and ending close to the other.

Put a stitch through the end you started on, and pull to gather the fabric.

Step Three

Bend the petal piece in half, and put a stitch in the fold. Then do the same to each petal to connect them all together. Tighten them together, and tie a knot at the first petal.

Step Four

Wrap your thread between each petal section to draw the center together and fluff the petals out. Then stitch through the back of the flower, & tie off the thread using your favorite knot. For the center on this flower, I used the “Stitch and Draw-up” method on my dark purple center detail piece, and then sewed through it and the center of my bloom. I attached a leaf shape and a piece of ribbon to the back like my first flower, and used that to bobby pin it in my hair.

I’ve started flipping through my flower books for inspiration, and I love the flexibility and the whimsy of using old t-shirts like this.

Soft, sweet, flowers.

Remember that if you do this or any other flower project, send us a picture to enter the May DIY Craft Challenge.

AIM DIY: Heart Stamps from Stuff your already have.

February 11, 2015October 28, 2020 | Alison - Adventures-in-Making

From 2014-2016 I chronicled my crafty endeavors on the site Adventures-in-Making. I’ve selected a few of those DIY’s, Recipes, and other posts to share on the site.

Creativity isn’t always about going to the craft store and stocking up on the newest trendy supply- sometimes it’s about getting clever with what I already have. I save money (by using the things I have and might otherwise throw away), save time (by avoiding a shopping run), and tickle that part of my brain that adores a challenge.

Fortunately, I have a LOT of random supplies, so I get to experiment.

Since the DIY Craft Challenge theme this month is hearts, I decided to sit down and make an assortment of heart stamps using different techniques and supplies. I hope they will inspire you to put your heart making skills to work!

Supplies to Gather Up

• Scissors
• Carving tools like these from Speedball
• Craft Knife
• Permanent Marker
• Pencils, with new erasers
• Stamp Pads
• Washable Markers
• Glue/Gluestick
• Wine Corks
• Sheets of Craft Foam
• Large Flat Eraser (or Speedy-Carve Carving Block)

Stamp 1: Scissors, Glue, Craft Foam, Stamp Pad

This was simply the easiest, quickest, and most surprisingly amazing stamp I made. If you’ve got some craft foam and a pair of scissors you should make a million. First I cut out a square of foam the same size as the flat top of the stamp pad. I then free-hand cut a heart out of that square, and glued it onto the top of the pad with a glue stick. Now all I have to do is take the lid off the stamp pad, tap it on the ink, and print. I love the way it stamps!
(Inspired by the gift wrap experiment.)

Stamp 2 : Flat Eraser, Scissors, Marker, Stamp Pad

It takes a little effort to make this one work with scissors (a craft knife would be easier) but it prints beautifully. I drew a heart shape on the eraser with a marker, then cut around the stamp until I had just the heart shape. Then dabbled it in a stamp pad.

Stamp 3: Pencil (with fresh eraser), Marker, Carving Tools, Stamp Pad

This one get the award for the most adorable. I drew a tiny heart on the eraser of the pencil, then carved around it to leave just the heart shape standing out, then stamped that in a stamp pad.
(Similar tutorial here.)

Stamp 4: Flat Eraser, Carving Tools, and Washable Markers

This is definitely the most compact and kid friendly, since you can use the marker instead of a stamp pad. First I cut a small piece circle of eraser and shoved it into the end of the marker. Then I drew a heart shape on it and carved out the material around the heart. Once the shape is all cut out, I used the marker itself instead of a stamp pad, by coloring on the heart and stamping away.
(These stamps used the same technique at my tiny bug marker stamps, and you can find an extended tutorial here.)

Stamp 5: Craft Knife, Cork, Marker, Stamp Pad

Although this little stamp get pretty rustic, I think that it is the prettiest. First I drew a heart on the wine end of the cork (the other side had a hole from the corkscrew) then I traced the heart with my knife, before cutting about 1/8 of an inch all the way around the cork. It took some back and forth between those two steps, but eventually I had a raised heart, all ready to stamp.
(Check out this even simpler version.)

See! Five heart stamps without even pulling out a potato or a sponge.

So what now? Check back tomorrow for a Valentine template that will put those stamps to good use!

AIM DIY: Corked Display Box

January 28, 2015October 28, 2020 | Alison - Adventures-in-Making

From 2014-2016 I chronicled my crafty endeavors on the site Adventures-in-Making. I’ve selected a few of those DIY’s, Recipes, and other posts to share on the site.

When you’re setting up a shop, or a booth for the first time, it seems like everyone has advice. What they don’t tell you about is the agony, exhilaration, and frustration that is display.

I think that I could spend every waking hour working on display pieces in my store, and never be done– and yet, I love putting together something unique that shows off the artist’s work (and my cleverness.)

I’d been using this stripped-down silverware box for display, but didn’t feel like if was as useful as it should be. I starting thinking about buying a piece of cork board to hang jewelry pieces from the back- then realized I was ignoring a free material right at my fingertips, those wine corks someone had been hoarding. (Just so you don’t worry about me being crushed in a pile of old newspaper and wine corks, I wasn’t the one saving them; and this project used up almost all of them.)

I decided to line the back of the box in little slivers of cork. So I laid each cork out on a cutting board, and

cut it into four pieces. (It’s not an exact science. I wanted the cork backing to be a little uneven, like old masonry.)

After I had cut a whole bunch of corks, I got ready to glue.

I used Aleene’s Tacky Glue to glue each cork sliver down, packing them in tightly to fill the space.

At the edges, I cut the cork slivers in half to fill in where needed.

Once I filled in the whole back, I let it dry overnight, before filling the bottom portion with dry rice. (Rice is a display staple, not just a food!)

I pressed straight pins into the cork to hang jewelry. (I’ve found that the less fidgety a display is, the more comfortable people are using it. The pins are easier to pull earrings off of than clips.)

One more display case down.

(The jewelry pieces seen here are from Christine Stoll jewelry, available at the So There store, and her shop ChristineStoll.com.)

AIM DIY: Shiny Robot Ornaments from Wine Corks

December 10, 2014October 28, 2020 | Alison - Adventures-in-Making

From 2014-2016 I chronicled my crafty endeavors on the site Adventures-in-Making. I’ve selected a few of those DIY’s, Recipes, and other posts to share on the site.

Since this month’s DIY Craft Challenge Theme is Glitter I started thinking about all the things that sparkle around the holidays… and obviously thought “Robot”.

Actually, I’m not sure why I went straight to our metal friends, but that’s what the DIY Craft Challenge is all about! It’s a jumping off point for all your great ideas. I think glitter, I think robots. It’s just fine!

I’ve been playing with projects that use wine corks, and decided with a little paint, wire, and decoration I could make some amazing little guys for my tree.

Supplies I used

• Wine Bottle Corks
• A large kitchen knife and cutting board
• Folk Art Metallic Acrylic Paint – in Gunmetal and Silver Sterling and paintbrush
• E6000® Craft Adhesive
• A nail and hammer and a scrap piece of wood (you could also use an awl)
• 18 Gauge Steel Galvanized Wire, needle nose pliers, and wire cutters
• Stud Earrings, buttons, and other decoration bits.

I used a few basic shapes to form my robots. Wheels were just thin slices off the corks. Bodies and heads were mainly full or shortened corks. Legs were cut long wise either in half or in quarters. I used a very sharp knife to cut several different shapes out and held those shapes together to see what looked “roboty” to me.

Once I decided on the shape of my robot, I painted each piece with the gunmetal color of acrylic. If you’re having trouble getting the paint to stick to the outside of the cork, rough it up a little with sandpaper.

After several (sloppy) coats of paint, I began drilling holes in my corks to run wire through. I love that using wire instead of glue means that the wheels, heads, and arms can all be spun or moved.

For the wheely robots, I ran the through the center body piece, and through each wheel.

Then secured the ends of the wire by making a loop with the wire, then folding the loops down against the wheel.

When I had a wire that I couldn’t run all the way through a piece, I applied a dab of E6000 adhesive to the end before pressing it into the cork.

I have a huge stash of old earrings that were donated to me, and some of them were absolutely perfect for decorating the robots. It’s okay that they are a little mismatched; their hearts are in the right place. (Get it?!)

I had a great time making these little guys… and playing with them. I absolutely love taking the opportunity to look at everything in a new way.

Breaking down robots into a few basic shapes, then building them from an unexpected material.

While you’re brainstorming for the DIY Challenge, I encourage you to take the chance to try something a little different. Take the theme and run with it.

If you ever make robots like these, be careful.

They can get rowdy and make a royal mess out of your other decorations… especially if they have help.

What does your brain go when you think Glitter?

AIM DIY: Rolled Paper Gift Basket

November 12, 2014October 28, 2020 | Alison - Adventures-in-Making

From 2014-2016 I chronicled my crafty endeavors on the site Adventures-in-Making. I’ve selected a few of those DIY’s, Recipes, and other posts to share on the site.

Sometimes the best gift is a collection of small things. I love to put together little sets at the store, and I’ve been looking for a awesome little gift basket that would be special enough to keep.

Since it’s the season of unrequested catalogs, I thought I would use this abundant (and colorful) resource as the primary material for my project. I was inspired by photos of a Mark Montano project to roll the pieces and form the basket out of little paper donuts.

Supplies I used

• Glossy lightweight catalog pages
• A scrap 1/8 inch strip of chipboard (from a cereal box)
• A pen, and a dowel of two different diameters
• Glue – I used Elmer’s Glue-All for the majority of my gluing, but did have to use some E6000 to repair weak spots in my basket at the end.
• A bowl to use as a template shape for my gift basket

To begin, I cut the catalog pages into 3 inch and 5 inch strips.

I wrapped each piece of paper around my chipboard strip, starting at the corner.

Once I had the strip almost completely rolled up, I applied glue to the last corner, and smoothed it down. Then I pulled the chipboard strip out, and flattened the rolled strip with my fingernail.

I tried to roll each sheet so that as much solid color as possible showed on the final piece. (A fun puzzle.)

Once I had a nice stack of rolled pieces, I began making my final donut shaped pieces. I started wrapping the strip around a pen, or dowel; applying a drop of glue near the beginning…

and a drop at the end to secure the donut. I then smoothed down the tail end, held it closed for a few seconds, and gently slid it off of the pen.

Using a couple of different widths of paper strip, and a couple of different sized dowels/pens meant that after several rounds of donut rolling I had a nice selection of building blocks for my final basket.

I am going to admit something here. Since I usually jump into projects without sufficient direction, I have a lot of false starts. It took me way too long to figure out that I should work on the inside of a bowl. Live and learn, and let gravity help.

This bowl turned out to be the perfect size for the small collection of items I wanted to basket.

Starting from the bottom, I applied small drops of glue to the edges of my donuts, and began laying them in a single layer in the bowl.

I started with the whiter donuts, working towards more saturated pieces as I went up.

Does this make anyone else crave Froot Loops?

I made sure to put enough glue to hold the pieces together once I removed it from the jig. Once all of my pieces were in place, I let the whole thing dry overnight. Once it was dry, I held the bowl upside-down, gently twisted the inside form to loosen it, and let it fall into my other hand.

The glue did a relatively good job of holding things together, but there were definitely a couple of weak spots that I had to repair with the heavier duty E6000.

I love the way the basket looks…but….

It is extremely time consuming, with every little piece requiring multiple steps to form. The end product is worth it, but I was inspired to make a much quicker basket out of the same materials. (I’ll share that with you soon.)

Things to try

• Making Christmas ornaments out of the donuts.
• Try newspaper, tissue paper, and other materials.
• Try painting or dyeing the final basket.

What would you try?