Tubular (cardboard) bells!

This is really easy. Get a sturdy cardboard tube. Pierce holes at regular intervals round the outside. Using a needle and thread attach bells to tube. Hey presto…a cheap and very cool little instrument.

I got my cardboard tube from inside a roll of binbags. I reckon you could do this with a toilet roll tube but it may not last as long. Wrapping paper tubes would also work pretty well.

If you are handy with a pair of knitting needles then make some knitted ankle cuffs too!

I used a fairly thick thread to attach the bells to the tube. Please bear in mind they do come off from time to time so take care around little ones.

Keep your eyes peeled because I am doing a guest post over at ohmyhandmade.com in the next week which is very exciting.

I also want to do a big shout out for Michelle at michelemademe.blogspot.com. Michelle used my crocodile design to make some edible art – check it out!

Cardboard instruments

We’ve got a stack of cardboard hanging around the house after Christmas so we’ve been making some musical instruments.

We made this really super guitar. The great thing is that it actually sounds pretty good. I’d be lying if I said it was capable of knocking out purple haze but with a bit of fiddling and tuning something like twinkle twinkle little star is well within reach.

My son thought it was ace anyway and spent lots of time customizing the outside (the decorating was interspersed with some vigorous twanging!).

The secret to get it to work well is to have the raised bridge – it makes all the difference. I cut a three inch hole in the middle of the box and used six split pins at either end if you fancy having a go. It’s also worth using a fairly strong box so that it doesn’t collapse under tension.

More cardboard instruments coming up soooon!