Interior decoration
3D paper diamonds
Hello there. Hope you all had a great Easter! We had a lovely relaxing holiday (….well as relaxing as it gets with kids). It would have been great to have another week off ^_^
Before I forget I just want to say a big thank you for all the kind messages you have send me regarding my book (you really are a nice bunch!)…and huge thanks to all the people who have bought it so far…
I’ve been meaning to get this paper diamond up for weeks now…but it’s taken ages to figure the template out (and I’ve been having breaks between each failed attempt). I really hate crafty disasters (I seems to be having a few just recently) so I’m happy that this one came good in the end!!
It’s based on simplified version of Satoshi Kamiya’s origami diamond. I did make the origami diamond to begin with but I found it impossible to keep the model closed (and really tricky to make as I couldn’t find full instructions anywhere). In the end I just made a less complictated ‘cut, score & glue’ version which was much easier to assemble!
These paper diamonds are tricky to make (& require a fair bit of patience) so definitely adults only! If you enjoyed making my paper gems then this project is definitely for you.
When you have made your diamonds you can attach thread and hang them up. You could also use them as a gift box…perfect for jewellery (or diamond rings!!). If any of you do succeed in making some please let me know (if you send me a link to your pictures I’ll pop it up on my facebook page).
How-to
1. Print out the template onto a sheet of paper. Cut around solid line.
2. Using a needle (or compass point) and ruler score along all the dotted lines.
3. Turn over and lightly bend along scored lines.
4. Using a glue-stick glue each flap into place. (I would recommend that you glue one flap and stick in place and then glue the next flap etc).
Happy Monday all!
Edited to add: A few people have had problems printing the templates (the dotted lines do not print). If you too are having problems you can download a ‘dotted-line-free’ template here!
Easter garland
This is my first ever Easter craft! A ‘miffy’ inspired rabbit garland. It’s very sweet and would look cute in a babies room too!
All you have to do it print, cut and attach to cotton.
I printed the template onto pastel coloured card (175 gsm).
You can download a template here if you want to try!
Hama bead weaving continued…
I finally got around to posting some more hama bead weaving images. I decided against baskets in the end and went for candle holders instead!
I had intended to make a whole army of them but we’ve all has a dodgy stomach bug over the last few weeks so it put a bit of a dampner on my plans!
The neon semi-transparent beads worked really well against the opaque white beads and the jars look really pretty with the light shining through them.
I was going to write a proper how-to but there is a really fantastic bead weaving tutorial here which is better than anything I could put together.
Hints and tips:
♥ You will need some shirring elastic, a darning needle and some hama/perler beads.
♥ I would say that hama bead weaving is too fiddly for little kids and best aimed at teenagers or grown ups!
♥ Threading the first few rows is pretty fiddly so don’t be put off by this. After that it’s a piece of cake.
♥ I have found it easier to sketch a design first, rather than trying to figure one out along the way. With this in mind I have put together a printable design sheet here!
♥ You don’t need fancy candles…just use an old glass jar and stick a tea-light inside.
♥ If you don’t fancy candle holders then you can make bracelets, baskets, plant pots and coasters using the same method. You can also use seed beads to create some stunning jewellery. Inspiration here!
If you have any questions then leave a comment and I will get back to you.
Happy Monday all!
I ♥ mathematics {platonic solids garland}
Oooh….it’s been I while since I last posted. We had a smashing Christmas and new year. Hope you all did too!
My computer died just before Christmas and it’s taken my hubby and I a while to bring it back to life…which is why it’s been a bit quiet. I lost 3 months worth of work (new years resolution no.33 = backup files more regularly!).
Now seems like a good time to thank all you lovely lot for visiting minieco over the last couple of years. I am ever amazed at the increasing number of people who tune in! I also realise as far as bloggers go I am quite slack…only managing to get a post up every week or two. I’d like to say that this will improve……! Thanks for sticking with me through the quiet times anyhow!
In between posts I regulary use pinterest so do pop over and check it out if you haven’t already. It’s a great site for gathering together all your favourite bits of eye candy!
There seems to be a bit of a Polyhedra craze going on at the moment. It seems to me that mathematics has never been so cool.
I have put together some templates for a ‘platonic solids‘ garland. Perfect for cheering the place up now all the festive decorations have been taken down.
Simply chop, score and glue together.
Don’t forget to thread your cotton in whilst glueing the pieces together….I forgot! (I did manage to thread the cotton through afterwards but it was pretty tricky and took longer than it should have done).
I’ll try to get a better photo of it in situ…our conservatory is really bright and sunny but the rest of the house is pretty dark (especially in this miserable weather).
If you want something a bit more subtle then you could make the polyhedra white with some neon/gold thread!
If you fancy having a go you can download templates here. (There are two templates on each page!)
Cube
Icosahedron
Tetrahedron
Octahedron
Dodecahedron
Happy chopping/folding/sticking!!
Check this site out for a jawdropping collection ofpolyhedra templates. Amazing stuff!
Paper gems (+ templates)
This has got to be one of my favorite projects to date…which is a good job because I nearly broke my brain putting the templates together!! I’m not so good at maths and figuring out angles (my lovely Mum is a retired maths teacher so I should know better!). By the way this project is quite fiddly so more aimed at grown-ups or older kids.
My paper gems were very influenced by these wonderful crayons (via Deborah’s Pinterest board).
You can use these paper gems as hanging decorations (for your Christmas tree) or you can incorporate them into a mobile or garland. I would love to make about a hundred and string them up in front of my window…however there is a limit to my patience!!
If you spray them lightly on one side they look very pretty and a bit more crystal-like! (Not very eco-friendly but I found it hard to resist). Skip below the jump for pdf templates and instructions.
If you love crystals and gems as much as I do then check out these cool projects:
Home-made rock candy
Home grown geodes
Edited to add: Check out this great advent calendar idea using my paper gems. Thanks Marta!
Kids craft coming up next week…I absolutely promise this time!
Off topic:
Huge thanks to Kathreen from whipup.net for choosing one of my images for her 2012 calendar. Be sure to check it out!
I’ve been a total slacker on email lately…but intend to catch up over the next week. So if you have emailed, sorry, you will hear from me soon!
Pacman Halloween garland
I vividly remember playing pacman when I was younger and I used to get the heebie-jeebies just before one of those little ghosts gobbled me up. Anyhow…I still think they are a bit spooky (in a friendly kind of way) so thought they would make an excellent Halloween garland.
The shapes are pretty simple, so very easy to chop out. I’ve been making mine, feet up, in front of the telly. Can’t beat a bit of multitasking…haha!
I’ve left my feet in this picture to give you an idea of how big the cut-outs are. If anyone wants a full tutorial then leave a comment. Full instructions after the jump!
Want to play pacman? Check out the google version here…it’s a great time waster!
Tea-light luminaries
Hooray!! I finally managed to get a post up!! It’s been such a busy few weeks with one thing or another so sorry about the downtime!
Last week I dragged my husband round IKEA. He absolutely hates it there…for him it’s like pulling teeth. My boys also seem to mutate the moment we walk through the door and seem to think it’s OK to climb up everything they clap eyes on (and I spend most of the time nagging them and moaning at my hubby for being so grumpy)….you know the story! Anyway, somewhere among the chaos I forgot to get some tealight holders, which I’ve been meaning to get for ages…as we have a thousand tealights and nothing to put them in.
So, I made some.
They are really simple and consist of cut-paper stuck to a baby food jar with a bit of tape. Easy! I also think you could scale them up and make a lampshade…another project for another day maybe.
Click on the link below for a how-to. I’ve also included some printable templates if you fancy making some.
Finally, sorry if I’ve not replied to emails or responded to comments much over the last few weeks…do feel free to email me and tell me off. I will try to do better from here on in…!!
Craft for OKIDO magazine
The lovely people at Okido magazine asked me to do a craft project for their latest issue which is all about the weather.
OKIDO is jam-packed full of things to keep little hands and minds occupied. Check it out…it’s just lovely!
I made this ‘rainy day mobile’. It’s really simple – all you need is paper, thread and glue.
Follow the diagrams below to construct the raindrops…
…you can sew them too if you would prefer – then you only need to cut out two shapes for each drop – rather than four.
I ♥ OKIDO – hooray!! I ♥ the rain too…but not all the time!
Recycled book garland
Our ‘Tawny Scrawy Lion‘ book fell apart (with a little help from a two year old)! It’s one of my absolute favorite kids books and the illustrations by Gustaf Tenggren are just wonderful.
I turned it into a garland to hang in our house. Even though it was in a sorry state I still felt bad about chopping it up!
It does look pretty cute though? I think it would look fabulous in a nursery or kids bedroom…especially if you are going for the retro look.
I’m going to hit the charity shops this week in the hunt for some more raggedy copies. You can read more about Tenggren’s amazing illustrative work here.
Oh My Handmade – guest post
I was delighted when Oh My Handmade asked me to do a guest post this month. Oh My Handmade is a brilliant site, led by Jessika Hepburn. It brings together a small group of independent artisans, designers, and industry experts. Each day they share with you a little bit of what they love and know. Check it out. It’s a fantastic resource for anyone interested in the handmade world.
I decided to share my pears and apples mobile with Oh My. I’ve been wanting to make one for a while now. Don’t ask me why! I’m not sure it turned out quite how I planned (I was kind of hoping for a more retro feel) but I like it all the same.
The nicest thing is that it’s really easy to make – all you need is some paper, thread, sellotape and a pair of scissors.
It looks very beautiful twirling around and I imagine will look even better when it’s catching some sunshine….roll on spring!
I scanned my shapes in so all you need to do is print it out this pdf and cut out the shapes which you can use as a template. For those of you without printers…simply open the pdf, lay a white piece of paper on your computer screen and gently trace.
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