Printables
Butterfly sun-catchers
After the wettest April in a hundred years the sun has finally made an appearance in my part of the world! Yay!!!
In order to celebrate we have been making sun-catchers. I remember making them when I was a kid but had honestly forgotten just how brilliant they look with the sun streaming through them.
To make your butterfly sun-catcher you will need:
• Black paper
• Tissue paper
• Pencil crayon
• Scissors
• Craft knife (optional)
• Glue-stick
Step 1
Cut a butterfly shape out of a black sheet of paper. If you are not that confident with drawing you can download a template here. (You should be able to print this on black paper and still see the lines.)
Step 2
Using a light coloured pencil-crayon draw shapes onto the wings of the butterfly (if you use the printable template you can skip this bit). Then using a pair of scissors, or a craft, knife cut out the shapes. Most kids will probably need a hand with this step.
Step 3
Get your squares of tissue paper and tear them into strips. You can choose any colours you want but bright colours work best!
Step 4
Get your glue-stick and apply some glue to the wing of the butterfly and then stick the strips across the wing. Don’t worry if the tissue paper overlaps, you can actually create some really interesting effects by layering it in this way. Make sure you lift the butterfly up every now and again, just to make sure it isn’t stuck to your work-surface!
Step 5
Turn your butterfly over and trim the paper strips so that they are level with the outside edge.
Ta-da…
Stick your butterfly to a window…
Top Tip:
To get kids more involved with the cutting stage let them make the holes in the wings using craft punches, or even a hole-punch.
8-bit popup cards
Hello! Remember that pixel heart card I made a while back? Well it has been one of my most popular tutorials to date so I thought I would add another few designs to the collection. Meet ‘space-invader popup’ and ‘skull popup’:
Like the heart card, they are really minimal (which I just love) and easy to make once you have got the hang of it.
You definitely need a craft knife (and a steady hand) to make these cards this project is only really suitable for adults or teenagers.
If you want to have a go at making them you will find full instructions and downloadable templates after the jump.
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!
DIY string-tie envelopes
Hello! Sorry about the little break. My son has been off on his half-term holidays so I had a blog-free week!
Now I am back, I just want to give a big shout out (and a big thank you) to my new sponsors, pi’ikea street and paper glitter….do check their sites out!
I also wanted to say a massive thanks to all the people who have left comments lately (and to those who have sent me lovely emails). It’s been especially great to hear from people who have been making the projects…and ace seeing all your pictures…hurray!
I do confess that I have always had a ‘thing’ about string-tie envelopes. They seem impossible to get hold of though so I thought it would be fun to make my own. They are very easy to do!
These dinky little envelopes are great for all-sorts of things (storing paper ephemera, housing invitations/gift cards, storing seeds). I have also been making some for my sons to play with (as they are obsessed with letters/post offices at the moment). I reckon they would also make a cute gift.
By the way, now my kids are getting better at using scissors they have been really enjoying making their own envelopes using the template from my previous post.
You will find a full tutorial and templates below! Happy Monday all 
You will need:
Paper
Card
String
Glue stick
Scissors
Tiny brads/split pins (the heads of the brads I used were 3mm in diameter)
How-to
1. Print out the template onto paper. Cut score and fold.
Template one (tiny envelope, print out on A5 paper)
Template two (C7 envelope, print on A4 paper)
2. Cut out some small, card disks. Paper will work just as well but card will be a bit more hard-wearing.
3. Using a needle, pierce two holes in the envelope and a hole in each disk (marked on template).
4. Attach card disks to envelope using brads. (If you don’t have any brads then you can sew them on. See this tutorial at simplymodernmom.com).
5. Fold the three edges of the envelope up and glue.
6. Attach a piece of string to the top disk and tie off. Wrap round disks to fasten.
If you are not keen on the rainbow brights then I think pastel/neon would be a great combination. For example, make a pale pink envelope with neon pink disk and string. (Note to self: must buy neon card/paper!)
Job done!
{Valentines day} pixelated popup card
I‘ve been scratching my head trying to come up with a card for my hubby {AKA the non-romantic type}. I finally decided to make this pixely popup heart card!
They are really minimal (which I love) and take about 20 minutes to make (that includes the card, insert and envelope).
You can even make some pixely confetti to put inside the card (if you are a big kid like me!).
Full instructions and printable templates below!
(BTW I remember seeing something similar in a popup book years ago. If anyone knows of the book then do let me know!).
How to
1. Download the popup insert template and print out. I used paper but a thin card would probably be OK too. Using some scissors trim around the edge of the template.
2. Using a craft knife and ruler cut and score your card. See diagram below for more detail.
(If you have a cutting machine then see note at end of post!)
Cut along the black lines and score the grey lines.
3. Make the four valley folds as show below (thin yellow lines shown in fig. 3).
4. Slowly fold the top of the card inwards and the bottom half of the heart should begin to push out. (You don’t need to tape it to the table…I did because I was taking pictures at the same time!)
5. Fold card completely in half and smooth down
6. Make outer card and glue/tape popup insert inside. I just used a plain piece of paper which measured 9.5cm x 19cm and then folded it in half.
7. Print out the envelope template. Cut, score and fold.
8. Pop card inside and tape envelope shut (I added some pixely confetti too)!
Edited to add: The lovely Kayla from saynotsweetanne has send me a .dfx file of the card which you can use if you have a cutting machine. I have never even heard of a cutting machine…let alone used one so this is all a bit of a revelation (for me, anyway)!! You can download the file here. Thanks Kayla! You’re a star! (Please leave a comment to let me know if you find this file useful…if you do then I’ll try to find out how to generate them for all my print/cut posts).
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!
Crackers!!
I can’t imagine tucking into a Christmas dinner without pulling a cracker first. I love the naff hats, the cringe-worthy jokes (and just the tradition of it all).
Crackers are so easy to make…and if you don’t fancy making some for the table you can make some miniature ones to hang in the tree. They also make really cool gift boxes.
I’ve put some templates together if you wanna try. I initially drew these up for my son because he breaks up from school next week and I wanted to line up a few nice things for him to do. (I’m going to ask him to make one for each of his grandparents for Christmas – I’ll cut out the cracker and he can fill it with drawings, sweets and confetti and decorate the outside…sorted!).
Here’s how:
1) Download the pdf and print onto thin card. There is a large template and a miniature template. (Full size crackers are 25cm long and miniature crackers are 16cm long).
2) Cut around the outside with a pair of scissors.
3) Score along all the dotted lines. Compass points are great for scoring card.
4) Using a craft knife cut out all the diamond shapes.
5) Fold along all the vertical lines.
6) Fold along horizontal lines as shown. At this point you would insert a cracker bang and tape it into place at each end using sticky tape. (I didn’t use any cracker bangs for this post because I didn’t get my act together and order them in time!…If you wanna buy some, have a look on ebay).
7) Bring ends together and join using a glue stick or double sided tape.
8) Tie one end with a length of cotton/ribbon/string*
9) Wrap a gift/sweets/hat/joke/confetti* in some tissue paper
10) Pop inside cracker and tie the other end with cotton/ribbon/string*
* delete where appropriate!!
Job done!!
Hope all your Christmas or Hanukkah crafts/preparations/plans are coming along a treat.
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!
Shadow puppets
We’ve been making shadow puppets! My sons have always loved playing with torches in our downstairs cupboard so the shadow puppets have had a lot of use.
Me eldest son has also become interested in putting on ‘plays’ for us lately….he’s getting into that whole storytelling thing…(very funny + cute)!
Templates are here to download (there are a few extra ones on the template that aren’t pictured including a pacman inspired ghost).
You can print them out onto thin black card (and you should should be still able to see the outlines). You will need little split pins for the robot and sticks to attach them to.
Holly from chezbeeperbebe also put together some wonderful shadow puppet templates this year so check those out too!
Hope you all have a great Halloween! We are off to buy a pumpkin today so if anyone knows of any good designs please shout out!! I have only ever carved one pumpkin in my life so it’s new-ish territory for me!
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