Mini eco - Part 2

Lego // 8-bit ghosts, eyes & skulls!

By Kate on October 21, 2013

Ilove an excuse to play with lego. Don’t you agree?! The kids and I have been having fun making some Halloween decorations over the last week or so.

Lego | 8-bit skull

Lego | 8-bit eyes

If you like the lego eyes then check out the best manicure in the world. (Source: Designlovefest)

Lego // 8-bit ghosts, eyes & skulls!

You can make decorations that stand up (like the ghosts below) or you can put them on a baseboard (like those above).

You could even make a custom made lego shelf for displaying your creations!

Lego | 8-bit ghosts

Hot off the press // MiniEco: A Craft Book

51 comments

By Kate on October 15, 2013

Yay! A copy of my new book popped through the letter box today. It’s so good to see a copy in the flesh (- it’s been a year in the making).

It looks lovely! It’s got a neon green/papercut dust jacket (which is really hard to photograph!) and is full of beautiful photographs and illustrations.

You can order a copy from The Book Depository, Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk. It would make a great gift for Christmas *^_^*

If you just want a quick look-see then why not order a copy through your local library instead?

I hope you are all having a happy day. More Halloween Craft coming soooon! Kate x

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Photography by Garry Maclennan.
Styling by Clare Nicolson
Illustration by Jil Wiesner.

MiniEco: A Craft Book is published by Cicada Books and ~~will be out on 11th Nov 2013~~ is out now! You can order a copy through The Book Depository, Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk. – yay!

Halloween // Spinning paper toy

20 comments

By Kate on October 8, 2013

I love thaumatropes. They have been around forever and make very cool toys. All you need is some paper, a stick (or straw), some sticky tape and five spare minutes. If you haven’t got a printer then you can draw your own.

I used to live in Fremantle (Western Australia) so I made a redback version too!

If you fancy having a go you will find the files at the foot of the post as usual. There are also some other non-Halloween designs here.

PRINTABLE FILES
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Each file makes two thaumatropes
Spider thaumatrope
Redback thaumatrope

YOU WILL NEED:
- – – – – – – – – –
+ Good quality A4 paper
+ Scissors
+ Glue
+ Stick/straw

HOW TO
- – – – – – -

1. Print out your thaumatropes. Set your printing preferences to ‘text & image’ or ‘photo’. Cut around the outside of your thaumatrope.

2. Take your straw and carefully stick the spider to one side of the stick and the web to the other side of the stick. You can use glue or sellotape.

3. Put your stick between your flat palms and spin your stick. Can you put the spider back in his web?

Kitiya Palaskas // crafty envy #8

2 comments

By Kate on October 7, 2013

If you have a serious case of Monday blues then check out Kitiya Palaskas website. It’s full of fun and colour and makes me smile every time I visit.

Kitiya is a craft-based designer and creative workshop teacher who works in both Sydney and Melbourne. You can catch Kitiya on twitter, pinterest, and instagram. You can also read about Kitiya craft bike and craft workshops here.

Happy Monday all!

‘Tell the time’ clock // free printable

25 comments

By Kate on September 23, 2013

My boys are learning to tell the time at the moment. I tried to find a printable ‘learning clock’ online, but struggled to find a decent one, so it seemed like a good idea to make my own.

There are two different versions. There’s a green and blue one (to help understand ‘minutes-past’ and ‘minutes-to’). There is also a standard clock (one in rainbow and one in black and red).

I don’t normally design learning aids so if there are any teachers out there with any useful comments or bits of advice then please leave a comment ^_^

As, usual printable files are at the foot of the post.

FILES:
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Standard clock in rainbow colors [PDF]
Standard clock in black and red [PDF]
Clock (minutes-past/minutes-to) [PDF]

YOU WILL NEED:
- – – – – – – – – –
+ Good quality A4 paper or thin card
+ Scissors
+ Compass (or sharp point)
+ Small split pin

HOW TO
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1. Print out the pdf. Set your printing preferences to ‘photo’ or ‘best photo’.
2. Cut out the clock face
3. Cut out the ‘minutes’ and ‘hours’ hand.
4. Using a compass point pierce a hole in the center of each of the crosses.
5. Join the hands and the face together using a small split pin.