You are visitor

April

• Spring is traditionally windy. Is there a better excuse to go fly a kite? An easy way to make one is to fold a piece of paper in half, and cut out an irregular triangle (one short steep cut, then a long gradual cut). If you are confused by this, check out the shape of half a kite and take measurements. Draw the shape on the fold, and cut out. Glue this to another piece of paper to give it a bit of weight (thin piece of construction paper?). Cut out. For the cross supports, either glue a thin plastic covered wire, or crochet cotton (the type that says "for fashion garments") to the back. For the kite string, use thread...glue one end to center of cross, wrap the other end around the handle (a piece of round toothpick, or any appropriate size tube shape cut down to size). From here? Well, now that you have the basic kite, decorate with bits of lace, color from paints, bits of ribbons, etc. Don't forget to add a tail!

• Another spring item that I remember from my ill spent youth was the pinwheel. Cut a small square of very thin paper , fold it in half one way, open it up and fold it in half the other. Using a compass, draw a circle around the center point. Starting at one corner, cut towards the center, and stop when you reach the circle that you just drew. Do this three more times. You should be left with four triangles attached at the center. Take every second corner, fold it into the center and secure with a small dab of glue. If you have done this correctly, you should have the head of the pinwheel (if you are confused, go out and buy a pinwheel...for purely scientific purposes, of course!). Next, attach the back to an appropriate size stick (fimo,rolled paper or a stiff plastic covered wire). Cover the center of the pinwheel with a small decoration to dress it up.

• Also, why not perk up the beginning of spring with a wind sock? These can be made from pieces of ribbon curled into a cylinder, then decorated with bits of ribbon and stickers. Glue three pieces of thread to the top (equally spaced)and tie the other end to a jewelry jump ring and its ready to hang.

• Birdhouses and feeders are always fun for spring, too! For simple houses, cut a short length off of an appopriate size piece of square moulding. Turn it on its edge you will see a diamond shape...look familiar? From here, drill three holes into the block... one on the bottom center (this is where your pole will attach), one larger hole in the center of one face of the diamond, and a third smaller hole (a bit bigger than the width of a round toothpick) just below the larger hole. A pole can be made from a thin dowel, the base can be a piece of wood, doweling, or anything that looks like it would work. Cut a short length of toothpick and glue it into the smaller hole...this is your perch. From here you can start decorating your bird's home! Bits of high grit sandpaper can be used for the roof, acrylic paints can be used to achieve a number of effects (I have made a Tudor house and a barn. For the Tudor, I cut a small piece of square balsa trim and painted it to look like a brick chimney). If you are stuck for inspiration, check out spring craft magazines. They will often have many good color pictures of interesting birdhouses. You can also make a fimo robin resident...just make a teardrop of fimo, add a round head, a bit more fimo for a beak. Bake, then paint features on with acrylics and a good liner brush. Finish off by tucking some moss inside the entrance hole around your bird. If you do not want to make a house from wood, you can also make houses from posterboard and a little paint, or search your local craft store. I found small pre-made birdhouses that were ready to paint. Feeders can be made from lengths of clear straws,jewelry findings, bits of dowels, paper boxes and the like. Bird seed can be simulated from pepper or different colors of fine craft sand mixed together. A suet feeder can be made from transparent fimo and some tule netting. Remember seeing bird feeders made from milk cartons? Well, take apart a real carton, see how it is built, and reconstruct one in miniature (from poster board and a reduced label) for a humorous touch!

Go back home

Go back to archive menu