DIY Solar Eclipse Viewer From a Cereal Box

 The big time eclipse in question happened on 8/21/17. OK, unless you've been living under a rock, you probably heard all about the big-deal solar eclipse that is supposed to be a totality and the first one that has actually been in occurrence in a couple of centuries, so naturally this is a big deal. Heck, I heard that President Trump and his family was planning on watching it, too!

Naturally we want to go check this out and stake out a seat. But then there's the problem of the viewing part and I found out just through some articles that, yep, you cannot safely enjoy this once in a lifetime event just wearing sunglasses.

Some people were able to get their hands on a special type of viewing spectacles that have a certain labeling....

But some of us didn't know this and apparently not near any locality to obtain these, I found out that you can create a viewer made out of a (yep, that's right believe it or not) a cereal box. I can't take the credit for this one as it was something I discovered:

I watched a video and took notes, (drew a diagram is more like it - that's kind of how I learn; I will scribble out a blueprint and add some footnotes here and there that are pertinent)

1. First you have to cut the outer left and right ends off of the cereal box (you could certainly use a shoebox if cereal isn't a "thing" in your household) and the surrounding underflap.

2. Setting the box upright, take a piece of plain white paper and trace around the perimeter of the box end; cut this part out. Place this piece of paper inside the box and push it to the bottom end.

3. Cut a piece of aluminum foil to go on the other end of the top of the box that is showing the removed end piece. Tape it down. With a certain sharp instrument (I used a very small Phillips head screwdriver) poke a tiny hole into this side.

4. On the big day what you are supposed to do is look through the viewfinder by turning the box sideways and looking through the open end.

I don't think I got the hang of it when I went outside today. Trouble is the whole event took place over a period of time and unless you were looking at a schedule you might not know what phase is going to be occurring in your area.

I was expecting to see this period of the sky getting dark but we have some weird weather down here in which the sky gets darker as if an impending storm is looming ahead and then it just goes right back to sunny normal again. So it could be some cloud related ambiguity or perhaps I didn't stake a seat outside early enough.

But either way I got to do something unique, repurposing something I don't use often- a cereal box.

And in the event that another one of these eclipses takes place -you too, will be prepared (maybe a little bit better than I was?) Enjoy!

10 Craft Ideas Using Shoeboxes

 Let's unbox your creativity! 10 Craft Ideas Using Shoe Boxes That Will Blow Your Mind! I orignally published this on 8/18/17.

Howdy crafters! I have compiled some of the best craft ideas using shoe boxes – once you wrap your eyes around this you’ll never toss another shoe box out again, not even in the recycling bin!

There are so many things to make out of shoe boxes and in addition, all you need are a few extra tools (Don’t worry, I’m talking about everyday items such as scissors, an X-acto knife for trimming and cutting, paints, tape, etc. )

So get ready to think outside the box (you knew that was coming!)

Diorama or Shadow Box

Think you’re too old for making dioramas? Think again, you don’t have to be back in grade school to enjoy this one! This below is a great example you can make yours as elaborate as you want of whatever scale replica. Be sure and paint the outside of the box since it’s probably got writing on it, as I did.

This project above was so much fun! I used dollhouse furniture, a polymer clay sculpture I made a long time ago, and a bunch of fashion doll shoes. It probably took me a week with all the little intricacies, but dioramas are one of the best shoe box craft ideas I know of; kinda makes you reminisce about your first science fair project.

Shoebox Light up Display

If you are good with tools I highly suggest this; I did this once using midget Christmas lights, I cut out the design ( I had to be careful using a X acto knife) and cellophane over this part so the light when plugged in will really glow. Check out my tutorial here to learn how I put this puppy together!

Maybe you could do likewise with a marquee style, which might take more meticulousness with the knife but the end result would really shine!

Tip: If you’ve ever bought athletic shoes lately, the bigger boxes they come in are the best size to work with!

Make a Dollhouse From Multiple Shoe Boxes!

I found this little gem inside a book I had growing up that was a kids’ craft collection. It proposed a dollhouse made out of multiple shoeboxes. If you have a little girl clamoring for a dollhouse of her own, well this is one awesome idea that will be fun for you both and pennies for you instead of an already put together one.

With a sizable enough collection you can stack them together and create a dollhouse that Barbie will feel right at home in! Or you can make it into a condo or high rise, your call. Each shoe box represents a room, a garage, patio, etc. when secured together with glue or tape the sky will be the limit.

With the addition of some dollhouse furniture you’ll be sitting pretty. Don’t forget to paint your dollhouse too before you start “moving in” little furniture!

Make a Gift Box

Once I participated in a church sponsored Christmas gift event in which needy children would be the lucky recipients of a shoe box filled with goodies. If there’s a reason to keep a shoe box for a special use, this would be it!

If such an event is not in your vicinity this is still a great idea for a present to give to a child, relative or friend. Make sure you wrap the outside of the box with pretty Christmas paper for the presentation part of it.

( I think the event I mentioned is called “Operation Christmas Child” , Google it sometime and you’ll get all the details.)

An Old Shoebox Can Be Re-Purposed Into a Soap Mold!

Yep, who would have thought? Are you a handmade soap hobbyist, but not yet ready to spring for a more “professional” mold now, or are you looking for a great re-purposing solution when you may be making larger batches? Well a few ordinary shoeboxes could very well be the answer you’re looking for!

Be sure to line the inside of your boxes with freezer or parchment paper before you pour in your mixture so it doesn’t stick, as well as the obvious reason that shoeboxes can be porous, and you certainly want to leak-proof the corner seams.

Image credit: Image above courtesy of Soap Queen

Make a Storage Box to Organize Things

This one is pretty much idiot proof, one of the easiest crafts to make with shoe boxes is a nice little organization system for all your trinkets or mementos. Grab a roll or duct tape in pretty patterns or colors and just go to town! Or you could use some fabric too to line the outside.

This is a box I made with foil tape to keep my photo collection together. If you want to make more than one it might be a good idea to make labels for them so you know which one holds what.

Another thing you could do is create a divider to go into the box to separate all your things; if you have some spare cardboard from something else it will do fine.

There are other fun crafts to make with shoe boxes that I can’t totally take the credit for – they were discovered through additional research. I want to include them here for your enlightenment. Enjoy!

Make a Simple Shoebox Smartphone Projector!

For this you’ll also need a magnifying glass and a piece of heavy cardboard or foam; it’s a fun way to view videos and such and doesn’t look too labor intensive but you will need some extra tools for cutting accurately.  More details on the how and why this works can be found in this article. The author will show you all the how-to’s to do this.

Makeshift Shelves and Frames

This would be a fun way to display your special treasures in a safe place, also consider putting two of them together! You can paint them both the sane color or different ones too.

Make a shoe box into a picture frame using only the lid. You can use this method for photos or artwork and paint the border around the picture your favorite color, or use tape, your call.

I really liked this idea and you can get the full scoop on how I implemented it here. I enjoyed this much better than hunting around for a cheap plastic frame from the dollar store when I could do this! If you turn it inside out you may need to create a hanger for it but if you go inside in it could probably hang easily on wherever you plan to hang it.

While we’re kind of on the subject, why not hang up your finished diorama?

Make a Ribbon or Tape Organizer

If you’ve got an oversupply of ribbons or tape, this is an awesome way to get it under control! Just a box and a handful of dowels or pencils is needed, of course don’t forget to decorate the box outside too.

If you have a more narrow box you may only be able to get one row with one dowel rod to line up all the spools on, like this one below. Another option, especially for a bigger box is to line up each roll horizontally with might take about 4-5 rows. Looks sharp!

TOO Cute…A Foosball game in a Box…

And looks like I saved the best for last….What do you think of this? I can’t remember if I’ve ever played foosball or not, but this shoebox version is pure genius…she used wooden dowel and clothespins to represent the kickers, the design is pretty similar to the organizer above.

And it really works too; this would be a great project for kids’ parties too!

Unbox Your Creativity!

I know this is not an exhaustive list, these are some of the best craft ideas using shoe boxes that you can follow along. .Fairly easy to make and will look so cool in your environment. Next go around with a shoebox…fill it up, dress it up, paint or tape it up, just don’t toss it out, it has so many purposeful uses!

Materials For Paper Quilling

 

Materials needed for paper quilling- Every now and then I like to dabble in other things.  So you are ready to get started learning quilling? Awesome! Lots of adventure awaits...now there's a variety of materials needed to get good at it....some necessary, some nice, but I will go over them all so you can start rolling that paper with the best of them.

Better yet, how they all come together explained in detail so you won't be left hanging. As a disclaimer, I'm like you and in the "exploration" phase of quilling - not jumped in with both feet yet. It is something that I want to learn for sure!

Here are all of the "necessary" tools in order of importance - some you will need to get started and others will prove to be helpful upon greater mastery. Better yet, my newest quilling guide (yours for a song!) will have you off and running (or rolling?) in no time.

But First Paper, The Bread and Butter of Quilling!

It's important to have the right kind of paper....Quilling paper is usually sold in strips and with standard metrics of an eighth of an inch or three-eighths of an inch. It comes in lots of colors as well. and the weight is about 80 gsm. In other words, it is somewhat lightweight.

Generally, we aren't using cardstock here which is a little too stiff to be pliable enough to mold into various shapes.

Quilling paper is available in single color strands including shade variants of that color, as well as multiple color bundles.

Slotted and Non slotted Needle Tool - This Is Important

Your needle is the sine qua non of quilling! Two essential tools needed kind of resemble embroidery needles. You should have at least one of these -a typical quilling needle has a nice base (like a small screwdriver) and a slotted end slightly resembling a two-pronged fork.

This slot makes it easier to keep a grip on the paper as it is being turned. There is also a needle that doesn't have the slot - it produces tighter rolls but it's a little trickier to roll the paper though -but one advantage is that it doesn't leave a small crimp in the paper as easily as the slotted tool.

I haven't picked up a quilling needle yet, so for the meantime I'm improvising. I inserted an embroidery needle into a wine cork...this will produce nice tight coils.Both tools, irrespective of end tips, have a knurl on the handle that makes rolling easier.

But being a beginner like you, I needed a slotted opening, of which I discovered my sewing machine's spool pin mount works perfectly for this demo due to its slot at the top. OK, not a "professional" tool, but worked well in a pinch!

Generally the slotted tool is easier to use when you're first starting out - these sets below have both so you can get some practice with each and get comfortable with using them.

Glue and Adhesive

After you roll your quilled pieces, you'll need to use glue to seal off the end piece as a finishing step. The saying "a little dab will do you" is  absolutely true with quilling. Literally, you should only use a dab - once for the tail end of the paper when it is curled all the way, to finish it off.

A good kind of water-based, non-solvent craft glue will work fine with your quilling endeavors. I've always preferred clear glue for the invisibility after it dries. I like using Aleene's Tacky Glue which is a great brand and pretty popular.

To get the most out of your glueing experience, I recommend the use of a precision tip applicator bottle.  The bottle itself, which is empty, can be filled with your own glue, and the needle-shaped tip helps control the glue application well.

You could also remove the applicator tip/cap and secure it onto your own glue bottle too, to make it even easier! When you are attaching the designs to something flat like a handcrafted card  or gift tag, you'll have control over the amount dispensed and avoid having the problem of beads of glue creeping out and showing.

This will be especially helpful the more intricate your designs get.

Template Boards

Template boards are very helpful in guiding you with getting accurate coiled shapes. They are, as their name insinuates, made from a material like cork, which will allow you to hold rolled pieces in place with straight pins. They have many different shape template cutouts on them to assist getting nice, precise shapes of your own.

Many of them also have a wide empty space somewhere at the bottom, like these below - in which you can assemble your finished shapes together.  Some have also got ruler guidelines on them too, to serve as a guide when you are working.

Your workspace is important, too! I have a masonite board that makes a great impromptu desk that I can take anywhere. You need a flat surface with which to practice your quilling. (Not one of those beanbag lapdesk thingys; I know we all love those )- it needs to be flat as you will be attaching quilled objects parallel to a surface.

Tweezers –Preferably the Long Kind:)

Tweezers are important to get a good grip on your finished coils. When you attach glue to secure them, picking them up and moving them with tweezers will make it easier to keep their shape,.(plus minimize gluey fingers.)

You should also consider investing in some of the longer length tweezers, as they do work better than the standard size.

Straight Pins

While tweezers can be helpful in moving coil pieces around after gluing, some straight pins will be a good idea to hold together pieces while drying on your template board. Your best bet is to look for pins with colorful balls on one end as they will show up nicely.

Nice To Have - Border Buddies

Border buddies are tools that come with different shapes like triangles, squares, etc., and resemble little cones. They enable you to make visibly shaped transitions from tighter coils to looser with their graduated design.

Shaping border buddies are great to use when you want to produce less tightly compact coiled designs alongside the ones that are more compact to achieve interesting results. You can glue the first loop around while the strip of paper is placed on the cone and continue wrapping around until you get to the end.

Patterns

Then when you find yourself with a myriad of shapes, you've formed, what now? You've got to have some idea of what you're going to create, right? Some of the most popular patterns include simple things like snowflakes, hearts, and flowers shapes - things that are universally viewed as great for social occasions or holidays. And others are more intricate - like animals. Heck, if you work at it long enough, you could even create words or names as alphabet quilling is pretty popular too.

In my Just Quill Out! Bundle, which I offer in my Etsy shop, I have created 10 patterns you can apply right away, all you'd need to do is choose your favorites , download and print - I've even included written guidelines on all of them for the "mastery" part, as well as a clean copy you can refer to again later.

A Curling Coach - You May or May Not Need This

Some quillers swear by these tools in the beginning - a curling coach like this one to the left, is usually made of plastic and has a unique shape with multiple openings in it. It is a good tool for kids, or adults too, and can provide a little guidance in producing uniformly sized shapes.

It's not necessary to master it, however. So if you think you could use a little assistance when getting started making round coils in the right sizes, I would encourage you to pick one up.

Hope this laundry list will be helpful in your quilling adventures! Let me know in the comments (or if there's anything I may have left out...I did my best to make sure this list covered everything

DIY Affirmations Cards

 Here is how I do my card latyout which you have to tackle first before you dive in. Just FYI I have Word 2007.

I opened up a new document and set it to "A4" letter size (8.5" by 11") same size as letters and mail go. 

Go to Margins and choose "0.25" for the top/bottom margins.

Then I go to Insert on the nav bar and choose "Table" A little box drops down with what looks like a series of little squares. Mouse over 2 in the first row and down 5 which translates to 2 columns and 5 rows which will create 10 cards in all.

You will then see your table show up on your document. Highlight the entirety and rt-click on it which will bring up a drop-down menu. Hit "Table Properties".

Choose the Center icon under Alignment so your text will be centered.  Click the "Cell" tab ...Check off the box next to "Preferred width" and enter 3.5" then OK.

Then choose the Row tab and check off "Specify height" Type 2" in the numerical box and then hit OK.

Now your layout should resemble the exact dimensions of business cards! 

 Ready to get started typing out your affirmations?

Due to the settings applied above your text should be perfectly aligned within each box...Want to change the font, color, and size? Easy - just highlight it and right click to reveal a small menu that will let you make changes.

And don't just stop with your affirmations....dazzle them a little with some doodles...If you've got a later version of Word then you may have more options...I'm using the Shape Tool here, it's got options that let me add these cute little hearts and make them puffy, glowing, etc., just for fun.

How to Draw on a Coffee Mug

 I'd been looking for something new to do for awhile, and here it is. 

This is fun and all you need are the right tools. As well as one or more solid white coffee cups you want to decorate, you're good to go!

A long time ago I drew on a mug just for kicks, but I'm pretty sure I was using the regular Sharpies you're familiar with used to label stuff with....Truth be told, the design is still intact to this day, but since I only used it as a catch-all for pens and pencils, it never went through the litmus test of washing it to see if my design would fade. 

Anyway, you need to get a pack of Sharpies like these. I saw this 5-pack on Amazon which appears to be pretty popular. I almost bought it, only issue is it includes a white marker and since I don't have any colored ceramic stuff that a white pen would show up on, I passed it on, and ended up picking out my preferred colors instead. You can also get "extra fine" as well as "fine" (I picked up two extra fine by mistake, but it turned out that the tip does produce very good inkflow. So you can't go wrong with either.

Step one - Apply a little rubbing alcohol  around the mug as this will help the ink from the pens stick better. I left mine alone- this was done the day before.

Step two is to practice your ideas and do a little brainstorming for designs - I already have a shop on Etsy showcasing mugs with my own designs on them, so I drew from some of them. These mugs are actually drop-shipped - I don't own them, I just focus on making the designs. Etsy as well as platforms like Pinterest are great for finding ideas, you can come across some funny memes, sayings (just don't copy, but you can use a funny saying )

If you have some tracing paper, you can use it to transfer your final design on the mug so it will be flawless and easy to color over. I took a piece of paper and taped it over the spot that I wanted the design to be . Not the same as tracing, but it did help to get the proportions correct. Since you're going to be using ink pens that are ultimately permanent, you definitely want to avoid the potential of making mistakes for the obvious reason.

You'll have to shake these pens up real good. These pens have the roller ball thingy in them, so you'll have to do the whole thing of gently depressing the pen tip and then shake, shake shake with the cap on. My pens were brand new and it probably took about a minute and a half per pen to get the ink to flowing. 

Now comes the fun, you're ready to draw your design! As a special tip, I have learned you can go over a design with more than one color once but not more than that. I was attempting to make the designs here a little more dimensional. Like with the moka espresso pot and the ball of yarn. Yes, that is a funny double entendre bit of humor aimed at knitters :) I have one in my shop, I think it got a few favorites, not sure if I have sold any or not.

Now to set your design on your mug or mugs permanently, they will need to do a little oven time. The recommended setting is 350 degrees for thirty minutes. 

As a important note I want to point out these can be hand washed, but don't put them in the dishwasher (found a source that told me.) Now my dishwasher quit working last month so it's a moot point anyway.

Enjoy your new hand drawn mugs! Perhaps think about giving a few as gifts? Somebody you know is bound to love getting one of these.