Showing posts with label star wars craft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label star wars craft. Show all posts

4.5.20

Cork Yoda fridge magnet - Star Wars craft


May the Fourth with you be! 

This little Yoda combines two of my favourite things to craft with - corks and egg cartons!

You will need:
Champagne/Sparkling wine cork
Egg carton
Paint
Black gel or marker pen
Craft glue
Strong glue, like UHU, or a glue gun
Brown paper or plain paper painted
Magnet (optional)

1. For his distinctive sticky out ears, cut out two long pointy triangle shapes from the egg carton lid. Glue them either side of the wider, top part of the cork, pointing forward. 

They will stick with PVA craft glue eventually, but easier and quicker to use a stronger clear glue or a glue gun if you have one. I don't have a glue gun and used UHU glue for bits like this.


2. When the glue has dried, bend the ears back into place.


3. Paint your Yoda's body green, plus some spare egg carton card for the hands and feet.

When dry, draw two hand shapes (see below) To cut out, cut around them roughly first, then snip out the zigzag bits, before cutting around the rest of the hand.


4. For the feet cut two short strips from the green card (place them under the cork body to make sure they're the right size and not too wide). Then, snip out a few zigzag triangles.

Glue the feet under the cork body.


5. His cloak is made from the middle part of an egg carton cone.  Once you've cut the cone out, cut the top off, just squeeze the cone flat and cut across the card. Press back into shape - the top will look uneven, so trim until you have a nice straight edge.



6. For the billowy sleeves,  use the edge of the carton as it often has a rather nice little turn up! It's also easy for cutting. Cut two of the shape below. 


7. See the little turn up? No worries though if your carton doesn't have this lip around the edge. For the cloak opening, cut a strip out of one side of the cone.

Check the cloak is the right size for your Yoda - shorten the top part if it's too big.


8. Glue the hands behind the ends of the sleeves, so you can see them. If you have a little turn up, make sure you glue on the other side. Craft glue will work for this, or you could use the stronger glue.


Glue the sleeves either side of the cloak.

Then, glue the bottom of the sleeves to the front part of the cloak, by the opening. You might need paper clips (or laundry pegs) to hold the arms in place while the glue dries.



9. While the glue is drying, cut out a short strip of brown paper (or paint some plain paper) that covers the thinner part of the cork, below the head and above the feet. It doesn't need to go around the back of the cork as this will be covered by the cloak.

Glue in place with a thin layer of craft glue or a glue stick.

10. Use a black pen to add some Yoda-ish features.


11. Glue the cloak onto the back and sides of the body.



12. If you want to make your Yoda into a fridge magnet, use the strong glue to stick a magnet on the back.



14.1.18

R2-D2 - Star Wars crafts for kids

R2-D2  - Star Wars crafts

Thought we'd kick off 2018 with another simple Star Wars craft. I have lots of other ideas for this year, just need to find time to sit down and do them! Isn't it always the way.

I think you can probably guess what R2-D2 is made from... yes, it's a Kinder egg case. They're perfect because it sort of keeps the robot in proportion with all the other figures, and there's quite a little gang of them now! (You'll find instructions on the Kids' Craft Ideas page)

So, you'll need:
A Kinder egg case
Lolly stick (popsicle stick)
Cereal box card
Strong glue (like UHU)
White acrylic paint
Silver metallic pen
Black, red and blue permanent pens (like Sharpies)
Scissors

1. Cut the lid off the Kinder egg case.


2. Mark about 3cm in from each end of the lolly stick - you want pieces that are just about the same height as your R2-D2 body. Then cut these pieces off (best done by an adult). If you don't have a lolly stick, then use cardboard instead.


 3. Line the straight edge up with the edge of some spare cereal box card, and draw sloping lines either side (see pic below). Keep them even. Make two pieces the same.


4. Glue the card to the bottom of the stick pieces, then use the strong all-purpose glue to stick them to the side of the Kinder egg shell so they hang over the edge a little.
This kind of glue has a better grip when you're gluing to plastic, and things don't slip so much.
Let it dry on its back.




5. Once the glue's set, paint your robot white. I am not going to pretend plastic is easy to paint, it isn't. I'm always surprised when this isn't mentioned in projects. Acrylic paint is definitely better, but you'll still need to give R2-D2 two coats.


6. Time to decorate. We used the silver metallic pen to colour in the top and around the bottom rim. We also drew a silver line down each side, leaving a space at the top of each 'arm' for a blue circle.


 7.  Halfway between the silver top and bottom, draw a pencil line from one side to the other, then two vertical lines either side. Add a little silver 'control panel'.


8. The rest is very much up to you.. We used the coloured Sharpies to add more detail, but tried to keep it simple so it didn't get too busy. There are so many pictures to use as reference online. Here are a few photos of our finished R2-D2, for guidance.




9.10.17

Stormtrooper - Star Wars crafts for kids

star wars craft


It's been a while.. unfortunately my good blog intentions went out the window when another book project came along. I optimistically thought I'd keep this ticking along too, but of course something had to give.

Anyway, most of the book is finished now and it's not a craft one this time, but a story book, which has been challenging and hugely rewarding too.

It's about Brian the Lion going to Space.. Brian was the first animal I ever created and blogged about, so he is rather special. I've made all the scenes for the book, all the animals, backdrops, scenery and other things... but one of the best bits was writing the story. A lovely change from writing instructions. Not that I mind writing them, just nice to do something else.

So there is a sort of Space link here, as this little Stormtrooper is the latest addition to our Star Wars craft project. Quite a gaggle of figures now! And a Millennium Falcon too, if you're interested..

You'll need:
Egg carton
Pencil
Ruler
Craft scissors
Nail scissors or similar (optional) Adult supervision required
White paint
Craft glue
Fine black felt-tip or gel pen
Black permanent marker pen
Straw

1. Roughly cut out two egg carton cones. On one, draw a pencil line around the cone, just above the bumpy joins at the bottom. Cut along the line. This will be the body.



2. The second cone is for the head, and you only need the very top part. Either estimate this, or use a pencil and ruler to mark about 1.5cm (1/2in.) from the top on all sides, join the marks and cut out. A handy way to do this is to cut up two adjacent corners to the pencil line, bend the card back and cut off the flap - it should be easier now to cut along the rest of the line.

(If your egg cones have holes in the top, brush glue inside the cone and push a small piece of newspaper up to fill the hole.)


3. On the body cone, lightly draw a pencil line around it, about half way up. Don't worry if the line is a little wobbly, it's just for guidance. 
Cut up the middle of one cone side to this pencil line, then wiggle and turn your scissors, and cut along the pencil line to the corner and just a little beyond.
Do the same on the other side so you've cut a 'T' shape.

Repeat this 'T' shape on the opposite side of the cone.





4. To form the legs, press the cut edges in the middle towards each other and squeeze each one into a more rounded shape. You should end up with what looks like an impressive pair of flares! Trim if you you'd like them a little less flary...


5. For the arms, cut a thin strip of card from the egg carton lid - about 5mm (1/4in.) wide and 5cm (2in.) long. Round it at the ends for the hands.


6. Either cut the arm strip in half and glue the pieces either side, or, with adult supervision, use the nail scissors to make a hole in the middle of one of the arm sides (keep the scissors closed, press down and twist from side to side.)


7. Once you've made the hole, snip up to the top of the cone and down the other side until the slot looks level. Cut an extra sliver out to widen the gap for the arms. Make sure the slot goes far enough down the body, so when you push the arm strip in, it sits below the top part of the cone, then glue the head on here. 




8. When that's set, paint the figure white. (Or if your egg carton is white, then move on to step 9.)  

9. Once the paint is dry, use a fine black pen to draw on your Stormtrooper's features.


10. For his weapon, colour the bottom few cm's of a straw with a black permanent pen (like a Sharpie). Cut off a small piece and snip slits in one end so you can slot it onto the Stormtrooper's hand. And he's ready for business!




4.5.17

Princess Leia - Star Wars craft

Princess Leia - Star Wars craft

Princess Leia joins the crew to celebrate Star Wars day!  She's made like the other figures, but the most important thing to get right was her rather distinctive hair style. Think we cracked it...

You'll need:
Egg carton
Pencil
Ruler
Craft scissors
Nail scissors or similar (optional) Adult supervision required
Paint
Craft glue
Plain paper
Black felt-tip or gel pen
Silver metallic pen
For a lightsaber:
Coloured straw
Black marker pen (like a Sharpie)

1. As with the other figures, roughly cut out two middle cones from the egg box so they're easier to work with. On one, draw a pencil line around the bottom of the cone, just above the bumpy cardboard joins. Cut along the line. This will be the body.

2. The second cone is for the head, and you only need the very top part. Either estimate this, or use a pencil and ruler to mark about 1.5cm (1/2in.) from the top on all sides, join the marks and cut out. A handy way to do this is to cut up two adjacent corners to the pencil line, bend the card back and cut off the flap - it should be easier now to cut along the rest of the line.

(If your cone has a hole in the top, see the tip at the bottom.)

3. For the arms, fold a piece of the egg carton lid in half and draw an arm (roughly about 3cm/or 1in. long) on the fold. Make it a little wider at the unfolded end. Cut out and open up.



4. Either cut the arm strip in half after the painting step (Step 7), and glue the pieces either side of the body, or, with adult supervision, use the nail scissors to make a hole roughly in the middle of one of the arm sides (keep the scissors closed, press down and twist from side to side.)
Once you've made the hole, snip up to the top of the cone and down the other side until the slot looks level. Cut an extra sliver out to widen the gap for the arms. Make sure the slot goes far enough down the body, so when you push the arm strip in, it sits below the top part of the cone (the head will be glued here later). Don't glue any of the pieces together just yet.




5. For her side buns, cut out a strip of plain paper, about 5cm by 8cm (2in.x3in.) and roll it as tightly as you can.



6. Then cut across your roll. Cut a few and make them as thin as you can. Choose two you're happy with, and gently squeeze them back into a rounder shape, letting them unfurl a little. Dab glue on the sides of Princess Leia's head and stick them in place. This might be easier to do with the head sitting on the body. 






7. Painting time. Take the head off and paint the body and arms white.

TIP: As with Darth Vader, place the body on a spare egg carton cone to make painting easier (and less messy!)

Make a skin colour by mixing white with a little red, a touch of yellow and the tiniest dab of blue. Paint one side of the head. When that's touch dry paint on brown hair, painting the buns too. It helps if you draw the outline of the hair on the face first with a brown or black pen before painting. 

Again, put the head on a spare egg carton cone while you're decorating it. 


9. When the paint is dry, use the fine black pen to draw on a face and if you have a silver pen add a belt (see pic above). Glue the head on and if you have cut the arm strip in half, glue them either side.

If you'd like to make a lightsaber or another type of weapon for Princess Leia, have a look at the steps for Luke Skywalker





Tip: If your egg cones have holes in the top, brush glue inside the cones and push a small piece of newspaper up to fill the hole.