Millennium Falcon - Star Wars Craft

We've made a fair number of Star Wars figures so far - time for a spaceship, don't you think!
This Millennium Falcon is made from paper plates and can be decorated any way you like.

You'll need:
4 to 5 paper plates (ours were 23cm/9in. diameter)
Egg carton
Craft glue
Black and red fine tipped marker pens (like Sharpies)
Ruler
Pencil
Craft scissors
Small scissors (straight-edged nail scissors - adult supervision required)
Ball of plasticine (modelling clay)
Straw
Tin foil
Metallic silver marker pen
Newspaper
Cereal box card
Paper clips

1. On the back of a paper plate, flatten it down a bit, and use the ruler and marker pen to draw a line across the middle of the plate, and then another across that, to divide the plate roughly into equal quarters. Try to get the lines to cross as close to the centre of the circle as possible, but it really doesn't need to be perfect.



2. Take another plate and cut out two similar-sized long, thin triangle segments, cutting up as far as the centre of the plate. Glue these on the top of your spaceship - in the middle of two, opposite sections. Cut small pieces from the spare plate's bumpy rim, to stick on the triangles, to add a bit of detail.







3. For the front part of your Millennium Falcon, take another paper plate and cut the rim off carefully, so you're left with a flattish circle.





Fold it in half and cut a little off the bottom to make a straight edge. I've drawn a pencil line where the cut needs to be.



4. Then cut a piece off the side at an angle - don't make the angle too sharp (see the picture).
Open up the circle and slip it under the top of your spaceship (between the sections with triangles), until the sides roughly line up with the black lines, and part of it is still sticking out.







 Either side of the fold, draw a pencil line up to the plate and cut this piece out. Glue the front section to the rim.

5. Cut a strip of card from a spare plate ( like the one you used to cut the triangles from). Make it roughly as long as half the width of the plate. Glue it from near where the black lines cross, down the middle of the front section of your spaceship, so it just hangs over the edge of the plate.
Again, add a few small pieces of the rim for some detail.

6. Cover the messy joins in the middle with a circle cut out of any spare card. Use the bottom of a small spice jar or something similar to draw around. Glue in place.



7. For the cockpit that sticks out at the side, we found the easiest way to get the right shape was to draw a rectangle that's 4cm by 15cm (11/2in.x6in.) on some spare paper plate card (make the rectangle shorter if you're using a smaller plate).
NOTE: We've used extra paper plates for all the extra bits to keep our Millennium Falcon looking the same colour, but if you don't want to use so many plates, cereal box card would be absolutely fine too.



8. Mark 3cm (1in.) from the bottom of the rectangle and draw lines sloping in on either side. Use the ruler to draw a line from the top right-hand corner to the bottom lefthand one, just above the end of the cockpit (see pic).



9. Cut along the sloping lines and make sure to leave an extra section of card on the right-hand side, so it's easier to glue the cockpit inside your starship.



10. Either simply colour in the bottom of the cockpit with a silver metallic pen if you've got one, or for a more 3D effect, draw around the bottom part only on some spare card, cut out this matching piece, and colour in.
Make a cut in the middle of each piece, about half way down, and snip out an extra sliver to widen the slot if you need to. Check they fit together but don't attach yet. Glue the whole cockpit piece under the rim of the top part of your spaceship.





11. Time to decorate, and we didn't add too much detail to our Millennium Falcon, but it's absolutely up to you! Have a look at some pictures online, or come up with your own design. Stick on more pieces of the plate rim if you want - drawing in the grooves looks pretty good I think.



12.  If you'd like to make guns to put on top, cut out a strip of card, 8cmx2cm (3in.x3/4in.). Colour one side of it with the black marker pen and also colour in a length of straw (with the marker pen), so you can cut two 3cm (1in.) pieces from it.



13. Fold the strip in half, then in half again. Open it up and make a hole with nail scissors in a section above the middle fold. Put a ball of plasticine behind the card, keep the nail scissors closed, press down and twist from side to side. When the scissors pierce through, cut out a wide slot that's big enough to fit both straw pieces, side by side. Check they fit then take them out.





14. Brush glue on one end of the strip and fold and glue it to the other end, to make a triangle shape like this one. Use a paper clip to hold it together while drying if you need to. Glue the straw guns in place.





15 For the sensor dish (again, optional) - take an egg carton and cut the bottom out of an egg cup. Make it as shallow as you can and cover with a piece of tin foil. Cut another strip from some spare card (about 1cmx6cm - 1/2in.x21/2in.), fold it in half, then fold the bottom ends. Glue the middle part together to make an upside down 'T' shape. Glue the dish to this support and glue the bottom tabs of the support to your ship, along with the guns.
If you've made one, glue the extra part of the cockpit on too.









16. While that's drying, you could add a bit of card to hold onto, to the bottom part of your Millennium Falcon. This is optional.

Cut out a strip of cereal box card that's a good width to hold onto and is about 20cm (8in.) long. Take another paper plate and make a slot in the middle (using the nail scissors again). Make it wide enough for the cardboard strip, slot this in and glue the top part to the plate. You could put something heavy on top of it, like a book, to hold it in place while the glue dries.





17. Scrunch up small pieces of newspaper and put them in the middle of the plate. This should help stop the ship losing its shape when it's stuck together, but don't over fill it!



18. Brush glue along the edge of the bottom plate, and glue the top part on. Use paper clips to hold together while it dries.

Ted with a heart - cork craft for Mother's Day

Following almost hot on the heels of the bunny cork with a heart, comes Ted, and he's even easier to make! Again you could write a personal message on the heart, or even use a photo. Plenty of ways to make it a lovely little Mother's day gift.

Obi Wan Kenobi - Star Wars craft

Obi Wan Kenobi joins the Star Wars gang! He's made in a very similar way to the other two.

You'll need:

Egg carton

Brown paper
Pencil

Ruler

Craft scissors

Nail scissors or similar (optional) Adult supervision required

Paint

Craft glue

Black felt-tip or gel pen

Blue straw

Black marker pen (like a Sharpie)

1. 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 cone, just above the bumpy joins at the bottom and cut out. This will be the body. Follow the step-by-step for Luke Skywalker and Han Solo to make the body, legs and arms.

2. For Obi Wan's head, take the other cone, and use a ruler and pencil to measure and mark about 2cm from the top of the cone on each side. 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.)

3. Lightly draw a line around this cone piece, about halfway up. It doesn't matter if it's a bit wobbly, it's only for guidance.

4. Cut up all four corners to the line, bend 3 of the small card flaps back and cut them off, leaving one remaining for a beard. Round off the bottom of the beard.

5. Make his cloak next. Place the body (without the arms) on it's SIDE on some brown paper. Use a pencil to draw a line where the side touches the paper and mark the top and bottom of the figure too. Roll onto its back and mark the bottom again, then roll carefully one more time onto the other side and mark where this touches the paper. Join the marks and gently round the top of the cloak before cutting it out.

6. Painting time. Keep the arms out and paint them a similar brown to the cloak (mix yellow and red then add a dab of blue until you're happy with the shade) - use this for his boots too. We mixed yellow and white to make a creamy colour for the body and legs, and made a flesh colour for the face and hands by mixing lots of white with a little yellow, red and tiny spot of blue. Paint his hair and beard grey.

TIP: Put the head on a spare egg carton cone while you're decorating it.

7. Push the arm strip in the slot (or if you're not doing slots, cut the strip in half and glue the arms either side), and glue on the head. Brush glue on the top part of the back of the body, including the back of the arms and stick the cloak in place (trim first if it looks a bit on the big side) Use paper clips if you need to.

8. While the paint's drying, make a lightsaber from a blue straw. Cut off about 4cm (11/2in.) and colour the bottom end with the black marker pen. Cut small slits in this end so you can slot the lightsaber onto Obi Wan's hand. 

9. When the paint is dry, use the fine black pen to draw on a face and add detail to the clothes and hair.

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.

Star Wars craft - Luke Skywalker and Han Solo

I've gone a bit old school with these Star Wars figures - they're the classic ones, but if you like, they can easily be adapted to make some of the more recent characters from the new Star Wars films.

You'll need:

Egg carton

Pencil

Ruler

Craft scissors

Nail scissors or similar (optional) Adult supervision required

Paint

Craft glue

Black felt-tip or gel pen

Blue/green straw

Black marker pen (like a Sharpie)

1. 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 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 cone has a hole in the top or you want an easier head option, see the tip at the bottom.)

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. 

3. Cut up the middle of one cone side to this pencil line, then wiggle and turn your scissors, and cut along the 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 and press each one into a more rounded shape. You should end up with what looks like an impressive pair of flares, which seems sort of appropriate!
If the trousers look a bit too wide, trim the edges until you're happy.

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

5. Either cut the arm strip in half after the painting step (Step 6) 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.)
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)

6. Now, painting time! 

For Luke Skywalker, keep the arms in and paint the body and legs white, and the bottom part of the legs brown for the boots. We gave him yellow/fair hair and made up a flesh colour with a lot of white, a little red, yellow and tiny dab of blue, for the face and hands.

TIP: Put the head on a spare egg carton cone while you're decorating it. This makes painting much easier.

7. For Han Solo, keep the arm strip out and paint it a creamy yellow and white colour and use this to paint a strip down the front of the body cone for his shirt. Paint the rest of the top part of the body dark brown (red, yellow and blue) and use this for his shoes too. Make his trousers and hair a lighter brown (add some white to the mix).

8. While the paint's drying, make a lightsaber for Luke from a blue or green straw. Cut off about 4cm (11/2in.) and colour the bottom end with the black marker pen. Cut small slits in this end so you can slot the lightsaber onto Luke's hand. For Han Solo's gun, colour about 1.5cm (1/2in.) of the straw with the black marker pen, cut this off and make slits as before.

9. When the paint is dry, use the fine black pen to draw on a face and add detail to the clothes and hair (see pics)

Slot Han Solo's arm strip back in (or is you've cut the strip in half, glue the arms either side). Glue the head on.  

Tip: For an easier head option, instead of using a cone, draw a oval head shape on a piece of spare egg carton card. Paint or colour this in with pencils or felt tips. Cut out and stick near the top of the body cone.

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.

Make Your Own Farm Animals - kids' craft book

A bit of a ta-dah! moment as this is the cover of my latest craft book! Hope you like it.  I was sent an advance copy the other day, and although I've been through the instructions and the pictures more times than I care to remember, my heart was beating like the clappers when I opened it. Felt a sort of mix of excitement and a touch of terror that maybe I'd missed something important. Hopefully not! Suddenly it all feels very real. Some days that's good, some days I just worry what people will think.

When I'm not whipping myself up into an anxious frenzy I do feel so pleased with how the book's turned out - it's colourful, fun and packed full of farm projects all made from stuff that's easy to get hold of - just like Make Your Own Zoo. All you need to do really, is hang onto some recycling, and build up a small collection of egg boxes, cardboard tubes and cereal packets. Nearly everything in the book can be made from these three very ordinary bits of packaging.

Obviously the book's themed again like the last one, and everything works together, so you can keep adding to your farm, and it can all be played with after.

I am proud of it, especially as there was a pretty quick turn around. I came up with most of the projects over the summer, which wasn't always so easy as the kids were expecting to be entertained too. But actually they helped develop some of the ideas - I was a bit stuck on what to use for the bull's nose ring and my daughter cracked that one!

You'll find all the animals you'd expect on a farm, like cows, sheep, hens, pigs etc, and I made more buildings this time, as well as a tractor that took FOREVER, because I was absolutely determined to get it right.

My books are aimed at primary school aged children, to help keep that interest in craft and creating alive, especially now there are so many other distractions. And the projects really are great for grown ups and kids to make together. That precious time is hard to hold onto these days.

Make Your Own Farm Animals is available on Amazon 

There are a number of the projects from Make Your Own Farm Animals (and from the Zoo book too) on the blog - you'll find them on the Kids Craft Page.