Fake Cry In Acting

For some people, all it takes to fake cry is to think of something sad. For others, it can involve a complex series of tricks or facial contortions. No matter where you fit on the spectrum, fake crying is something you can learn to do. The key is to keep practicing until you get it.

Instructions

1. Think about what makes you sad. Is there a certain memory that brings you to tears? Is there a scene from a movie or passage from a book that gets you every time? Pretty much everyone has at least one trigger and many people have several.

2. Do your trigger. Think about that terribly sad memory, or read that tear-jerking paragraph. Linger and mope. Brood on it. Picture yourself crying.

3. If it works, practice triggering the tears. Try to cry more quickly every time you think about that one sad thing. Soon, you should be able to start bawling on command.

4. If it doesn't work, try drying out your eyes. Hold your eyelids open with your fingers until your eyes feel dry and uncomfortable. This should start the tears coming.

5. Once your eyes start to tear up, close them and scrunch up your face. Picture yourself really crying. Try to start.

6. Start sobbing. Take quick, irregular gulps of air. Try to make your lungs feel shaky and tight.

7. Combine techniques. As you induce crying by drying out your eyes and making yourself sob, think of something sad. Often, it is possible to make yourself feel emotions just by making your body do what it does when you feel that emotion. Making your eyes run and starting to sob will make you feel sad which, in turn, will make you cry more.

Faux Paint Geometric Shapes

A painted geometric design is first drawn with pencil to attain the proper perspective and surfaces of the shape. A simple shape to use when learning paint a faux geometric design is a cube. The 3D cube is drawn with pencil. The front, side and top of the cube are the only areas painted. The faux geometric cube shape is painted with any color, the top with a lighter hue of the color and the side with a darker hue.

Instructions

1. Draw a 3D geometric cube 4-inches tall on a piece of white paper. Erase the lines that create the back side of the cube leaving only the front, top and back of the cube for painting.

2. Squeeze a nickle size drop of blue acrylic paint on a paper plate. Paint the front of the cube with the blue paint. Allow the paint to dry five minutes.

3. Squeeze a nickle size drop of white paint on a paper plate. Dip the tip of the paintbrush in the blue paint. Mix the blue with the white paint to create a light blue color. Paint the top of the 3D geometric cube with the light blue paint. Allow the paint to dry five minutes.

4. Squeeze a drop of black paint on the paper plate approximately 1/4-inch round. Squeeze a dime size drop of blue paint next to the black paint. Mix the two colors of paint together to create a dark blue color. Paint the side of the cube with the dark blue paint. Allow the paint to dry 5 minutes.

Make Paper Mache Animals

Paper mache--which literally means "chewed paper" in French--is a wonderful method for making fun creatures and animals. The trick is in the balloons, and your imagination. Two long, thin balloons can be a dachshund. Take a small round and a small oval balloon and you can make a cat, a lion or a leopard. Large round balloons are perfect for pigs, birds and other round-bodied creatures. If you're really creative, you can twist or masking tape the balloons together to make animal shapes, magical creatures or holiday characters and then use the paper mache to fix them forever.

Instructions

Create Fun Paper Mache Animals

1. Prepare the work area. Paper mache is fun, but messy. Cover the table with newspaper, and have a damp rag or paper towels handy to wipe up flour blobs and sticky fingers.

2. Decide on your animal or creature. Choose the balloons you will need to make it happen, and then blow up your balloons. Make the animal out of balloons by either taping or twisting the balloons together.

3. Tear the newspaper into long strips. It's best to keep them organized so they don't get tangled up when you're working with them.

4. Make the feet. Cut the cardboard into short strips, and fold them in half. Tape two or four of these to one side of the balloon. These will be your animal's feet. Place the balloon on a flat surface to make sure it's balanced evenly on its legs.

5. Mix 1 cup of all-purpose flour and 2 cups of water in the bowl. If it's a large project, make more. Stir until you get a sticky batter, adding more water and flour as needed. It should be the consistency of pancake or waffle batter.

6. Dip a newspaper strip into mixture. Pull it between two fingers to remove the excess, then place the strip onto your balloon starting at one end of the strip, and smoothing it down so there are no air bubbles or wrinkled paper. Do this until the entire balloon and cardboard feet are covered evenly.

7. Make the neck. If you have taped or twisted balloons together, and your animal will have a neck, follow the same steps as in Step 6, stretching the strips between balloons to create the neck. But this time leave a little looseness in the strip, because you are going to be shaping it in Step 8.

8. Allow your animal to dry a bit. If you do have a neck, when the neck strips are slightly stiff, gently push or pinch them inward so that you narrow and shape the animal's neck. Don't push too hard or you may tear them. If that happens, add another strip and repeat this step.

9. Allow your animal to dry completely. Once it is dry, use the long sewing needle to pop the balloon(s).

10. Paint your animal. Make it as real or as fanciful as you please. Let the paint dry.

11. Cut and shape the ears, tail and any other features from the felt, and glue them onto your animal.

12. Make whiskers, antennae, tails and any other features with the pipe cleaners. Poke a small hole into your creature where you will attach these, push them in gently, and glue in place.

Make A Tattoo

Make a Tattoo

While a real tattoo takes serious thought and consideration, there are some temporary tattoos that can be custom made and look great without the long-term commitment of real tattoos. There are two major types of temporary tattoos: rub-on and henna. While henna tattoos are mostly dependent upon a steady hand, artistic ability or a stencil, the rub-on tattoos can be designed on a computer and then easily applied. Here are some suggestions on make temporary tattoos.

Instructions

1. For the rub-on tattoos, a design can be hand drawn or picked from a number of online resources (see Resources section below). For hand-drawn tattoos, scan the drawing and insert it into a graphics program such as Photoshop to customize your image.

2. Once your image has been uploaded to the graphics program of your choice, set the image to the size you wish, add any text if wanted, or even merge several images together. Once done, put the inkjet temporary tattoo paper into the printer (see Resources below).

3. Print off the tattoo sheet using the inkjet printer, and remember to reverse the images and text.

4. The tattoo paper will come with an adhesive sheet that you'll stick over the top off the printed sheet. Remember to let the printed sheet dry for at least 1/2 an hour before you attach the adhesive sheet.

5. Rub the two sheets together to make sure you don't get any air bubbles.

6. Cut out the designs using a craft knife or a pair of scissors.

7. Peel off the protective film to the front of the printed tattoo. You will be left with a sticky surface.

8. Place the design face down onto the skin.

9. Using a damp sponge, saturate the tattoo with water and rub gently. Continue this process for about 30 to 45 seconds.

10. The white backing paper will start to easily slip off. Dab the tattoo with a dry cloth to get rid of any residue, and it is finished.

11. Henna tattoos have to be done by hand, whether you are following a stencil or hand-drawn design. For drawing the design onto the skin, a toothpick is helpful to get small, smooth lines (the applicator that comes with the kit is normally too large and tends to clump or come out too fast or uneven). Draw out your design on paper first for practice.

12. Most henna kits can be purchased online (see Resources below). These kits should include the henna, henna essential oil and an applicator. You should also have on hand a mixture of lemon with equal part juice, water and sugar. Tea or coffee can be used to darken the henna color. Mix your henna paste together to about the consistency of toothpaste.

13. Make sure your hands are clean and without any oil residues. Wash all other areas that will have the henna paste applied to.

14. Start applying the henna following your design as if you were decorating a cake. If you make a mistake, correct it immediately using a toothpick. If your hand feels dry, apply the lemon juice mix with a piece of cotton or cloth to keep it fresh so it is absorbed better. The henna lines have to look three-dimensional, not flat. Once you finish, leave the henna on for about 5 hours. After this, take it off carefully, do not wash the area and avoid water for the following 8 to 14 hours so that the tattoo lasts.

Make Seamless Photo Collages For Senior Portraits

Make Seamless Photo Collages for Senior Portraits

The best way to make a seamless photo collage is by doing it using photo editing software such as Adobe Photoshop. You also can layer the hard copy photos so that each covers the edges of the other and re-photograph the completed collage, though you will probably still see the edges. Using Photoshop or other photo editing software will simplify the process of making image collages.

Instructions

1. Use your digital camera or flatbed scanner to digitize all the senior portraits. This is assuming you don't have digital image originals. Starting with digital images is the ideal way to go here to save yourself some work. If you are a senior yourself making this collage rather than a professional photographer, you may have to gather together the senior portrait prints and prepare them for use in the computer. The digital camera will make it easier to do this, but you will get more-precise digital images from scanning the photos. Use a high resolution when scanning-at least 300 dots per inch-so you have more detail in the final image.

2. Save all the senior portraits in one folder so you can get to them easily. If making a class collage, save all the images as separate files, each titled with the name of the senior, last name first; this will make it simpler to keep track of who has been included in the collage. All of the images should be saved in relatively the same width and height and exactly the same resolution. Since this collage will be printed, set "Resolution" to 300 dots per inch by going to "Image" and then "Image Size" in Photoshop.

3. Start a new file in Photoshop by going to "File" then "New" and make it the width and height you will need the final image to be. Remember, unless you have an oversized printer, you may be restricted to 8 1/2 by 11 or 8 1/2 by 14 inches because those are the standard paper sizes. For a larger image, you may need to take the file on a disc to a professional printer.

4. Open the senior portrait files one at a time. Click, hold and drag each image into your blank file. Alternately, you can open each portrait, then go to "Select" and "Select All," then "Edit" and "Copy." This stores the image in memory. Switch to the blank file and go to "Edit" and "Paste" to add the portrait to the collage file. Each new addition will add a layer to the file, which means each one will be able to be moved independently and altered separately from the rest. Place them in the order and positions you want. Make sure you slightly overlap the images so there is no white space from the background layer showing through. When your images are set, go to "Layer" and then "Flatten Image" and save the file.

5. Start working with the tools that will take away what seams remain. There are several of these, including the "Blur" tool and the "Smudge" tool. Both of these are on the side toolbar. Each works by clicking, holding and moving the mouse around over the seams of the overlapped images. Another helpful tool is "Liquify" which is found under "Filter." You can use this to blend the areas at the edges of the images. Or, you can use the "Clone Stamp" tool in the side toolbar to overlay exact copies of the image backgrounds over the portrait edges. Do this by holding the "Option" key (Mac) or "Alt" key (Windows) while clicking on the background to be cloned. Click the mouse over the edge lines to cover it with the background. When you are finished, go to "Layer" and select "Flatten Image" before saving the file.

Make A Straw Painting With Kids

Make a Straw Painting With Kids

A fun, beautiful and creative type of painting fascinating for preschoolers up to perhaps third or fourth graders is straw painting. It doesn't take much to combine gorgeous colors that blend together as they form spidery lines. And it's the process itself that's so fun.

Instructions

Make a Straw Painting With Kids

1. Drip a little watercolor paint, any color, on the paper. Use a teaspoon if it's easier. A bright primary color such as red, yellow or blue works well.

2. Drip your second color on another spot on the paper. Then dab your third on yet another spot.

3. Take the straw and show your child blow a color so the paint spreads out, usually forming one or more thin lines across the paper. Do the same with the other colors.

4. Notice where the colors meet and point out how the colors mix to make new colors at certain points (blue + yellow = green, etc.) The child may wish to keep blowing at the colors to see how the design changes.

5. Let the paper dry when the child is done. Before drying, if you wish, lay a tissue gently over any part of the painting, then lift it up. Notice the beautiful way the tissue (coffee filters work too) absorbs the colors.

Make A Stop Motion Animation With Legos

Lego characters are a popular choice among homemade stop motion animations.

Stop motion animation is an optical illusion that iinvolves taking a series of pictures of an object that is moved in small increments. When the images are played back in sequence it creates the appearance of motion, like a flip book. Using Lego pieces is a great low-tech option and a popular form of stop motion animation. Although Lego blocks offer a limited range of motion, the same stop motion filmmaking principles apply.

Instructions

1. Build your Lego scene. You can build a full miniature set and use the Lego people as the focus of the shot or construct a little vehicle that you can simply wheel across the screen. It can be anything you want. However, stop motion animation is very time-intensive, so keep it simple to start with.

2. Lock the digital camera down on the tripod and set it up so that it frames the shot you want to capture. If you do not have a tripod, place it on a steady, flat surface.

3. Plug the USB cable into the camera and then into the computer. Most cameras come with basic software that allows you to control the camera through an on-screen interface. If your camera does not have any software, use a third-party application such as Stop Motion Pro or Dragon Stop Motion.

4. Load the stop motion application and confirm that it sees your camera and that you have full remote control over it. Take a few sample pictures to check lighting, focus and framing of your shot.

5. Set your Lego character or object to the starting position. This will be the first frame of your animation, so position your object to the very beginning of any motion or action that is to take place on screen.

6. Take a single photograph of your scene. Examine it in the stop motion software to confirm that you are happy with the shot. You want to check every picture as you take it just in case you have to do any corrections. You don't want to be halfway through your animation and then find a mistake that you could have caught at the beginning.

7. Move the object in your scene slightly. Most movies are filmed at 24 frames per second, and if you are trying to achieve the same fluid motion, you will need to take 24 images per second of final animation. Adjust your object in very small increments so that it moves 1/24 of the distance it would move in a second.

8. Take a second picture and preview it. The picture should be identical to the first photo except for your animation adjustments. Continue this process until your object completes its motion and you have captured all of the frames.

9. Open your editing application. Go to the application's import tool and choose the very first frame of your saved photographs. Most professional editing programs have an option that says "Detect Sequential Images" or something similar. This will tell the software to assemble all of the photos into a single animation sequence. Your photos are now imported as frames and are part of a video sequence. From this point the clip is the same as any captured footage, and you can now edit it and add titles, sound effects and music.

Make Beard Hair Grow

Whether you just want to go for that feral mountainous look or want a coat for your face for the upcoming winter, a beard can turn you into a new man. First-time beard growers usually have to come by the knowledge of facial hair growth ups and downs through pure experience. Following a few tips and knowing a few tricks can make the transitional period less miserable.

Instructions

1. Stop shaving. Yes, it is simple enough, but to grow a beard you need to allow the hair on your face to grow, and when you hit that itchy period a few weeks in, you might crumble. Be strong and brave through it because if you shave, it starts all over again.

2. Take a multi-vitamin for men. Just as the hair on your head benefits from good nutrition, so will the hair on your face. In addition to vitamins, eating healthilyy can make your beard look healthier once it starts to fill in.

3. Shampoo and condition your beard with facial-hair-specific products. Taking care of your growing beard will make it look healthier and may make it look fuller. Special beard shampoos and conditioners are gentler on your face. If you still have irritating facial itch, try washing your beard with dandruff shampoo a few times a week.

4. Wait. There is no proven method to make the hair on your face grow faster or fuller. After about a month, you should have an idea of how your beard is turning out. Shape the beard, trimming the areas where it might be spotty and focusing on the areas of better growth, which means that a partial beard may suit you better. Remember, as an individual, the beard that you grow is the one for you.

Make Guitar String Bracelets

Make Guitar String Bracelets

A guitar string bracelet is a type of jewlery accessory that is made from used guitar strings. In 2006 "Wear Your Music" began marketing guitar bracelets for sale made from the used guitar strings of some of the most famous current and former musicians. These bracelets can vary in price depending on the artist. A Willie Nelson guitar string bracelet will cost $75, and it costs $200 for a John Mayer guitar bracelet. The most expensive guitar bracelet, from an instrument owned by Eric Clapton, costs $500. Instead of spending a lot for one of these, you can easily make your own guitar bracelet from your own used guitar strings.

Instructions

1. Line up the three thickest guitar strings, the E,A, and D strings of the guitar. Make sure the bases of each string, the end that has the metal loop, are all on the same side. Braid the strings together , starting at the loop end, just as you would braid someone's hair.

2. Wrap the braid around your hand to determine if the fit. Feed the excess ends of the strings through the holes in the metal loops. The strings should keep the form without you holding them but if not, hold the form by wraping a twisty tie or heavy string around the bracelet. This is just to hold it in place, you will remove the ties after step three.

3. Solder a half-inch clasp for the bracelet by soldering the metal loops and 1/4 inch of the excess string that you fed the loops. There will still be a lot of excess string but you will simply cut that off with a pair of wire cutters after the bracelet is made. After the soldered area has cooled, untie the ties that held the bracelet in place in step 2 and your guitar string bracelet will be complete.

Make A Still Life Photograph In Natural Light

Light coming through a window can produce wonderful illumination for a still life photograph. Subject matter for such pictures can vary from the traditional (fruit in a bowl) to the eccentric (a ten-year old’s collection of superhero dolls), but for each the basic principle remains the same. Creating striking still life pictures can be done right in your own home using only natural light.

Instructions

1. Choose a window where you will set up for the photo. This can be any window in your house. Painters like a studio window that faces north in a room with no other light sources. You can go for this route or you can place your still life next to a window with a different orientation. The warm glow of the late afternoon sun might be just the effect for which you are looking.

2. Find a table and choose a covering for the table. The table should be about waist high (normal table height) and you can let the table be part of the picture or choose a cloth to cover the table.

3. Pick the objects that you want to use. They can be anything from antique toys to a bag of oranges that you just bought at the grocery store. Go ahead and set the display in a way that will be interesting to the viewer. This might mean placing short objects in front of taller things. Try and create a scene with your still life objects that meanders from foreground to background.

4. Take the picture. You might have to wait for the lighting conditions that you like and be sure to shoot the picture from various angles.

Make A Stencil Face Tag

Graffiti artists took stencil tags from the streets into art galleries.

Big-name graffiti artists such as Banksy have popularized stencil tagging. It is a quick way to make a high-quality image using spray paint. With any photograph of a face and the help of a photo-editing software computer program, you may make a face stencil that you can use to "tag."

Instructions

Create a Stencil

1. Choose a photo with shadows and details for good contrast.

Open a photograph of a face in a photo-editing software computer program. The best photos for stencils already have good shadows and detail on the subject's face.

2. Crop the photo image using the photo-editing software's "magic wand" or other selection tools. Remove all background and other parts of the photo that will not be part of the stencil.

3. Emphasize the image's shadows by using the software's "posterize" or similar setting. Doing so creates a saturated outline.

4. Increase the image's contrast to full by using the photo-editing software. The result is a two-tone image.

5. Clean the image to make a simple silhouette. Use the software's "magic wand" or similar selection tool to remove random flecks of color. Make all the "shadow" portions of the picture connect to each other.

Print and Use the Stencil

6. Most computer printers can handle medium-weight paper.

Print the image on card stock, glossy photograph paper or other thick, durable paper.

7. Use a small knife to turn your picture into a stencil.

Cut out all of the black or shadow portions of the image using a pen knife. Consider using a craft cutting board under the paper as you cut the image to make your cuts more precise and to reduce damage to the cutting surface.

8. Like other graffiti artists, stencil taggers use spray paint.

Attach your completed stencil to the tag surface by using tape or by holding the stencil against the surface with your hand. Spray the stencil with spray paint, or use chalk to apply the stencil image to the surface.

Make A Statement Using Ceramics

Express your personality with ceramics.

The art of ceramics involves taking a raw material, such as clay, and sculpting it into a shape. The shape is painted or decorated in some fashion, and then heated to a high temperature to preserve it.

Making a statement with ceramics can be simple and fun. Many towns and cities offer ceramic classes with pre-made sculptures for you to paint and decorate. You can create a bold or demure statement by choosing the ceramic piece that suits you best.

Instructions

1. Find a ceramic shop in your area that offers classes and sign up. Or go to a local craft store or chain that sells ceramic sculptures.

2. Choose a ceramic piece that represents your personality or a message you feel strongly about. You might have a favorite animal, such as a ladybug or horse, or may choose a special vase or mug to express your creativity.

3. Wipe the chosen piece clean and dry. Select paint colors representative to your ceramic piece. Apply one or two coats of paint to the ceramic piece as a base.

4. Get creative. Use flashy color to help your ceramic piece stand out. Paint freehand shapes or a written message on mugs and vases. Don't worry about being perfect; the idea is to express your inner artist.

5. Apply a coat of glaze over your finished piece, if you are painting at a ceramic shop. The shop owner will place the finished piece in a pottery oven to fire it (set the paint into place.)

If you paint your ceramic piece at home, allow the paint to fully dry. Finish your piece with one or two coats of finishing spray (according to the directions).

Make A Skin Wound Effect

Make a Skin Wound Effect

Creating realistic effects for stage plays and movies is complicated. Skin wound effects on actors make a play or movie more realistic and believable. This realistic skin wound effect can be removed and reused. This type of wound effect is especially good for any production with a tight budget.

Instructions

1. Clean the desired wound area. Make sure it is dried thoroughly.

2. Apply a thin layer of liquid latex to the area with a brush or for best results, use your finger. Allow the latex to dry until it 's tacky. Use a blow dryer to speed up this process.

3. Roll the toilet paper into long, thin, snake like shapes. If the toilet paper is two ply, separate the plies first. The toilet paper will create the raised skin look of the wound. Use as much or as little as needed for the size of the wound desired.

4. Create the raised skin on the latex with the toilet paper. Make sure the ends of the toilet paper meet together, creating a small pool in the latex to hold the blood and make up. Cover the paper on the wound area with the liquid latex. Use a generous amount of latex, blending the outside of the wound area with the skin. The inside needs to be covered, but not blended, to keep the raised edge.

5. Allow the latex to dry completely. This may take several minutes.

6. Cover the wound with a neutral setting powder. Shake off any excess powder and then coat the wound effect with a foundation color that matches the skin. Use a sponge to blend the edges of the effect with your skin. Apply a darker color foundation or powder to the inside and outside areas to create depth.

7. Apply a light foundation to the top ridges of the wound with a brush and any areas that need highlights. In the inside wound area, apply dark brown and dark red make-up.

8. Paint inside the would with the dark red and black make-up half way up the wall, to create an open skin effect. Drip stage blood into the wound and around the area. If you're depicting an older wound, just apply the stage blood inside the wound.

9. Dab the wound with toilet paper and add a thin layer of setting make-up.

Draw Geometric Shapes

With nothing but compass, ruler, paper, and pencil, you can draw extremely precise figures using basic principles of geometry. The number of shapes you can draw by hand is limitless, but each is more difficult and requires more steps than the last.

Instructions

Drawing a Circle

1. Open your compass to the desired radius. Put one end at the end of the ruler and open it until the other end is at the point that corresponds to the radius of the circle you want to draw. For example, if you want to draw a circle that is five inches in radius,

2. Put the spike of the compass, the metal tip,in the middle of the paper. Make sure that the distance to the nearest side is greater than the distance from the compass

3. Rest the pencil lightly on the paper while keeping the spike in place.

4. Taking care not to push down too hard, trace a circle around the spike. Leave the spike in place and rotate the pencil around it.

Drawing an Equilateral Triangle

5. Draw a base line the desired length of the triangle. Draw the base along the ruler to make sure that it is a straight line of the correct length.

6. Open the compass to the length of the base. Open it until the spike sits at one end of the base line and the pencil tip sits at the other.

7. Keeping the spike in place and without adjusting the compass, draw a circle.

8. Draw another circle with the same diameter from the other endpoint of the base. You will now have two circles that meet in two points.

9. Draw lines from both of the endpoints to the place where the circles meet.

Drawing a Square

10. Draw a base line. It should be several inches longer than the desired length of the square.

11. Draw two small circles of the same radius near one edge of the line. Each circle should be on the line, and the radius should be a bit more than half the distance between them. They should meet in two places, as in the illustration.

12. Draw a line connecting the two points and extending above them. This line will be perpendicular to the first line you drew.

13. Decide on the length of your square and open your compass to that length. The length should be smaller than the distance from the point where the two lines intersect to the end of the smaller line.

14. Put the spike of your compass at the point where the two lines intersect.

15. Draw an arc with the compass that intersects the two lines. The radius of the arc is equal to the length of one side of the square, and the places where the circle crosses the lines are their endpoints.

16. Put the point of the compass at the end of one of the lines.

17.Draw a circle.

18. Repeat steps 7 and 8 from the other endpoint.

19. Connect the ends of the lines to the point where the circles connect. You now have a square.

Make A Sketchbook Out Of An Old Book

Recycle an old book by making a sketch book.

According to "Cover to Cover," book art has become popular in the last decade by artists and nonartists. Book art is a term that includes a variety of handcrafted book styles such as pamphlet, codex, stitches, stab, fold and a combination of techniques. Making a book from scratch requires attaching the pages to a spine or binding. Eliminate the binding part to save labor and time by making a sketchbook out of an old book.

Instructions

Sketch Paper

1. Cut the sketch paper to an appropriate size for the book.

2. Use the glue stick to apply glue on the back of the sketch paper in a coloring motion. Pay special attention to the corners to ensure they won't come separated from the book page.

3. Place the paper over the book page and smooth it out using a bone folder. Repeat the process to the other pages.

Book Cover

4. Determine a cover for the sketchbook that is 1 inch wider than the book. The cover may be from materials such as rice paper, fabric or book paper. Book paper made especially for books feels like a combination of paper and fabric.

5. Cover the book by spreading a thin even coat of adhesive such as PVA, YES or methylcellulose on the surface of the paper for the book cover. Center the back of the book on top of the paper, lying flat.

6. Fold the corners over the book corners and smooth out with a bone folder.

7. Next, fold the sides over the sides of the book and smooth out to remove creases using the bone folder.

8. Wrap the book in wax paper and set on a flat surface. Place something heavy on top such as a stack of books. Let dry overnight.

Make A Sketchbook

Make a Sketchbook

What better way to personalize your sketchbook than to make it yourself? When you make your own sketchbook, you have complete control over the quality of the paper, dimensions, cover, binding and thickness. These little sketchbooks are treasures even before you fill them with your precious drawings. They also make wonderful, heartfelt gifts. Not an artist? You can use them as journals, scrapbooks, homemade recipe books or even appointment books.

Instructions

1. Fold each sheet of the drawing paper in half horizontally. Then fold in half again, this time vertically.

2. Stack the sheets with the folded edges at the top of one side. Even them up.

3. Using the needle and thread, sew a straight line down the folded edges of the stack, on the long side. This will be your binding. If it's easier, poke holes through the paper before you sew. This might especially be helpful if your paper is very thick. Sew until you get to the end of the line. Then sew back up to the top, using the same holes you originally used.

4. Cut out two pieces of cardboard for the covers. Glue them to the front and back pages of the sketchbook. If you'd like, cover the cardboard with special paper, fabric or wallpaper before you glue it on. Put the sketchbook under a pile of heavy books while the glue dries.

5. Cut a piece of fabric or carpet tape the same length as your binding. Carefully place the tape around your binding. This strengthens your binding and adds trim.

6. The edge of one of the short sides of your sketchbook will still be in folds. Using a ruler, slit the folded edges of the paper open. This gives your paper the hand-torn look you see in older books. For a crisper look, use scissors or a razor blade.

Make A Simple Tessellation

Tessellations are shapes that are designed to interlock with copies of themselves in various patterns. These geometric designs make very attractive artwork and decorations for your home. Although they may seem complex, even children can make them. The following is a simple method to make random shape tessellations that you can use in your classroom to illustrate tessellations to your students. Guide them through this project step by step, to make sure they perform it properly.

Instructions

1. Draw a horizontal line across a square sheet of paper. Start in the middle of the left side and draw a line to the right. Make the line random, jagged, curved or anything else you desire. It doesn't matter how complex or simple you get as long as you divide the sheet in two.

2. Make a random vertical line across the middle of the paper, running from the bottom to the stop. Draw all the way up to divide the paper into four random shapes.

3. Cut your shapes out with scissors by following the lines you have drawn. Erase any stray pencil marks on your shapes.

4. Put the piece together by placing the uncut sides next to each other. Arrange them so the corners of each piece meet. Tape the pieces together to create your basic tessellation shape.

5. Copy your tessellation in a copy machine as many times as you want. Cut out the tessellations from the sheet of paper and fit them together. They should fit together perfectly to create an interlocked pattern.

Make A Simple Sketchbook

Making a simple sketchbook can be an art class activity.

As long as you're making your own sketches, it makes sense to go ahead and make your own sketchbook. You'll find the book-making part is less tedious than you imagine, and the decorating part is even more satisfying. You will be motivated to fill up your new homemade sketchbook quickly so that you can make and decorate another one. A simple sketchbook is also a thoughtful and personal gift for a budding artist, or even an activity that can be done in a group or an art class.

Instructions

1. Gather paper pages for your sketchbook of any material you wish to draw on. Make sure that the pages are all the same size.

2. Find the paper you would like to use for your front and back cover. Anything will do, such as a brown paper grocery bag, thicker card stock paper like you would use for scrapbooking or recycled plastic pages.

3. Take the paper you will be using for your front and back covers and measure it up to your sketch page paper. Using scissors or a paper cutter, either trim the paper down to the same size, in which case you will have two separate pieces for the front and back, or make sure that it is double the size of a sketch page, in which case it will be folded in half to hold your pages.

4. Assemble your covers and pages and bind them using several eyelets and an eyelet setting tool. If you don't have an eyelet setting tool, you can make sure that all the pages and the cover are double the size of the desired page size, put the cover and the pages together and fold them in half, and sew the binding together using a needle and thick thread.

5. Put some decorative ribbon, yarn or string through the eyelets and tie them in a secure knot or bow. Decorate the front and back cover of your sketchbook.

Make A Typographic Portrait In Photoshop

Typographic portraits are created through the process of combining stunning imagery with relevant text and information. These portraits have become a recent trend in the design world and are a popular method of simultaneous expression. Through the use of digital imaging software, graphic artists are able to create dynamic advertisements, posters and many types of fine art in a way that couldn't be done as quickly with traditional tools alone. Use digital imaging software to combine your own photos with typography of your choosing.

Instructions

1. Open your portrait image in a digital imaging program.

2. Unlock the "Background" layer by double-clicking it. After double-clicking it, rename the layer to "Portrait."

3. Crop the "Portrait" layer closely so that the face takes up the majority of the image. Use the Pen Tool to select any remaining background elements and delete them.

4. Desaturate the image by using the "Desaturate" option under the "Image/Adjustments" menu. Simplify the image further by using the "Image/Adjustments/Posterize" menu. In the "Posterize" dialogue box, set the Levels to "4" and click "OK" to accept the changes.

5. Add a new layer by clicking the "Create a New Layer" icon at the bottom of the "Layers" panel. Rename this new layer to "White" and apply a white background fill by selecting "Edit" from the menu near the top of the screen, then selecting the "Fill..." option. When the "Fill" pop-up menu appears, select "White" from the "Use:" drop-down menu in the "Content" field. Click "OK" to apply the fill.

6. Open a new document. Select a font with a size of 14 pixels, set the color to black and use the Type tool to begin typing words that you want to use in your portrait. Once you are finished typing, use the Selection tool to select the words. With the words still selected, go to "Edit" then "Define Pattern" to make the words a rasterized pattern. Close the document when finished.

7. Select the original portrait document and use the Selection tool to select a small portion of the darkest part of your image. While selected, open the "Select" menu near the top of the screen and choose "Similar" from the menu.

8. Fill the selection with your previously defined pattern by accessing the "Fill" tool from the "Edit" menu near the top of the screen. When the "Fill" window appears, select "Pattern" from the "Use:" drop-down menu and choose the word pattern you created. Click "OK" to apply the changes.

9. Select the other shades from the image and fill them with the word pattern.

10. Save your image when complete.

Make A Simple Flip Book

Animated flip books are fun to play with, but they're also a useful project for a would-be animator looking to learn the basics of creating simulated two-dimensional movement. Even the most rudimentary sketching can be transformed into animation with the right processes of drafting, construction and setup.

Instructions

1. Plan your animation with rough sketches on sketch paper. Don't worry about detail, but draw in the same size and dimensions as those you plan to use for the flip book. Draw pictures that represent the key points in the animations (i.e., beginning, end and places where the motion changes direction).

2. Determine how many cards you'll need for your animation. Imagine the animation in your head as you want it to look and figure out how long it will last-high-quality animation speed is 32 frames a second, but for a flip book, aim for somewhere between 2 and 10 per second. Plan your frames accordingly; aim for a higher frame density if your animation is more complicated. Set aside as many cards as you need.

3. Cut tracing paper squares to correspond to the pages you'll need in your book. Use the paper cutter to cut pieces of paper the same size and shape as your cards and in the same number; you'll use these to draw the animation frames.

4. Mark the light box's surface with masking tape; use four tape strips to create a rectangle with the same dimensions as the cards and tracing paper pieces.

5. Draw the animation frames. Use your sketches from Step 1 as a guide and sketch out the frames, drawing the graduated images between the ones you sketched. Use the light box to draw each new image over the last one, making sure the unchanged parts of each new frame line up with the same in the previous frame.

6. Mount the frames to the cards by coating one side of each card completely with glue stick and making sure the edges line up perfectly.

7. Bind the cards. Stack the cards in order and line up their edges. Bind the stack tightly with a rubber band, then coat the left edge of the stack with a generous amount of bookbinding glue. Let dry.

Make A Simple Country Mobile For A School Project

Mobiles are free moving art sculptures made of various materials.

The mobile, as an art form, is generally deemed the creation of Alexander "Sandy" Calder. Calder's father and grandfather were sculptors and his mother was a painter. He began creating pieces at an early age. While in Paris in 1926, Calder sculpted three dimensional pieces from wood, wire and cloth, leading to his creation of the "mobile," a free moving, hanging sculpture and an entirely new art genre.

Instructions

1. Make the basic unit by slipping a paper clip onto a straw. Slide it to the center. Add a paper clip at each end. Repeat this to create three to four basic units.

2. Make paper clip chains to attach the units to each other. Slide the paper clip chains along the straws to make the mobile balance.

3. Cut various shaped "picture frames" from the construction paper.

4. Select country scenes from the magazine and cut out the pictures.

5. Glue the pictures onto the frames. Use the beads to decorate the picture frame edges.

6. Attach the pictures to the paper clip mobile and balance.

Make A Simple Color Wheel

A color wheel can use as many as 100 colors.

A color wheel is a diagram of color hues in the shape of a circle. Its organization shows the relationships between primary colors, secondary colors and complementary colors. According to Tina Sutton and Bride M. Whelan, authors of "The Complete Color Harmony," a simple color wheel consists of only six colors, demonstrating the base relationships between primary colors and secondary colors. You can make a simple color wheel in just minutes, using only a few supplies.

Instructions

1. Draw a large circle in the middle of a piece of white paper, using a pencil. Trace a round object, such as a bowl, to get a perfect circle.

2. Draw a dot in the center of the circle, using the pencil.

3. Draw six equal triangles within the circle, using the ruler and pencil. Line the ruler up with the dot in the center and draw a line straight across the circle, dividing it in half, the simplest way to do this, according to Betty Edwards, author of "Color." Draw two more sections for the circle, creating six equal triangles.

4. Color one triangle in with a yellow pencil or crayon.

5. Color the triangle to the right of the yellow section with an orange pencil or crayon.

6. Color the section to the right of the orange triangle with a red pencil or crayon.

7. Color the triangle to the right of the red with a purple pencil or crayon.

8. Color the section to the right of the purple with a blue pencil or crayon.

9. Color the triangle to the right of the blue section with a green pencil or crayon to complete your simple color wheel.

10. Cut out your color wheel if you would like to have only the colored portion without the excess white paper.

Find Out How Much Old Cards & Comics Are Worth

The value of a card or comic depends on its rarity and physical condition.

Determining the value of old cards and comics requires understanding the relative rarity and physical condition of each item. Examining each item for significant physical defects and checking their current value online can help you determine which items are then worth sending to a professional grading service.

Instructions

1. Examine the condition of the old cards and comics using a magnifying glass. Any noticeable tears, water damage, stains or non-printing blemishes significantly decrease the value of the item. Faded printing and small cosmetic blemishing will only slightly decrease the value of the item.

2. Consult the quality grading rubric for your old cards and comics and estimate the current condition of each item (see Resources). The value of an item is heavily dependent on the quality; any item with significant damage beyond typical wear-and-tear is worth only a fraction of its mint-condition price.

3. Search an online pricing guide for an estimation of the value of the item (see Resources). Please note that most collectible items are valued on a sliding scale depending on the condition of the item.

4. Send valuable cards and comics to a professional grading service so that you can receive a more precise estimation of its value (see Resources).

Make A Silhouette Art Piece

Silhouettes are outlines of a person in profile, filled in with black color and placed on a white background. The technique was developed by Etienne de Silhouette and, before photography was invented, it was a less expensive way of having a portrait made. You can make your own silhouette art piece by following a few simple steps.

Instructions

Drawing a Silhouette

1. Have your subject sit in a chair. Position your light source so it casts a shadow of your subject on a wall. Adjust your subject's head until the shadow is a pleasing profile.

2. Tape a large sheet of white paper on the wall where the shadow appears. Position it so there is some room at the top and bottom and the shadow on the paper includes a portion of the subject's neck. You can also include the top of the shoulders.

3. Instruct your subject to sit very still. Using a soft pencil, trace the outline of the shadow onto the paper. Be careful to stand to the side and position your drawing arm so your own shadow doesn't cover your subjects.

4. Reposition your subject when necessary. He or she won't be able to sit perfectly still so you'll have to stop and gently guide your subject's head so the shadow fits within what you've already traced.

5. Complete the tracing and remove the paper from the wall. Erase any stray marks with a gum eraser. Fill in the tracing with black color such as a high quality black marker or paint. You can also cut out the silhouette, trace it onto black paper, cut it out and glue it to white paper.

Making a Silhouette Using a Photograph

6. Take a photograph of your subject in profile. Although you may find a photograph, it's best to ask your subject to pose for the photograph so you can make sure the angle is appropriate for what you want to do.

7. Have the photograph printed, then carefully cut out the profile using scissors.

8. Trace the profile onto black paper. A heavy paper is best, as is a white or yellow pencil you will be able to see on the paper after completing the tracing.

9. Cut the traced silhouette from the black paper and position it on a sheet of white paper that's been trimmed to fit into a picture frame. Make small, light pencil marks on the paper to remind you where you want to affix the silhouette.

10. Apply glue to the back of the silhouette, making sure to cover the entire surface to the edges. Place the silhouette on the background, wipe away any glue that squeezes out from underneath, and let the glue dry before framing it.

Make A Shrine With Bricks

The key to building a brick shrine is understanding bricklaying.

Shrines are intended as a place of worship for a specific deity or for remembrance. They can be formal and informal. Formal shrines are found within places of worship, while informal ones may appear in a specific place after a tragedy. However formed, they are a place of reverence. Many faiths create shrines within the household that are used as a place of worship.

Instructions

Design the Shrine

1. Measure the area where you plan to build the shrine in order to get accurate measurements for your design. If the ground needs to be leveled do that first so that your heighth measurement for bricks is accurate.

2. Draw out a design for your shrine to scale on grid paper.

3. Determine how many bricks you need based on the square footage of your design. Calculate the amount of mortar and sand needed, as well.

Lay the Foundation

4. Mark off the area for your shrine with pegs and string. This is where you'll lay the foundation for your shrine.

5. Remove any sod from the area and dig out the foundation. The depth of the foundation will depend on several different factors, including; the climate where you live, how deep the ground freezes, and the soil type. Check with a local contractor or building inspector in your area for details.

6. Mix your ready-mix cement and pour it into the hole for your foundation. Smooth it out with the trowel and allow it to dry according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Lay the Bricks

7. Lay the bricks by placing one at each end of a row, with a string between them. This helps you to lay them in a straight line as you work.

8. Mix the lime and mortar, according to instructions. Scoop mortar on the trowel and spread it on the foundation. Place a brick on top, then spread mortar on the end of the next brick and place it next to the first brick.

9. Remove any excess mortar from the side of the bricks. After you've laid several bricks, check them with your level. If they're not level, give them a tap with the end of your trowel until they are corrected.

10. Offset the bricks as you begin placing a second row on top of the first. All bricks are offset to prevent one long mortar joint which could break.

11. Remove any excess mortar with your trowel and allow the bricks and mortar to set. You can now decorate your shrine with deities, memorabilia, or other items.

Make A Shrine

Build a shrine for inspiration or worship.

Shrines are monuments created to worship a god, remember a lost loved one or honor an inspiring person. Though traditional shrines are religious in nature, some have made shrines in honor of a favorite celebrity or deceased pet. With a bit of free space and a few personal items, anyone can build a shrine to remember and express their appreciation for someone or something they admire.

Instructions

1. Set aside a special place for your shrine, such as an empty closet, cabinet or shelf. If you'd like to carry the shrine around with you, consider placing your shrine in a box or tin. If something special happened in a certain spot and you wish to remember the moment, try to build a shrine in that spot.

2. Say prayers, make offerings or perform an anointing ritual to establish the shrine as a holy place. Skip this step if you are building a secular shrine, or if you don't perform these rituals in your spiritual practices.

3. Paint the shrine a color that is meaningful to your faith or the subject of the shrine.

4. Place items in the shrine that inspire you or remind you of the shrine's subject. Buddhist shrines, for example, include a Buddha image or statue. Catholic shrines may include a Cross and Rosary. Shrines for a loved one may include funeral flowers, photos and personal items. A shrine for a writer or poet you admire can include a book of his work.

5. Place worship and meditation aids in your shrine, if desired. These can include candles, incense, prayer beads and any other items important to your spiritual rituals.

6. Arrange the items in your shrine respectfully so that more significant items are higher or more prominent than less significant items.

Make A Sharp Edge With Acrylic Paint

Using the right materials makes all the difference.

Painting a straight line may seem like an easy thing to do, but most painters will tell you it's not. Even professional artists rely on simple tricks to help them perfect their technique. An indispensable tool of the trade is blue painter's tape. Using tape with acrylic paint allows you to create clean geometric shapes and flawlessly straight lines, which can be difficult to do freehand.

Instructions

1. Create the shape you want with pencil or some other drawing tool that can be easily erased or painted over.

2. Wipe down the surface around the shape with a damp cloth or lightly sand it if it is bumpy. It should be clean and flat.

3. Tape the edges of your shape using blue painter's tape or masking tape. Make sure the tape is clean and that it goes down flat.

4. Press the edges of the tape down with a hard drawing utensil or the flat edge of a craft stick or pencil to get rid of any bubbles. Be sure not to tear the tape.

5. Go over the shape with a layer of clear medium to seal the edges of the tape. This ensures that the paint stays within the lines. Matte medium or gel medium works best.

6. Wait for the medium to dry (approximately 20 minutes). Go over your shape with the acrylic paint, layering the color to get your desired effect.

7. Let the acrylic paint dry -- about 30 minutes. Touch up any messy spots with a small brush.

Make A Senior Scrapbook

Make your own senior scrapbook with a little planning, some creativity and patience.

Whether you are creating a senior scrapbook for your own enjoyment or as part of a high school assignment, it is often difficult to decide what to include. You also have to choose a design, buy supplies, find the photos and the time to put everything together - it is no wonder some seniors decide not to do it. But putting a senior scrapbook together can actually be lots of fun. It just requires a little planning, some creativity and patience.

Instructions

1. Decide if you want to make a traditional scrapbook or a digital version using a website online. Each requires different skills. Choose the type you will enjoy creating the most and the one that will showcase your best skills, not the version you think will be the easiest.

2. Browse other people's senior scrapbooks online. Look at websites like Scrapbook.com or Two Peas In a Bucket. Scrapbook websites like these have galleries where scrapbookers from all over the world upload their latest creations. Look at the styles of scrapbook other seniors are designing. Decide which ideas may work for your scrapbook and modify them to fit.

3. Choose a theme. The easiest senior scrapbooks to organize are often those with a theme running through the book. It can be as simple as a timeline of your life - from kindergarten to graduation - or a catalogue of your athletic career or cheerleading activities. Some seniors make a scrapbook using a time capsule theme, with each page about a different subject and the past, present and possible future of each.

4. Determine if the book will show all of your school years or just your senior year. Books including everything from kindergarten to senior year can be difficult to organize as you will have so much information to choose from. A scrapbook concentrating on just your senior year can be equally challenging.

5. Get organized. Find all the photographs, newspaper clippings, movie tickets, concert programs, song lyrics, and football game memorabilia you want to include. Sort through and organize into year categories if your scrapbook will cover many years, or subject categories if you are concentrating on senior year. Design individual pages by placing each item on a piece of craft board and moving them around until you find the best combination. Photograph the final result so you can remember put it back together for your final product.

6. Buy scrapbook supplies. You will need items such as a scrapbook kit, scrapbook papers, templates, card stock, embellishments and scrapbooking tools. Make a list of every item you will need for each scrapbook page and do not buy any more than that. If you are creating a digital scrapbook, buy the digital kits and fonts you need online. Look at free digital scrapbook sites, as you may find everything you need without having to spend a cent.

7. Put aside a day or two to work on your final scrapbook and get started. If you don't want to do it alone, consider throwing a scrapbooking party, and invite your family and friends to help you. You may enjoy the final product even more if it has been put together with the help of people who are important to you.

Make A Seahorse Tessellation Template

A tessellation is a form of modern art created by M.C. Escher. Tessellations use a symmetrical shape laid over itself to form a pattern that fills the canvas. You can create your own shapes for tessellations and make one using any form you want, including a seahorse. In order to make a seahorse tessellation template, you must first draw the outline of the shape. You then cut it out and use it to create your art.

Instructions

1. Cut out a square or rectangular piece of paper with scissors. Use a ruler if you need to ensure that the sides and the top and bottom are equal lengths or the tessellation will not work properly. Draw a shape from one corner of the bottom to the opposite corner that you want to use for the head.

2. Cut out this shape using the scissors. At the bottom of what you cut out will be a flat side. Move this shape to the top of the rectangle and tape the bottom edge to the top edge of the rectangle. You will now see the head of the seahorse.

3. Draw the shape of the body of the seahorse and the tail starting with the upper right corner of the rectangle and ending in the bottom right corner. Try to draw the shape so that when you move it to the opposite side, it forms the body and the tail of the seahorse.

4. Cut out the shape you just drew. Move it to the left side of the rectangle and tape the long flat side to the left edge, just as you did in Step 2 for the top and bottom. You will now see the finished shape of the seahorse. If it does not look right, you can draw a new rectangle and start over until you get the shape you are looking for.

5. Place the template on another sheet of paper and trace it with the pencil. If you performed the steps correctly, you should be able to slide the shape to the right and the left side will fit perfectly against the right side of what you just drew.

Make A Seahorse Puppet

Put on a seahorse puppet show with simple to make puppets.

Help kids make some seahorse puppets and put on their own ocean puppet show with this craft. Tell kids interesting facts about seahorses, such as that males have the babies instead of females, and seahorses can eat up to 3,000 brine shrimp a day. They neat little creatures are also without teeth or a stomach. Seahorses come in 35 species but sadly they are close to becoming extinct. Pay homage to the seahorse by making a cute puppet.

Instructions

1. Print and cut out the seahorse template for your puppet.

2. Cut a seahorse out of colored poster board or card stock using the template as a guide. Cut out the template first, then lay it on the poster board and cut around it to create a seahorse shape.

3. Decorate the seahorse and give it facial features. Glue on google eyes, or draw eyes on the seahorse with markers. Embellish the seahorse with glitter glue.

4. Decorate a wooden popsicle stick with a pipe cleaner by twisting it around the pipe cleaner. The pipe cleaner can be green or blue to look ocean-colored.

5. Tape the seahorse to the popsicle stick and you have a seahorse stick puppet. Use two seahorse shapes to make a double sided puppet by attaching the popsicle stick in the center of two seahorses.

Make A Sculpture With Nuts & Bolts

Contemporary artists have become increasingly interested in thinking about the way art communicates. Conceptual art examines these matters, addressing the intellect through the visual sense. In conceptual art, the ideas generate works. Create an abstract illusion out of nuts and bolts to express new technological age. Produce an evocative abstract fantasy.

Instructions

Sculpture

1. Design a structural iron skeleton. Show several irregularities that will help your design to break out of convention. Make your viewers interested in artistic possibilities of using nuts (hardware fasteners) and bolts (bolted joints) as new materials and methods borrowed from industrial technology.

2. Create your composition from iron rods and wrought iron shapes. Use a welding gun to attach the pieces as you see fit, being sure to wear the right protective gear. Make contours, boundaries and dividing planes your only functional elements. Synthesize natural and industrial shapes.

3. Add your industrial fasteners' design formula to your functional elements to reinvigorate the basic form, like screwing stainless steel bolts into the nuts using a screwdriver. Your bolts might pull two surfaces of the sculpture together or just create a décor: dramatic angles, ellipses and circles. Consider adding color to your design using paint, or leave it raw and industrial.

Make A Scrapbook For A Kindergarten Teacher

Give your child's kindergarten teacher a gift full of memories.

A scrapbook is a memorable way to document a year in your child's life by arranging photos, poems, notes and momentos in an artistic format. It is also a creative gift idea for a kindergarten teacher. Express your gratitude and the love and respect of her young students by compiling a scrapbook that reflects what a great job she did. Try these tips to make a beautiful and organized scrapbook that she will enjoy for years to come.

Instructions

1. Purchase a large scrapbook or drawing book with blank pages inside. Divide sections of the book into the months of the school year by using a marker to write the name of the month at the top. Glue a photo of the school, classroom or class on the front cover.

2. In each section, paste photos of the teacher, students, classroom, student artwork, events and field trips. Write a caption and date below each photo. Add stickers and other decorative elements.

3. Talk to some of the kindergarten students and ask them to tell you or write down what they like best about their teacher or what she taught them. Write 10 to 15 quotes down on small squares of colored paper and glue them throughout the scrapbook.

4. Choose a few favorite poems or songs that you know the teacher will like. Type them up, print them out and paste them in the scrapbook. Also add newspaper clippings and brochures about the teacher's favorite sports team, hobbies or community events.

5. Write a brief letter to the teacher about what you and other parents appreciate about her, and add this to the scrapbook. At the end of the scrapbook, add a gift certificate for her favorite store, dinner at her favorite restaurant, a spa treatment or other gift. Glue a ribbon horizontally around the outside of the scrapbook. Tie the ribbon into a bow to close the scrapbook.

Make A Scrapbook Clock

A simple clock can be transformed into a beautiful scrapbooked item.

Many people have brought the art of scrapbooking into other areas of their lives and decorating schemes. One of these decorative ideas is to cover a clock in scrapbook paper, photos and embellishments. These scrapbook clocks add a new decorating style to any room. Scrapbooking clocks also make good gifts.

Instructions

1. Decide what paper and color scheme you intend to use for the clock. This is an example of your creative powers, so be as simple or detailed as you want. If you want to make the clock coordinate with a room's decorative theme, then choose colors and patterns that complement that room.

2. Check to see if you can remove the clock mechanism from the clock face using a screwdriver. If you can't, that will also work, but it will be a little harder to apply the paper. Lay the paper over the clock to determine where you want to place each color and pattern of paper. Spray the clock face with adhesive (avoiding the clock mechanism if it is still present). Stick the pieces of paper onto the clock face. If you need to layer the paper, then just spray that section again with the spray adhesive.

3. Bend the paper down around the edges of the clock. Take the emery board and rub the paper over where it hangs off the side of the clock. The sanding motion of the emery board will cause the loose paper end to come right off without damaging the paper or leaving an unsightly paper edge.

4. Add any embellishments that you want to the clock. Glue the embellishments to the clock using tacky glue. Just make sure that none of the embellishments stick up from the clock. If the embellishments are too high, they will prevent the clock from working because the hands will get trapped on the embellishments.

5. Place the number stickers in the appropriate places over the face of the clock. Place the 12 at the top of the clock, 6 at the bottom and so on. Spray the entire surface of the clock with a spray sealer. This protects the paper and embellishments from the elements and sun damage. Allow the clock to dry before using. When the clock is dry, replace the clock mechanism.

Make A Scrapbook Album From Scratch

Stickers, buttons and ribbons add interest to a scrapbook album.

Scrapbooking is a more creative way of presenting photos and preserving memories than the traditional way of storing pictures in photo albums and boxes. A scrapbook album allows you to relate a story and an experience through pictures, postcards and souvenirs. In the past years, scrapbooking has become a popular hobby. Readily available materials such as scrapbook albums, stickers, labels, cards and many other embellishments help the novice create beautiful scrapbooks. Creating your own scrapbook album is an inexpensive and easy task that can add a personal touch to scrapbooking.

Instructions

1. Place the fabric on top of each piece of cardboard, allowing for an inch of fabric to hang around the edges of the cardboard. Press firmly and glue the fabric on top of each cardboard piece. Fold the fabric and glue around the edges of the cardboard.

2. Cut the edges of specialty or colored paper using a pair of paper edger scissors. See www.scrapbook.com for a variety of paper edger scissors.Take 10 pieces of the edged-cut paper and insert them between two fabric covered cardboard pieces.

3. Measure and mark one inch from the top edge and a half inch from the left edge of the front cover. From the first mark, measure an inch below and mark it again. Continue this until you reach the bottom of the front cover.

4. Punch a hole through each marked spot. Insert the wired ribbon into the first hole. When the ribbon is halfway through the hole, hold both ends of the ribbon and make a tight knot.

5. Take one end of the ribbon and insert it over and into the second hole. Take the other end of the ribbon and insert it under and through the next hole. Continue this process alternating the ribbon until you reach the bottom hole.

6. Take both ends of the ribbon and tightly tie a knot. Trim off any excess ribbon.

7. Decorate your scrapbook album by gluing embellishments such as buttons, stickers, ribbons, photos and any other keepsakes on the front cover and inside pages. Add labels, drawings and other visuals to the scrapbook by using colored, metallic or glitter markers or by creating computer generated pictures and texts.

Make A Ryuk Mask

This project uses few colors, so shading is key.

Ryuk is a recurring character in the manga series "Death Note." He is a high-ranking Shinigami, death god and is responsible for releasing a death notebook into the human world. As is the custom in this circumstance, Ryuk proceeds to stalk Light Yagami, who discovered Ryuk's death notebook. There are three main depictions of Ryuk in the manga, anime series and feature film. In the manga, Ryuk has a round face, square chin and tight skin. When re-imagined for the anime, animators drew Ryuk with a longer face, pointed chin and distinctly blue complexion. The anime design was faithfully followed in the CGI version of Ryuk used in the movie save the skin tone, which was changed to a waxy gray.

Instructions

1. Cut an ovular sheet of cardboard that matches the silhouette of Ryuk's face if viewed from the front.

2. Crumble balls of newspaper and tape them to the cardboard circle to build up the facial structure. Use rolled newspaper to create the ridge of Ryuk's brow and high cheek bones. Tape paper down to create a flat, pig-like nose.Ryuk's mouth can be represented as a hollow cavity or flat, black surface.

3. Spray the positive mold with an adhesive and place two layers of plastic wrap on top of it. Press the plastic wrap into the crevices that you want to show. Stretch the plastic wrap across undesirable canyons and valleys to create a flat skin surface.

4. Dry overnight in a well-ventilated area.

5. Coat the plastic wrap with a thin, even layer of petroleum jelly.

6. Cut 1/2-inch and 1/4-inch wide strips of newspaper.

7. Pour paper mache paste into a bowl.

8. Dip paper in the bowl to moisten and then lay gently on the plastic-wrapped mold. Build a single layer of paper mache and then dry for 1 to 2 hours in front of a fan.

9. Apply additional layers of paper mache. Be sure to dry the mask thoroughly between each layer to prevent the retention of moisture.

10. Cure for 72 hours in a well-ventilated area.

11. Peel the paper mache mask off of the plastic-wrapped mold. The mold can be wiped clean, dried and saved for later use.

12. Apply small pieces of paper mache to the mask to build up the wrinkles around Ryuk's eyes and nose. Additional layers of paper can also be used to patch holes and fix tears.

13. Dry the mask thoroughly for 24 to 72 hours.

14. Paint the skin gray or slate blue. Use a darker hue to fill-in wrinkles and to create shadows under the high-cheek bones.

15. Paint the widow's peak black or dark gray. Faux hair can also be glued to this spot.

16. Color the lips purple-black or blue. Fill in the mouth with yellow teeth and a black cavity. Fake teeth can be glued to the mouth to create a more realistic look.

17.Halve a ping-pong ball with a craft knife. Glue the ball to the mask as bulging eyes. Paint the balls yellow or beige. Shade the eyeballs so that they appear brown around the edges. Cut out the center of the eye where the pupil would be located.

18. Spray the entire mask with a matte acrylic sealer. Cure for 48 to 72 hours.

19. Apply a high-gloss varnish to the eyeballs and lips to create the illusion of moisture.

20. Carve out the paper mache behind the eyes so that you can see through the holes in the ping pong balls.

21. Cut a 12-inch piece of elastic. Staple the elastic to either side of the mask so that it can be worn and easily removed.

Make A Moss Covered Flower Pot

You can cover flower pots with moss.

Moss, the shade loving, green velvet of the natural world, offers visual calmness and serenity wherever it grows. It's the very reason moss is often used in Japanese gardens. When you see it growing on flower pots we think of quaint English gardens too. We live in a hurry-up world where everything is supposed to happen fast. If you've decided you'd like a moss-covered flower pot, it's going to take time for it to grow naturally. There is a way, however, to get green moss on your flower pots today.

Instructions

1. Coat the outside of the flower pot with spray adhesive.

2. Place sheet moss over the surface and press it in place. Use scissors to cut and fit it to the shape of the flower pot.

3. Use a hot glue gun to secure the moss in spots where more hold is required.

4. Stretch rubber bands over the outside of the flower pot and leave them in place until the spray adhesive and hot glue completely cure.

Make Dvd Cover Art

To sell a movie, you'll need more than a disc in a nondescript case.

So you've put long days and sleepless nights into creating a movie. Now you want people to see it. Eye-catching cover art can go a long way towards moving a DVD off the shelf. Creating DVD cover art is hardly a complicated task; but as movie producers realize more money comes from retail sales, they're planning their DVD sets from the moment the project gets the green light.

Instructions

1. Open a new image file in your image editing program with 278 mm by 190 mm dimensions. Draw vertical guiding lines at 132 mm width and 146 mm width to set aside the spine of the cover, then draw a border around the whole image file set off from the edge by 3 mm. Designate the right side of the file as the front cover and the left side as the back cover.

2. Lay out the movie title on the front cover and choose an interesting image to feature prominently in the space. Go with a still photo taken with a digital camera on the set featuring prominent characters or pick a piece of artwork that you think represents the theme of the movie. Avoid using screen shots pulled from video files which can sometimes include a motion blur that looks unprofessional in a still photo.

3. Insert the movie description onto the back cover and include one or more still photos from the movie. Place production information on the bottom, including the director, producer, actors, DVD format, aspect ratio and run time. Finish the cover art by placing the movie title along the center spine of the image file.

4. Print the DVD art onto a glossy slip sheet. Check to make sure the color image is comparable to how it appeared on screen. Insert the sheet into your DVD case.

Draw Cute Animals Stepbystep

Cute puppy drawing

Drawing cute animals can be fun and challenging. The fun part is making the animals cute while managing to keep the realistic characteristics of the animals true to life. Regardless of the animal you draw, one of the easiest ways to begin is by using basic shapes and refining the shapes to create specific animals. Once you've drawn the animal, you can make adjustments to its characteristics to make it cute.

Instructions

1. Choose an animal that lends itself to cute characteristics. Although you can make any animal look cute, cats, dogs, raccoons and other furry animals tend to be ideal subjects for someone just starting out. Use a reference photo if it helps.

2. Sketch the outline of the animal you want to draw. Use light lines to get the basic shapes in place. A kitten, for instance, might consist of an oval for the body, a circle for the head, and triangles for ears. Sketch in lines for whiskers and and add the tail.

3. Draw in the refined shapes around the basic shapes you've drawn. Erase the tips of the triangle ears and round them out. Make the ears a little too large for the head, which helps make your kitten look cuter. Add expressive eyes. Stick with the basic shape of the eyes, but draw them slightly larger, then shade in the pupils and smudge some of the shading away with your fingers to give the eyes a wet look. Adding darker shadow beneath the eyes can help lift them away from the page and present more expression.

4. Draw the mouth of your animal with a smile, or go the opposite way and curve the corners down to achieve a pouty look. Applying expressions normally associated with humans can lend a cute quality to your animals. Also, aim for baby animals or caricature-style drawing to keep the cute quality. By drawing in a caricature style, you're over-emphasizing characteristics, which tends to make a cuter sketch.

5. Color the fur onto your animal with long, overlapping strokes of the pencil. When you've finished coloring and shading, go back and smudge with your fingertip to soften the overall drawing. Removing the hard lines and impressions from your drawing will help make your animal cuter.

Make A Professional Sketchbook

Make a Professional Sketchbook

Sketchbooks are used by artists, designers and illustrators to perform studies, create incredible pieces of art on the move and to doodle down their ideas. Every sketchbook will have its own artistic style, flow and composition in-between the pages. Making your own sketchbook is a fantastic way of showing that same individuality outside of the pages, as well as in. It is also a good way to really make your sketchbook feel like your own and make it more personal to you.

Instructions

1. Create stacks of 8 sheets with your drawing paper. These are called signatures. Fold them in half and make a clean crease. The thicker you want your sketchbook, the more signatures you should have.

2. Measure the spine of your signatures with a ruler and multiply the measurement by the number of signatures you have. Cut a piece of thread to that length.

3. Open up each of your signatures, lay them flat on the table and poke four, evenly spaced holes down the spine with a thumbtack. Using a large needle, thread through the top hole of your first signature, going outside in. Now thread the needle through all the holes going down the spine, alternating in and out.

4. Add more signatures to your paper block. Thread the needle from your first signature through the adjacent hole on your second signature. Thread the needle through the next hole on the second signature and follow through to the adjacent hole on the first signature. Repeat with the next two holes and tie the string with a square knot. Repeat this process to bind any more signatures you wish to use to make your paper block.

5. Create your cover boards. Use a Xacto or Stanley knife and a ruler to cut off 1/8-inch off the edges of the signatures. With your Xacto or Stanley knife cut out two pieces of board that are exactly 1/4-inch larger than the original page size and a strip the same width of the spine of your paper block and 1 1/2 inches longer than your paper block.

6. Decorate your cover. Cut out two pieces of colored or patterned paper the same width as your cover board and 1 1/2-inch longer than your cover boards. Lay the boards on top of the paper so that there is a 3/4-inch border of decorational paper around three of the boards' sides. The edge without a paper border should be the side where the spine will be. Apply paper glue to the paper around the board and gently fold in the paper border.

7. Attach the spine. Cut out another strip of colored or patterned paper the same length as your spine board and 2" wider. Cover one side of the paper with glue and put your spine board exactly in the center of the paper, leaving 1-inch on either side. Place the two pieces of cover board on either side of the spine leaving 1/4-inch between the spine board and the cover board. Let the glue dry.

8. Finish up. On the inside of your cover, paint a 1/2-inch layer of glue onto the spine edge of each of your cover boards. Place paper block so that it aligns with this edge of a cover block, making sure to leave 3/4-inch on all but the spine sides. Carefully close the cover of your new sketchbook so that the opposite glue strip aligns properly and allow glue to dry.

Make A Prize Wheel With A Diagram

A derivation of a prize wheel you can make at home.

If you're putting on a backyard carnival, or even something a little more formal and large-scale, one of the essential games is a prize wheel, where you spin a large wheel and whatever the wheel's marker lands on is the resulting prize. A homemade prize wheel can be made cheaply and easily if you have the right tools and equipment. One of the essential tools is a diagram of the prize wheel set up to help you with assembly.

Instructions

Building the Wheel

1. Print out and study the diagram of the prize wheel that can be found in the resources section. Use this to base your project on.

2. Tie a 16-inch piece of string to a pencil. On the opposite side of the string, tie the end to a tack or nail. Press the nail into the exact center of your piece of plywood. Use the ruler or yardstick (which might work better) to find the center. Once in place, pull the string taut and draw a perfect circle on the top of your wood. Once it's drawn, remove the string and nail.

3. Use whatever saw you feel most comfortable with to cut out your circular template. Sand the edges of your wheel to ensure that there are no splinters.

4. Divide the wheel up into 12 equal pie shapes. Using the ruler or yardstick, draw 6 straight lines from one edge of the wheel to the other, spreading each of the lines out evenly. They should all intersect in the center of the wheel.

5. Do something to individualize the different wedges. Paint each a different color, for example.

6. Cut your dowel rod(s) into 12 equal parts, each measuring approximately 6 inches. Use your wood glue to glue each of the rods onto the edge of the wheel -- on the line between two adjacent sections of board. If you feel the need to secure them more firmly, drill a screw through the bottom of the board up into the dowel rod.

7. In the center of the wheel, where your 6 lines intersect, and where you placed the nail to use your string/pencil, drill a hole through the wood. The hole should be wider than the body of the lag bolt you are going to use, but still small enough that the head of the bolt won't fall through.

Building the Stand

8. Set the 1-by-2-by-24 pieces and the 1-by-1.5-by-32 piece of wood on a table. They should be in parallel lines, and their edges should be about 4.5 inches from the next board. The longer board should be in the middle. Make sure their top edges (the 2-inch and 1.5-inch long edge are lined up together so they are in a straight line -- this will mean that the longer board sticks out 8 inches more than the other two.

9. Apply wood glue generously to the top of the three strips of wood, and place the 2-by-10-by-15 piece of wood on top of all three of them. Make sure that you place the board as shown in the diagram, with the 15-inch side spanning all three strips of wood, and then the 10-inch side 7 inches from the top and 7 inches from the bottom of the edge pieces. When flipped over, the wood will resemble a ribcage. Allow the glue ample time to dry.

10. Use your nail gun or hammer and nails to nail the base board onto the wooden strips. Do this for added support. Try to put about three nails into every wooden strip.

11. Drill a small pilot hole into the middle of your baseboard (the 2-by-10-by-15 piece). Use a measuring tape, ruler or yardstick to make sure you have the center. This will help position the wheel on when you assemble it, and also allow the lag bolt to make a clean, straight entry when screwed in.

12. Screw your small piece of wood (0.75-by-1.5-by-4.5) onto the longer end of your middle wood strip. Position it so that it points upward (4.5 inches up), and 0.75 inches wide. (Have the 0.75-inch side touch the 1.5-inch end of the center strip.)

13. Screw or nail your piece of rubber onto the wood from last step. Have it so that it is pointing inward, toward the center of the baseboard. It needs to be long enough so that when the wheel spins, it flaps against the dowel rods and is still able to slow the wheel down.

14. Put two washers over the pilot hole in your base board. Put the assembled wheel on top, making sure that the rubber piece doesn't bend under the wheel. Put two more washers on top of the hole in the center of the wheel, and then screw in your lag bolt through the hole. Make sure that the bolt isn't too tight or the wheel won't spin, and make sure that it's not too loose that it wobbles continuously. Fine-tune your tightening, and give it a spin.

Make A Print Look Like Oil Paint

Turn a simple family photo into a work of art.

Shuffling through photographs or flipping through picture books is nice, but displaying your prints as works of art is even nicer. Imagine a simple family photograph converted to a 24-by-36-inch canvas, framed in a gorgeous fine art frame and displayed over the fireplace or in the den. Making a print look like an oil painting is possible with photo conversion technology offered by several different companies, including many photography studios. Make a few touch-ups on your own to make the piece look even more like an oil painting.

Instructions

1. Visit a website that converts photographs to canvas such as CanvasPress.com or CanvasOnDemand.com. Upload the print following the directions on the website, choose a size and place your order. Many photography studios also give clients the option to convert photos taken in the studio to canvas. However, this is typically more expensive than uploading your prints online.

2. Purchase a clear acrylic varnish with a medium to thick viscosity. Brands such as Liquitex® and CeramCoat® make clear acrylic varnishes found in most craft stores. Do not use an oil-based varnish, as this may damage the canvas print.

3. Paint semi-thick strokes of varnish along the "strokes" of the canvas print to mimic real brushstrokes. When a photograph is converted to a canvas, it has the look of a real painting, but is flat and without actual brushstrokes. Applying the varnish gives the print the appearance of brushstrokes on a real oil painting. Do this over the entire print as though you were actually painting. The varnish will dry clear, so layer it as thick as desired. Let the print dry completely.

4. Spray the entire canvas with a layer of glossy spray varnish. The glossiness will give the painting a rich, oil-painting quality. Let the print dry, then frame and hang.