THE BASICS

BASIC CYLINDERS

1. Cut out a rectangular shape of paper.

2. Curl it around your finger or a pencil and glue it into a tube. Experiment with size and shape to make shorter and taller hats.

 

DOMES

1. To make a dome, you first need a template. Refer to here for dome templates and choose one for your dome.

2. Using your template, trace six arches along the edge of your paper. Each arch should touch.

3. Cut out the arches as shown, leaving a flap at one end.

4. Curl this piece around into a sort of crown shape and use the flap to glue it.

5. Curl the points of the arches in slightly. Cut out a small circle of paper and glue it behind one of the arch points.

6. Glue the opposite arch point to the paper circle, making sure the arches touch in the center.

7. Glue two more opposing arches to the circle in the center.

8. Glue down the remaining arches.

9. Use hot glue to seal the inner seams of the dome.

 

GLUING SHAPES ONTO PAPER BASES

1. When you have a shape you need to glue to a base, use your hot glue gun to drizzle a line of glue just inside the shape. It’s okay to use a liberal amount; just make sure it’s not overflowing from the shape.

2. Rest the shape on its paper base. Either hold it down with your hands or use a paperweight. The hot glue inside will drizzle down and seal the inside edge. Make sure to bring the paper pieces together while the glue is still warm, or else it won’t seal properly. Now you can trim the excess of the base around the shape you just glued to it. This can take a little bit of practice, but it’s easy once you get the hang of it!