1 With your knife, make a groove ⅜ inch from both ends of each dowel. These will help keep your string in place later.
2 Make a cross with your dowels, placing your spar dowel 9 inches down from the top of the spine dowel. Tie the dowels together with string where they cross.
3 Create your kite skeleton: tie string on one end of one dowel and then connect the ends of each of the dowels with the string. Loop the string around the dowels and in the grooves you cut as you go around. When you reach the first dowel again, cut your string and tie a knot.
4 Lay your image facedown on your workspace, and place your kite skeleton on top of the paper.
5 Trace your skeleton onto the back of the image, then measure a ½-inch border outside it. Cut out the shape along the borders.
6 Draw a dot on your paper under each groove in the dowels, then cut off the points of your paper diamond where the grooves in the dowel and the paper meet.
7 Fold the paper over the string of your kite skeleton, glue it down, and let dry.
8 Place a piece of clear packing tape on the back of the kite right under where the spine and spar cross. (I used yellow tape to demonstrate where to place it, but you should use clear.)
9 Place another piece of clear tape on the back of the kite just behind the spine, 11 inches down from the top.
10 Using an X-ACTO knife, cut a small hole in both pieces of tape.
11 Cut a 24-inch piece of string. Push the ends through the holes you just cut through the front of the kite. Tie each end to the spine so it can’t move. You’ve just created your kite’s bridle.
12 Cut the ribbon in half, and tie both pieces to the bottom of the spine to form your kite’s tail.
13 Tie the end of the kite string around the bridle in a loose loop so it can slide up and down.
14 Head outside and wait for some wind.
1 Cut a sprig from a tree, flower, bush, or shrub, bearing in mind you’ll want to use something that can be easily flattened in the copy machine.
2 Place your sprig on a copy machine and make a black-and-white copy of it.
3 Carefully cut out the copied image with scissors and an X-ACTO knife, making sure to get as much detail as you possibly can.
4 Cut the dark background paper to fit your frame.
5 Dab the printed side of the silhouette (the black side) with your glue stick, and lay it in place on your dark background.
6 Frame the silhouette and put it somewhere that needs a touch of nature.
1 Make about 3 cups of mortar in a big bowl. Use cold water and follow the directions on the box.
2 As soon as your mix is ready, quickly pour some into the 4 outside bowls until they’re about halfway full, and then push down 4 bowls designated to go inside.
HINT
3 Wait about 15 to 20 minutes for the cement to start to set, then remove the molds. Your new concrete pots should feel very warm (but not hot).
4 Turn the pots over, and drill a hole in the base of each one to allow for drainage.
5 Sand off any rough edges before the pots get too hard.
6 Let the pots dry for a few more hours, and your new planters are ready to go!
NOTE
SUGGESTION
1 Remove the old fabric from the umbrella, keeping at least 1 triangle piece fully intact for your pattern.
2 To make the pattern, trace 1 triangle, and then add a ½-inch border all the way around the outside (the extra ½ inch is for your seam allowance). If your umbrella had a circle at the top, make a pattern for that, too, and also add a ½-inch seam allowance all the way around it.
3 Pin your patterns on your fabric, and trace and cut out the shapes.
4 Stitch a ½-inch hem along the top (narrowest end) and bottom of your triangles: fold the ends over ¼ inch and then ¼ inch again and stitch across. Now hem your circle, if you have one, and cut a small hole in the center if your umbrella has a finial.
5 Pin the triangle pieces together side by side. Sew them together with a ½-inch seam allowance.
6 Cut your suedecloth into 6 pocket shapes, each 2½ by 3 inches, as shown in photo b. Sew the pockets on each corner of your umbrella where the triangles meet, leaving the ends that face the center of the umbrella open. The pockets will hold the tips of the umbrella’s ribs. (Those are the spokes that extend from the top of the pole to stretch out your umbrella.)
7 Measure the distance from the tip of 1 rib of your umbrella to the ground. Now add 10 inches to that number and call it A.
8 Measure the distance from the end of one rib to the rib next to it. Add 2 inches to that number and call it B.
9 Cut 4 panels of heavy fabric that are the width of B and the length of A. (My panels were 40 inches by 70 inches.)
10 Stitch a ½-inch hem all the way around each panel.
11 Pin a short end of 1 panel to the end of 1 of the umbrella triangles, then sew it on. Repeat for the 3 remaining panels.
12 With the help of a friend, center the top and stretch your umbrella over the ribs, tucking the ends of the ribs into the pockets. Attach the finial if you have one, and enjoy the sunny day.
1 Enlarge and trace the patterns provided onto the aluminum flashing, then cut the shapes out using your tin shears or heavy-duty scissors.
2 Place the ⅜-inch dowel across the center of the sun and Pegasus, as in the photo, and with your marker, place dots where you will need to poke holes for the wire that will hold the shapes in place.
3 Use the awl to poke holes in the sun and Pegasus.
4 Cut the wire into 3-inch-long pieces and place the dowel on the sun and Pegasus. Using needle-nose pliers, thread the wires through the holes and twist them around the dowel to keep the aluminum pieces in place.
5 Drill a hole with the ⅜-inch bit in one end of the 11/2-inch dowel. Drill as far as you can go, and also wiggle the drill so that the hole is just a bit bigger than the drill bit. (This will be where you insert the dowel that’s attached to Pegasus.)
6 Bend the bottom ends of the N and S, and glue them on the ends of the L brackets with E-6000. Use clothespins to hold them in place while the glue dries.
7 Screw the L brackets to the large dowel about 5 inches from the top (where you drilled your hole).
8 Insert the dowel with the Pegasus into the hole. Now spray-paint the entire weathervane gold.
9 When the gold paint is dry, spray the weathervane with water, then immediately spray it with brown paint. Spray it again with water, and immediately after, spray it with black paint. Add more gold and brown paint until you’re satisfied. This gives it an antique look.
10 Secure the weathervane to your roof or a fencepost or with two U clamps.
1 Hot-glue glass pieces all over the outside of the fishbowl, forming whatever pattern you choose.
2 Mix up a batch of grout to the consistency of toothpaste. Make about 1 cup, and if you need more you can always make some later.
3 Put on your rubber gloves, scoop out some grout, and start filling in the spaces between the chips, making sure to smooth it out with your fingers while you work. Get it in between every glass marble!
4 Once all the gaps are filled, go over the lantern with a slightly damp sponge to wipe away excess grout and smooth out the spaces between the glass pieces.
5 Rinse out the sponge and repeat step 4 until the gaps are very smooth. (You may need to use a few sponges to get all of the grout smoothed out.)
TIP
6 When the grout is dry (it should take about 8 hours to set), wipe off the glass chips with a damp sponge.
7 Put a tealight in your lantern and take it outside.
1 Paint your cutting board all over with whatever you choose as your base color.
2 While the paint dries, draw the numbers of your street address on a sheet of paper. This will serve as your template, so make sure your numbers are the size you want them to be on the cutting board.
3 Lay your twigs on top of the numbers. If necessary, cut them to fit using scissors.
4 Transfer the twigs to the board, securely gluing them in place one by one with E-6000.
5 Tape off a border, apply paint, and let it dry. Repeat until you’re satisfied.
6 Clear-coat the entire plaque to protect it from the elements, then let dry.
7 Proudly hang your plaque by your front gate and listen to the neighbors ooh and aah!
1 Mix enough mortar to fill the mold that you’ve chosen, following the instructions on the package. (I recommend wearing rubber gloves while you do this.)
2 Fill your mold with mortar and let it set.
3 Remove the hardened shape and sand off any rough edges. You now have the base of your lamp.
4 Apply a generous amount of E-6000 to the top of your lamp base and adhere the glass vase on top.
5 Let the glue dry, then place a candle inside the vase. Voilà!
