bodner054

We just got back from a trip to England to see Downton Abbey aka Highclere Castle. I learned that tea was a luxury and it was kept under lock and key. Ladies had their own morning room to enjoy this beverage. This inspired me to create my own teacup model. Using my grandmother's Noritake demitasse set (oops that's coffee...but I don't care I like the shape of the cup), I created the following teacups. Here is the .Studio file for the teacup. I used cardstock for the teacup and saucer.  I used plain white copy paper for the tea bag. https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7oGIyVDbRGYSDBNQlhKZ1lac2s/edit?usp=sharing Here is the PDF. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7oGIyVDbRGYRlUxb3lZRzdWYjQ/edit?usp=sharing  There are two choices for the saucer and four types of handles included in the .Studio file.      Curl the sides of the teacup so that it is rounded and glue your choice of two of the same handles together.  This is to make the...

I think this cube is really fun to play with.  Eight little cubes are taped together to form a bigger cube.  It is fun to see the little cubes move in different directions.  I made a cube net which I included here as a .Studio file and a PDF.  I would recommend cutting the eight cubes with different color cardstock paper as the movement of the cubes becomes very apparent. Here is the PDF of the cube. This cube is a one inch cube. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7oGIyVDbRGYbkFmeGN2eWp5R2M/edit?usp=sharing Here is the .Studio file.  I used cardstock.  This cube is a little larger than the PDF. https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7oGIyVDbRGYX2dVNXoyUFBiOHc/edit?usp=sharing The cube net that I made is very exact.  There is very little tolerance in folding the last tab.  My recommendation is to alternate the middle tab and make it slide into the two outer tabs as shown. Repeat until you have made 8 cubes. Tape the 8 cu...

This is my favorite origami model.  It is called the great stellated dodecahedron. You can use the Silhouette paper cutter to cut out 30 four inch squares.  Here is a website which gives the origami directions. . https://sites.google.com/site/msouellettesmodularorigami/the-great-stellated-dodecahedron   It takes a few hours to make but it is well worth the effort Great Stellated Dodecahedron    Dodecahedron     The dodecahedron above is the basis for the great stellated dodecahedron.  Stellated means "star-like".  The dodecahedron is transformed into a star-like solid by drawing a line from the center of the pentagon outward into space and meeting at a point.  This point is above the original vertex.  Three adjacent pentagons create the triangular pyramid shape.  There are 20 vertices and 20 triangular pyramids are created. A dodecahedron has 12 faces, 20 vertices and 30 edges.  The great stellated dodecahedron has the sa...

I finished cleaning up my craft desk but I am not finished cleaning the room.  I am stuck on the idea of this circle, star and heart fold card. Here is the results of my obsession.  Circle, Star and Heart Fold Cards  Circle Fold Card   This circle fold card is very similar to the square card I made in a previous blog. Here is the .Studio file with tabbed envelope. https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7oGIyVDbRGYWEdOeFJmX05hc1E/edit?usp=sharing    Star Fold Card  Here is the .Studio file for the Star Fold Card.  It is a little different than the circle card.  I will tell you what I did.  First, I made the star card just like the circle card.  The star looks skewed.  It is an optical illusion and I don't like the way it looks.  I changed the pattern to cut half of a star to give the viewer a perspective to look at so that the image does not get distorted.  I think it works.  I hope you like it too. The tabbed enve...

I wanted to use the word polygons in the title.  However, a circle is not a polygon because it does not have any straight sides. Polygons are classified by the number of sides. And I wanted to experiment with circles and polygons...so the term shapes will have to do. Results of My Slide Together Experimentation I used cardstock for all of these models. Here is the PDF of all of the models. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7oGIyVDbRGYMEIwOXpSSW9GOUE/edit?usp=sharing I decided to use a circle and a square with 60 degree angle slits.  It turned out harder than I anticipated.  I couldn't align the circle and square correctly.  So I resized the squares and the circles to be the same size...diameter = diagonal.  I used 6 squares and 8 circles. The figure turned out to look like a truncated octahedron with circles instead of hexagons. Very nice! Here is the .Studio file. Cut one of each file. https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7oGIyVDbRGYdzc5ZDZ1azB...

This summer I explored a different type of art called mixed media. Mixed media is exactly what the term says...mixed-up stuff.  I used a cocktail umbrella, popsicle stick, white ribbon, red bow, yellow acyrlic paint, and a flower vase watercolor painting cut-out to create this painting.  It was glued on cardboard coated with gauche.  It was finished with a sparkle Mod Podge. Here is another mixed media design. I used scrapbook paper cut-outs, Copic markers, Sakura ink pen, button, tassle and bead...coated with sparkle Mod Podge. This design was scrapbook paper, Sakura ink pen, watercolor pencils...coated with sparkle Mod Podge. #Mixed Media

Zentangles are an interesting art form. It has roots in mathematics.  A line, polygon or circle is repeated in a pleasing way to create an image.  I have the book by Suzanne McNeill entitled  Joy of Zentangle :Drawing Your Way to Increased Creativity, Focus and Well-Being which gave me inspiration for the following two drawings. #Zentangle 

I just came across this treat bag that I designed in the clean up of my craft desk. I used a plain brown paper bag as my inspiration. I put some silly things in it that I had lying around to show how much it could hold. Notice the Three Fold Lines Fold up a half inch along the bottom serrated edge so that the bottom is straight across.  Fold the left side a half inch and then fold in half along the same parallel. See fold lines above.  Glue the Bottom and Side Edges Finished Treat Bag  Here is the .Studio file.  There are no fold lines so you need to fold according to the picture. Please use this pattern for your own personal use.  Thank you! https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7oGIyVDbRGYb1E5dXIzcjBzTmM/edit?usp=sharing

Folded Card and Tab Envelope I was cleaning up my craft work area when I came across a Christmas card that I had received and I said to myself...I can make that card.  Well, it was simple to make. Create three squares, make four fold lines, overlay a smaller square and erase half of the square.  I would give credit to the manufacturer (Polar Bear card) for their design but there is no name on it.  The picture above is the result with a tab envelope that I created. Oh no...as I was rereading this, I realized that I could make other designs like a circle or a heart or a star.  I can't do it today but maybe in the future.  I have to clean my work area now! The Polar Bear card is the one that I copied. Envelope to be Folded Tab Envelope and Folded Card Completed Tab Envelope Closed I designed a envelope using my basic envelope shape from my blog.  I designed the envelope with a little tab. There are no fold lines so you need to fold the regular copy pa...