How to Make a Magazine Organizer - for Free*

*Or, near enough as makes no never mind, as Mom used to say.

We have a bit of a magazine problem at our house. Or I suppose, to be more precise, a magazine storage problem. That’s what happens when someone buys every magazine they see with a motorcycle on the front.

At any rate, something must be done!

You will need:

• A large, empty cereal box
• Scissors
• A ruler or straight-edge
• A marker, pen, pencil, etc.
• Tape
• Wrapping paper

Step 1: Cut off the flaps on top.

Step 2: Mark the box from corner to corner on each side (make sure you have the top of the line on the same side on each side).

Step 3: Cut down the line, across the short side of the box (at the crease) and up the other line in one piece. You really need the cut-off portion to be in one piece.

Step 4: Flip it over so the top is at the bottom. Use the magazines to measure how far you need to scoot it over so they’ll fit. Tape the pieces together securely (don’t forget the bottom!) all around, inside and out.

Step 5: Mark around from the bottom of one “V” to the bottom of the “V” on the other side. (Make sure you’re doing this to the piece you taped on, and not the big piece.)

Step 6:  Cut across the line.

And it works! But, if (like me), you object to Kung-fu Panda and packing tape in your decorating, continue:

Step 7: Wrap the magazine holder. (This will require some wrapping-fu.)

(I made a straight cut down from the top to accommodate the weird  angle. ALSO - be sure to tape the wrapping paper down on the inside, ALL the way around. This will help minimize wear and tear as the magazines go in and out.)

Is it macho? No. Is it elegant? Ummmmm….maybe? No. But it works.

So there you go! See? No power tools, no problem.

Gemstone Goodies

So, I got some fun things in the mail.

Malachite, amethyst, lapis lazuli, and cultured freshwater pearls - not to mention some shiny gold beads and findings and a very nice set of red jasper focal components.

Fire Mountain Gems is a fun place to shop.

I also picked up a spiffy beading board:

which is AWESOME for laying out necklaces. Instead of just stringing beads to see how they look, you can measure how long you want your necklace to be and start in the middle, working your way to the fastening. You can also lay out more than one strand at a time, which is massively useful, since trying to design a multi-strand necklace on the fly is far more complicated than one might expect.

So, I made this today…and I like it. :)  Max is pretty smitten with the hearts, too.

In other news, a Hitler cat has been hanging around our porch for the last three days. The kids, of course, have gone nuts over it and it’s been almost all I can do to keep them from rushing out “to rub it.” Now, I don’t have anything against cats. I like cats. (I’m also allergic to cats, but that hasn’t stopped me from being friends with cats in the past.) I do, however, have serious qualms about letting my kids go ‘play’ with a random stray cat that just hangs around and stares at us. Hopefully it will move on quickly, and this will soon be but a happy memory.

It occurs to me that the sliding door needs washing.

Super Monkey Ball!

(Gratuitous Nintendo reference ftw!)

So, to round out the little collection, I made the boys a monkey. I think it may be my favorite of the three - look how cute he is! Look at the startled little face, hahaha. The best part, really, is the ears. They’re so nicely three-dimensional.

I think they look good together. Now that I’ve got that out of my system, I’m trying to get some more work done on my shrug, which has languished unfinished for FAR too long.

More Ani-balls

Let me just lead with a less washed-out picture of the lion I made:

See? So much cuter in the sunshine! That goes for the tail view as well:

It’s been raining for days. It rained this morning, as a matter of fact; long and hard and thoroughly. I was afraid it might not dry out enough for me to get outside for  some shots of the aniballs in their…’natural’ environment, but in the evening enough had evaporated that we cautiously ventured out.

As you can see, Charlie got his elephant:

and I must say, it’s even a bigger hit than the lion. It’s slightly larger which makes it easier for little hands to throw and catch, and the boy’s have had the grandest time making elephant  sounds as they throw it around. The elephant has a little tail of its own, as well:

Although not long enough to use as a handle. These little guys are fun!

A Chat with the Focus Group

Obviously, any time I design a toy it’s with my boys in mind. Once it’s finished, I get various levels of feedback from them (generally just whether they like to play with it past the first day it’s done or not), but they’re getting to the point where they have things to say that are not only amusing but interesting as well. So, when I finished a little project today, I sat down with my mini-focus group for a chat and a game of lion-ball catch.

Basically, this is a ball with a tail and some comically alarmed facial features (since this poor little lion’s purpose is to be a projectile). We tossed it back and forth, and as we did, I conducted the following interview.

Me: So, you like the lion?

Charlie: I like the eyes.

Me: The eyes?

Charlie (stopping to poke them): Yeah, they’re black and white. And the pretty pink nose. Oh, look at the brown hair!

Me: Yeah, it’s nice hair, isn’t it.

Charlie: Yeah. Catch!

(The tail makes a better-than-anticipated launching handle for people with small hands.)

Me: What about you, Max? What do you like?

Max: I like about the pink nose. Hey, Mommy, let’s play again!

(Game resumes briefly)

Charlie: Look, his brown tail!

Me: His tail?

Charlie: Yes, ’cause he’s a ball!

Charlie (after a few more tosses back and forth): Look, he has ears!

Max (to Charlie): Do you like his ears, bub?

Charlie: Oh, yeah, and his pink nose. I like his pink nose.

Max: I like his pink nose!

Charlie: No, I like his pink nose!

Me: Boys!

(Squabble forgotten in giggles as the lion gets tossed around again)

Charlie (to me): You have to make a elephant.