Duchars Sara - BoyCraft: loads of things to make for and with boys (and girls)

First published in 2014

by Frances Lincoln Ltd, 7477 White Lion Street, London N1 9PF

www.franceslincoln.com

This eBook edition first published in 2014

BoyCraft

Copyright Frances Lincoln 2014

Text copyright Sara Duchars and Sarah Marks 2014

Photographs copyright Dan Duchars 2014

All rights reserved

This eBook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the authors and publishers rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Digital edition: 978-1-78101-144-7
Softcover edition: 978-0-71123-489-5

Loads of things to make FOR and WITH boys (and girls)

SARA DUCHARS & SARAH MARKS

Illustrations by Nicola Kent

Between the two of us we have three boys and a tomboy, aged between eight and twelve, so our houses have been full of boys playing, shouting, making, breaking and creating mostly chaos but the occasional masterpiece for well over a decade. There are plenty of craft books out there for girls but even the ones that dont have pink frilly cupcakes on the cover are often full of handbags, fairy wings and princess tiaras. We wanted to create a craft book full of projects that would appeal to boys and tomboys everywhere. We wanted to include all the kinds of crafty things that boys love doing before they get the idea that craft isnt boy-ish enough. So although BoyCraft has both sewing and knitting projects, it has also got lots of woodwork and modelmaking, and even projects for action men. BoyCraft is not anti-girls (there are a fair number of girls dotted thoughout these pages) but we have deliberately left out the pink frilly bits.

Kids have been making toys out of the junk that adults throw away for years go-karts from broken prams, trains from old boxes or soldiers and other figures from traditional wooden pegs. What has changed however, is the kind of junk being used. Many of the the projects in this book reflect the contents of todays recycling bin: lots of plastic milk bottles and lids, yoghurt pots, plastic drinking bottles, acrylic jumpers, old t-shirts, plastic bags, CDs and other modern-life detritus. Our earlier book ReCraft was all about turning old things into new. BoyCraft continues that tradition. This book includes projects for adults to make for the boys in their life. Its also for all kids who love making things, but particularly the boys who dont yet know they love making stuff. We hope, after trying some of the projects in this book, they will.

Ever since the ancient Egyptians discovered that inking hieroglyphics on to a piece of pulped-up, dried-out papyrus was easier than carving them into a block of stone people have been having fun with paper. The Japanese even created a whole art out of it origami. Although, anyone whos ever tried to fold a jumping frog or a farting elephant will know its a lot harder than it looks! But have patience young crafter, a few simple origami-style folds can transform a plain piece of paper into a fiendish water bomb what could be more fun than that? See for the full details.

The paper lying around your home is the basis for lots of great projects from paper sculpture heads, to bowls, fantasy landscapes and good old fashioned paper chains (old comics work particularly well here).

You can make all kinds of things with papier mache, using just paper and glue or starch. Both PVA glue or wallpaper paste work well. Wallpaper paste is loads of fun to make. Its like magic cold porridge but can take up to a week to dry so we prefer using PVA glue. Beware this is messy! Cover the table with a plastic cloth or bin bags or better still, do it outside. Have a large bucket of soapy water nearby so you can rinse off your hands when they get too sticky.

Mix glue and water in a big bowl or a saucepan. A good mix for PVA papier mache is about one part glue to about three parts water.

If using wallpaper paste, make it so that the consistency is thicker than the instructions on the pack.

Before you begin, tear up lots of newspaper into strips ready to use. Youll find that paper rips much more easily in one direction than the other. Dont make the strips too wide or too long.

Use the strips of paper dipped in your PVA glue mix or wallpaper paste to cover an object or create your own shape. Let it dry and then paint and decorate!

This is a quick and easy way to make quite big paper heads. Its much less complicated than using a balloon and its a great project for Halloween - see evil heads on . Ordinary PVA glue dries much faster than wallpaper paste - but either is fun.

You will need

Large yoghurt pot

Sticky tape

Newspaper

PVA glue

paint, pens and other things for decorating

Make a big ball by first rolling up newspaper and tying it in a knot. Add other newspaper tubes, tucking in the ends as you go. Continue until its about the size of a large grapefruit, using tape to hold it in shape. Dont worry if its wonky thats part of the fun.

Tape the paper ball to the bottom of the upturned yoghurt pot. Dilute some PVA with water in a bowl (about 1 part glue to 3 parts water). Tear newspaper into strips, dip into the glue mix and begin to cover the head and yoghurt pot, until it is completely covered.