A Paper Belt

Here is how to make the first link. Cut out a piece of newspaper about 5 by 8 inches. Fold it over lengthwise so that the strip is now about l1/4 inch wide. Make a mark at the center of the folded strip. Fold the two ends over so that they each touch the center mark. Crease them down so that you now have doubled strips on both sides of the center mark. Now pull the two ends of the double strips together—with the original ends on the inside— and you have your first link. Make as many more of these as you need for the belt.

Here is how to join the links. Hold a link in the left hand with a finger in each loop and with the doubled ends upward. Insert the doubled ends of another link through these loops. Make it go as far as possible. Now insert a third link through the loops of the second link. Continue to do this until the belt is finished. Tie your belt with string or ribbon at the two ends.

Leather Belt

Make the length of the belt by drawing a strip of leather about your waist and allowing a few extra inches. You can make the belt any height you like, but about ¾ of an inch would be good. Attach a buckle to one end. Make evenly spaced holes in the other end for the buckle tongue. You are now ready to turn an ordinary belt into an attractive belt.

Cut out a number of leather circles. Make them about twice the height of your belt.

Cut two parallel slots on the face of each circle, one slot on each side of the center of the circle. Make them the same height and thickness of the belt itself. Now slide the belt through these slots by passing the belt from back to front of a circle, across its face, and back into the opposite slot. Space the circles evenly and your belt is finished.

Circle Belts

Cut out a number of circles from thick paper or card­board. You can either make them from colored paper or from plain paper which you can color or decorate with crayons. You can make them any size you like, but about the size of a fifty-cent piece would be good. Now make four holes in each paper circle. Make them about w of an inch apart and so that they form a square.

Your belt is held together by two lengths of string which go through these holes. Run the string in from the back of the two holes on the left, then run it across the face of the circle, and finally through the two holes on the right. When all the circles are mounted, tie the belt around your waist with a bow.

Western Hat

Here is how to make one. Make the brim from a large piece of cardboard. You can use a thin piece of cardboard from a grocery carton for this purpose.

Make it into a circle large enough so that it will extend beyond your brow for three or four inches when worn. Now cut a hole out of its center so that it fits snugly on your head. It might be best if you make a small hole at first, then cut it out to fit your exact size. Now make a crown of the hat from the bottom section of a paper sack. Cut it off so that you have a bottom section about five inches high. Paste it over the hole of the brim.

You can color your western hat any way you like. You can also paste pictures of outdoor scenes all over it. Crease and bend the crown and brim to give the hat more of a Western appearance.

Cardboard Hats

Indian bonnet.Simply cut out a crown from a round box and color it. Make paper feathers and glue them up­right around the rim.

King's crown.Cut out a tall piece of round cardboard. Make evenly spaced cuts into it so that it resembles a crown. Make a tall pyramid-shaped cut in the center of the front. Sew bright beads on it to represent jewels.

Daffy hat.Cut away the upper portion of a box so that the bottom—when turned upside down—serves as the top of your hat. Paste a piece of thick, stiff cardboard across the top so that it extends over each side. Tie a string to each end. Now tie buttons, of all shapes and sizes, to the string so that the buttons dangle. This is a daffy party hat.

Holiday Hat

Perhaps there is an old hat around the house that you can use for this project. Either a man's or a woman's hat will serve. Remove any trimmings that might already be on the hat. Now cut away the lower part of the hat so that the remainder will fit snugly on your head.

From this point on you can do almost anything you like to make this an unusual hat that you can wear outdoors while playing. Any of the following ideas—or even two or three of them —will give you good results.

Make it a cut-out hat by cutting out circles, squares, and triangles all over it.

Make it a button hat by sewing colored buttons on it. Use buttons of different sizes.

Make it a joke hat by clipping jokes from old news­papers and magazines and pasting them all over the hat.

Make it a knickknack hat by pinning all sorts of odd items to it with safety pins. You can pin a key, a small spool, a ring, a cork and other assorted items to it.

Cloth Lapel Pins

First of all select the object you wish to make. It might be a cat, dog, flower, or anything else that appeals to you. Make a pattern of your object by drawing its out­line on a piece of paper and cutting it out. Pin the pattern on a double piece of cloth and cut it out. Place a bit of cotton between the two pieces and sew them together.

Sew a small safety pin to the back of the pin. You can then fasten it to your clothing.

Perhaps you would like to make a series of lapel pins. If so, it would be a good idea to make them in a certain series. For example, you could make a flower series by making a sunflower, a rose, a lily, and a carna­tion. Or, you might make an animal series by making a lion, a seal, a giraffe, and an elephant. It will help if you first get pictures of your subjects and use them as models for your drawings.

Easy Mittens

Lay your hand on the material. Draw an outline of it. Start your outline from behind the wrist and go around the hand.

Remember to leave your thumb with its own separate outline. Now leave a margin of about 1/4 inch and cut out the outline. Now make three more of these by using your original piece as a pattern. Sew a flower or other decoration on the backs of two of these pieces. Keep in mind that these four pieces will make a right- and left-hand mitten when correctly matched together.

Finally, sew the edges of each pair together. Your mittens are ready to wear.

Outdoor Sandals

Select a piece of soft wood that will cut and trim easily. It should be about 1/2 inch thick. Place your bare feet on it and trace your left and right foot. Saw around the marks. Be sure that you keep your edges straight up and down. Smooth your pieces with sandpaper.

Make two straps for each sandal from spare pieces of leather or other strong material. The straps should be about 1 inch wide. Set your foot on a sandal and place a strap over your toes. This will give you the correct length so that the strap will hold the sandal firmly to your foot. Do the same with another strap over your instep. When you have correct lengths nail the ends of the straps into the sides with nails. If you find that the sandal fits too loosely, you can either change the length and position of the straps, or add a third strap.

There are two ways you can design your mask. One of them is simply by coloring in the face. Crayons are good for this purpose. You can make a funny face by drawing a laughing mouth, a sharp nose, and wavy eye­brows. Of course you want to cut away the eye sections so that you can see through. You can draw funny lines around the eyes. You can also add curly hair in any color you like, the odder the color the funnier the mask.

The other way to make your mask is to paste on the face. You can use your imagination here, but cotton or shredded newspaper makes good hair, while a nose can be made from a piece of rolled newspaper. You can cut out a paper mouth and teeth and place them in place. Flowers can be used for the eyes. Cut out their centers so that you can see through and fasten them on with cellophane tape.

Your paper plate mask can be held securely by run­ning a rubber band from its sides and around your head

Are You Ready To Move Onto The Next Lesson? Click Here...