Make your own cardboard 21.5″ iMac

I was asked by some students to help them in a drama competition and they needed an iMac for the stage, so I decided to make a cardboard model for the drama. It was very simple to design and make except for the stand which was a little more complicated. I will put a pdf on the downloads page if anyone needs to make an iMac, it contains all the necessary parts to print-out and put together.

I began by cutting the ribs from my print-outs and assembling them

I then glued the ribs onto the front

the edges of the mac were then glued on

gluing the back was not easy and needed 2 cuts and 4 hands

next I cut out the edges and the shape of the stand

the stand after the edges were glued on

extra ribs for strength and the hole now appears

the front is added and the stand is now ready for spraying

the completed stand after being sprayed with silver paint

a few small details on the back of the monitor

the completed iMac with a B/W screen print-out

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Popsicle stick pencil holder

Just before the end of the last semester I decided to let the students make another popsicle project. I designed the holder around the square base so the whole thing was completely improvised as we made it. The students enjoyed it and they all got an eraser and a 2B pencil from their teacher.

a very quick improvised popsicle stick pencil holder

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Cookie houses

This was a topic my students chose and I thought it was a fantastic idea. I went to many supermarkets to find cookies and wafers that would make a quick and simple cookie house. After I had eaten many packets I found the correct ones. During the class we melted the chocolate using the hot water method and used 600g of milk and white chocolate. Adding M&M’s and marshmallows was also a delight. The students had a lot of fun and so did I, Thank you once again all of you in my class.

My students having fun with melted chocolate

we need more M&M's

A wonderful cookie house

Fantastic houses, well done everyone

Great idea for the marshmallows

We need more M&M's

A wonderful cookie house

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Needle felting

These lovely little dolls were made by my wife when our son was in the Waldorfschule Wangen. They are so cute and can be used to tell stories to children. I used them when I was a kindergarten teacher in Taiwan. They are not easy to make but certainly worth the effort.

the mother of the family

the father of the family

the daughter of the family

the son of the family

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Popsicle stick photo frame

The design for this frame came by accident. I was playing with popsicle sticks and suddenly realized I had created a wonderful frame. I then designed the stand to hold the frame. The frame can be used vertically or horizontally. Download the instructions from my downloads page here. Or watch the animation on my YouTube channel here.

the simple but lovely popsicle stick frame (vertical)

turn the frame around and you get a horizontal picture

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Lee-Kuo’s mazes

Ever since Lee-Kuo was four years old he has been drawing mazes. His first big maze was drawn on a train going to Munich one Saturday morning. Since then he has drawn many fascinating designs with gates, transporters and keys. Now he designs mazes in 3D and has just completed a cube maze, check this blog in the near future for pictures. Below are examples drawn when he was 5-7 years old. Download them from the downloads page. Watch a computer animated solution here

this maze was drawn on a train going to Munich

a lovely maze with a long solution

a wonderful circular maze

lots of transporters

a very difficult maze from Lee-Kuo

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Trip to Kaoshiung

What a wonderful day we had. Just as the sun was rising we set out for the two and a half hour journey with a friend to Kaoshiung. The purpose was to visit summer camp students and collect Starbucks business cards. On our arrival we had a traditional chinese breakfast and walked around a park. We walked a long way, collecting Starbucks cards as we went. In the evening we visited a night market and ate stinky tofu. It was a fantastic day and we will definitely return to visit our friends in Kaoshiung.

getting together and eating a traditional chinese breakfast

I can never resist a good macro flower shot

walking around Kaoshiung collecting Starbucks business cards

the dome of light in an MRT station in Kaoshiung

a close up of the amazing dome of light

taking a rest in the wonderful atmosphere under the dome of light

another amazing piece of architecture for an MRT station

entrance to the MRT

my wife always finds an opportunity to teach crochet

walking to the night market and a view of the arena

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Needlecraft pencil case

This is one of those beautiful works of art that my wife is so good at sewing. It is fully padded and lined inside which gives it that added quality feel. My son wanted to use it for school but his first one got stolen so now it stands on our cassette stand.

A lovely padded pencil case for extra quality

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Needlecraft mouse

My wife makes some extraordinary crafts. This is a tiny mouse she made last year for a special exhibition, she is a perfectionist and it shows on this lovely little mouse.

A lovely little mouse made by my wife

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Mini, miniature golf course

This was another summer vacation craft that Lee-Kuo made. He missed the crazy golf course in Germany and decided to make his own from wood. We found a wonderful set of instructions on the internet from a magazine printed in 1950. Lee-Kuo had so much fun sawing, cutting, sanding, shaping, drilling and gluing. The summer vacation was simply too short so he only completed 5 holes, nevertheless they are superb. click here for the original 1950 instructions

Hole 1, the ski jump

Hole 6, the maze

Hole 11, pinball

Hole 12, diamonds in the rough

Hole 14, foothills

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