What I made

1) Emperor moth caterpillar – Saturnia pavonia

2) Common wasp – Vespula Vulgaris

3) Common house fly – Musca domestica

4) Earthworm – Ocypus olens

While working on last week’s rustic twig and wire bowl craft project, I had the idea of creating decorative ‘bugs’ to enhance your fruit bowl. Originally, I wanted to make them from the left-over twigs, but in the end opted for pencils (to be precise 2 pencils) and a handful of paper-clips. And although primarily designed for the fruit bowl, these bugs would also make great table decorations, especially for Halloween parties (although, I guess, I’m missing the spider).

I’ve included a detailed tutorial on how to make your own bugs below. Have fun and if you have any questions just leave me a comment.

Please note: I was asked about the glue I used. Well, I used a two-part epoxy adhesive called ‘Araldite’. It comes with two tubes, you mix equal amounts, and when it dries it is very strong – the other good thing, is that it’s ‘thick’ and it can be dabbed between the segments to create a thick seal/spacer.

Download project files›

Includes:
1) Collectable instructions – they are useful and they look good
155 downloads so far, thanks everyone! (updated weekly)

I thought I’d stick with the pencil theme and bring your attention to the amazing pencil tip sculptures of Dalton Ghetti.

Step 1: Walk the dog, but don’t throw him/her sticks, keep them.

Step 2: Cut to length, drill and add some wire, easy!

Step 3: Finally, empty the biscuit tin (yummy) and fashion a base.

Last week I used an empty baked beans tin, this week I thought I’d be even thriftier and use twigs! Okay, I also used some wire and an old biscuit tin, but the main material is good ‘ol twigs, as found on the ground under trees. Actually that’s the best thing about this project, not that it’s made from a free resource, but that the first step involves getting off your sofa and into the countryside.

On top of this, my bowl has an added claim to fame – the twigs were gathered from Burnham Beeches, an ancient English woodland that has been featured in many movies including ‘Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves’, ‘Princess Bride’ and ‘Harry Potter’! And no, I didn’t make a special pilgrimage, I happen to live nearby – it’s where I walk the dog and kids.

So why not give it a go? You’ll find details on how to make your own bowl below – if you have any questions, just leave me a comment.

Please note: You will also, most likely, need to sand the ‘biscuit tin’ base to remove the printed surface. I’d also suggest spending some time, after steps 8 and 9, shaping the bowl by bending the twigs and tweaking the wire with pliers.

Download project files›

Includes:
1) Measuring guide – print out at 100%
2) Collectable instructions – they are useful and they look good
136 downloads so far, thanks everyone! (updated weekly)

Have a look at Robin Wood’s blog, he’s a wood turner that uses a foot-powered lathe to make traditional bowls and plates from local timber. He’s also passionate about preserving heritage crafts.

This cardboard fort was a bit impromptu. I started off working on next week’s craft project – next minute I was rescuing toilet rolls and old boxes and creating my son an ‘underwater’ fort to accompany his new Lego ‘Atlantis’ set!

The fort is quite simple, but it does have an escape chute – this is important, it means when the Lego Shark attacks, the little Lego diver can escape by jumping down the tower and sliding out of the secret side exit.

Update: Fiona from Neverending Lists had a crack at this project (which according to her four year old is a “farmhouse not a fort”) she added some nice modifications, have a look.

If you are using recycled cardboard boxes why not cut down one side and reverse fold them so the unprinted cardboard is on the outside. It’s a much easier surface to decorate or paint, you can even use felt-tip pens. One last thing, for more cardboard inspiration check out these beautiful castles created by Anne Wood.

1) Who said baked beans and a naked flame don’t mix…

2) …hey, don’t get too close (just in case).

For this week’s craft I’ve rested my son’s felt-tip pens and pursued one of my other passions, creating beautiful things out of junk – in this case an elegant tea light holder made from an empty tin of Heinz Baked Beans (the beans on toast were pretty good as well). So why not give it a go, it’s a great way to ‘upcycle’?

It took about an hour and a half to make, and proved to be a much simpler project than I was expecting. It turns out that tin cans are made of very thin tin, all you need are a pair of ‘tin snips’, it’s as easy as cutting through paper with scissors. You’ll find instructions on how to make one below, I’ve also included a stencil for download, this should make marking up the can much quicker.

If you like this project be sure to check out next week’s craft – I’ll be showing you how to make a stylish rustic bowl from twigs and wire.

Please note: In Step 5, the strips you bend upwards form the base of the tea light holder, so you will need to invert the can to make sense of Steps 6 and 7. Also, and thanks to Sarahbelle42 for pointing this out, I wrapped the bottom strips around a pencil to help create the tight curls in Step 6.

Download project files›

Includes:
1) Mark-up stencil – print out at 100%
2) Collectable instructions – they are useful and they look good
356 downloads so far, thanks everyone! (updated weekly)

If you are interested in the environment and crafting there are quite a few really useful blogs around. How can I recycle this? offers great ideas for making use of discarded stuff. Also check out, Crafting a green world – its full of projects that make use of recycled materials – it has some great ideas.