In our office – every other Friday is project day. We make sketch models – then, when we come up with something we like, we reverse-engineer it to figure out the best way for young designers to make it on their own and have fun with it!

Last Friday, we started with a grab bag of electronic goodies, a mini-fish (left-over from our monsters project) and some cardboard boxes (medium-size priority mail boxes from the post office, free). I used crepe paper (lying around from a summer party) and it worked so well – young designers don’t need to stress over precision – the loose edges and not-quite-straight lines add to the watery effect. As an after-thought, I added colored acetate (transparency) because it brings color, light and dimension to almost anything. Here’s what we came up with! Continue reading →

I loved the building discs shown by Joel Henriques on his blog, madebyjoel.blogspot.com (I love each and every project he shares – thank you Joel!) However, paper discs are a bit tricky to build with, especially for younger designers. I tried the project using craft foam between the paper discs – easy to make and so easy to build! I had fun with the project myself, and my nine-year-old loved it, but designers as young as 4 or 5 can make this with assistance, and build on their own! Notes: This project makes use of a material and a technique that are very simple and come in very handy. The material is rubber cement – the unsung hero of glues (instructions for application below). The technique is making a guide (again, shown below). This project has many repetitive steps, which can seem laborious but is very rewarding in the end … Continue reading →