Cathy Callahan
Old School
>>Cathy Callahan is a crafter and window dresser. Raised in Southern California by a super crafty mom, Cathy’s projects are based on the crafts she made as a little girl, and on her collection of vintage publications. She blogs at cathyofcalifornia.typepad.com.
We tend to think of recycling as a more recent concern, but recycling also played a big part in crafts during the 60s and 70s. I have a big collection of vintage craft how-to books with titles like Egg Carton Magic, Tin Can Doll Furniture, Cardboard Tube Fun Ideas, and my favorite, Aluminum Can Apparel.
These books taught crafters that making things from what would normally be thrown away could be fun, creative, and a good way to save money.
In Girl Scouts, we learned how to fold old magazines into the shapes of characters and animals that were then glued, painted, and decorated. I made a turkey. To learn the technique, my troop leader must have read a copy of Folded Magazine Novelties, a delightful craft book chock-full of instructions for fun stuff like fish, clowns, brides, and reindeer.
Inspired by memories of Girl Scout crafts, I recently made a cat. Here are the instructions that I’ve adjusted and updated to better suit modern-day craft supplies and materials. ×
MATERIALS:
Magazines ( 2) around 5"× 7", roughly 200 pages 4" foam ball
Lightweight cardboard 8½"× 11" Craft glue Craft spray paint foam-friendly kind Felt Pompom Ribbon ›› 1. Remove covers and thick pages ( subscription cards, etc.) from the magazines.
3. Glue the flat backs of both magazines together.
4. Cut ears, paws, and tail from cardboard (go to craftzine.com/05/oldschool for pattern).
5. Glue on the head (foam ball), ears, paws, and tail.
6. Paint and dry.
7. Cut felt whiskers, eyes, and mouth, and glue them to the face. Then glue on a pompom nose and tie the ribbon around its neck.
2. Fold each page of the magazine twice. First take They may not have realized it, but my Girl Scout the upper right-hand corner and fold it diagonally leader and the writers of those craft publications so the top edge meets the inner edge of the page. (who were primarily women) were very forward-Next, fold the lower right corner up to meet the thinking in terms of reuse. I think we can all learn inner edge at the same spot as the upper corner. a thing or two from the crafty ladies of the 60s The magazine will fan out and stand up on its own. and 70s.
Photograph by Cathy Callahan
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