Scrap Happy Thaumatropes November 2021
Prototypes
Last year I participated in a crafty advent calendar – 24 people each made 24 craft items, which were gathered together and redistributed. Everyone got back a box of 24 different gifts to open, one each day of December until Christmas Eve. This year we were asked to make 25 gifts – I am making a 19th Century amusing toy called a Thaumatrope, (Wonder-spinner).
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Stack of Slats
Willa helped cut some old scraps of broken IKEA blinds into 25 little pieces of wood…
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Wood-burned tree-shapes
I used my pyrography set to burn a tree shape on one side of the wood…
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Sorted
…Willa helped organise them…
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Painted
…and then painted them green!
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Gold paint
The other side of the wood has a star, ornaments picked out with gold paint, and Christmas presents.
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Glitter
Willa begged for Glitter at the top of the star…
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Glue
…so we added a dot of glue, and a sprinkle of Glitter.
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Finished!
Some of the wood needed a little wash of brown paint to even out the colour.
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String
Willa helped with the final job of threading strings through the holes…
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Tree, and ornaments
…here they are – 25 Christmas Thaumatropes all finished!
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To see approximately what happens when you spin the Thaumatrope (unless you are sensitive to flashes) click this link
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ScrapHappy is a group of bloggers using up scraps of anything – no new materials…Anything made of genuine scraps is eligible, and posts come out once a month on the 15th! If you like the idea and want to join the group, contact Kate or Gun who devised and run this group. Their blogs are the first two links below:
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Quimper Hittys 
outstanding use of scraps. And I amazed myself by knowing exactly what thaumatrope meant (though I wouldn’t have been able to remember the name) Ace scrabble word. I must try and use it!
Thanks very much I amused myself making them, and hope people will be amused twiddling them! Good luck fitting “thaumatrope” into your scrabble game!
Memories! My father used to make these for us when we were little. My favourite was a juggling clown.
Lovely memories! And they can be quick, easy and simply made. They don’t need broken IKEA blinds, or a pyrography set – all you need is a little cardboard and a bit of string!
Very clever! Like the flick-books we used to make as children, showing a man riding a bike, or a horse running.
They are very like, and the thaumatrope is said to be one of the earliest inspirations for film animation!
Magical gift! You and Willa make Christmas come alive… Bravo!!!
We love the idea that these are little bits of Christmas magic…thanks!
These are wonderful, and what a helper Willa was! I love your idea for the Advent gifts–one opened each day of Advent! I hope we’ll get to see what you and the Quimper Hittys open this Advent!
This is the second year that we have participated in this lovely advent tradition – imported by a lovely German friend who used to do it in her home country. I’ll show you – we’ll post a blog story every few days in December!
Have missed some of the recent postings but have read them all now. Enchanting narratives they are as always.
The thaumatropes are amazing! Again, earthly enchantment reigns at Q Street. Thank you for your sharing of fun times there.
You are very welcome! We are glad you’ve enjoyed the recent narratives, it is fun to play, we do have mall little wooden people who are very helpful in promoting enchanting times in Quimperland!
I can see that Willa is having a wonderful time being a Quimper Hitty. The gifts are lovely.
Thanks so much! Willa is an old-fashioned girl, and has been showing us lots of useful and fun old-fashioned amusements, we have been enjoying her company very much, and she does fit right in!
wow!! that is pretty amazing. And what a fun project…to create and then to receive. Thank you for sharing.
They were fun! A helpful family member made the little Gif which was also entertaining…We love to share our amusements, fun, patterns and hope.
great idea and what a fun idea, although a lot of work. I remember last year you ended up making two sets of gifts. You and Willa are very brave to do it again this year..
We enjoyed the project last year so much that it was not hard to decide to do it again…yes two little gifts was a bit of a stretch, but it was worth it – and we got an extra box to share!
Very similar to the spinning button toys we used to make with circles of wood, 2 holes, and a single thread in a loop through holes. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. They were always fun to play with… the world’s first “fidget spinner” LOL!
Yes – I remember button-spinners too, I thought they were fun to play with too!
What a great idea and so much fun before Christmas – Willa has blended in beautifully with her sisters
We think much of the fun of Christmas is in the getting ready for it! Willa is an amiable girl, and loves living in our family!
Wow! I´ve never seen anything like this before! What a great idea!
Thanks! We love our “Crafty Advent Calendar” and it is fun to think of a small gift – something that could be made 25 times without getting completely tired of it!
What a wonderful thing to do with an old blind! 😀
We have so many slats! They are beautiful thin pieces of wood, and we have found many uses for them…our favourite is to use them for warp spacers in weaving.
What an ingenious idea for using an old blind. These will be well received I’m sure.
I hope so! I am writing up a little note on how to use them so people aren’t too mystified!