YAY! I am so excited that I am finally getting some of my Christmas gifts finished. It is really turning into crunch time for me, which is why I have been missing in action when it has come to blogging lately. Plus, I can’t really post very many of my Christmas projects up because I would be so sad if someone from my family hopped on my blog and got a glimpse of their gift. =)

BUT, I had to share this one—which is what I made for my 8 year old brother this year (and I am 100% sure he is not going to be getting on the internet to check out his sisters craft blog! HA HA)

Anyhow, I got the idea for this hollow book on a site called how2dostuff. If you head over to their site you can get the full instructions, but basically all you do is use watered down elmers glue to paint the outside of your pages so they all stick together. Then cut out the center of your book using an exact-o knife and then do another layer of glue on the inside pages  to make it nice and hard! It is so awesome! And because I picked up my book at a thrift store it only cost me $1.00 to make! Now you can’t beat that!

I’m thinking about filling this book up with some candy…and I am sure it is going to be a hit! Plus if you are looking for an awesome white elephant gift…well, I think you found it! =) Happy Hollow Book Making!

Every year in September, my whole extended family drives out to my Grandparent’s house for my Grandma’s annual Birthday Party. Let me just tell you how much I love going to my Grandma’s house and visiting with my grandparent’s, aunts, uncles and cousins…it really turns out to be quite the party since there are around 53 of us…

This year, we decided to do something a little bit different and go to the park to shoot rockets! What a fun idea! Some of my cousins bought rockets…but we decided that we were going to make ours! Oh WHAT FUN!

A few weeks before the party we went over to my aunts house and her son taught us all how to make these awesome rockets:

They were so easy, I feel bad I didn’t take my camera so I could do a tutorial with pictures…but until I make another rocket I hope that written instructions will suffice…

You Will Need:

• Air Compressor & Launcher
• Paper
• Water Activated Gummed Sealing Tape
• White Elmer’s Glue and/or Mod Podge
• File Folder

1. Take your piece of plain white paper and cut it in half long ways. Wrap one piece of paper around your launcher so you know it will fit. The launcher we used was 1/2″ wide and 11″ tall. Glue the paper around it to make a paper tube.

2. Take your Water Activated tape and wrap it around your tube. You can use a wet sponge or washcloth to dampen the tape so it will stick. (Keep it wrapped around your launcher or a piece of pvc pipe that is cut to the same size) You will want to wrap it about 3 times. ***Make sure you let each layer dry before doing another layer…this applies throughout the entire project!

3. Then cut small pieces of tape about 1/4″ x 3″ long. Use these strips to cover up one end of your tube. Do this until it is air tight and you can blow into your tube without any air coming out the other end. You can then go around your tube with another layer of tape.

4. Cover your rocket with a few layers of glue or mod podge just to make sure it has a nice seal- especially at the top of your rocket.

5. Make a cone for the top of your rocket out of your water activated tape. Just cut it into a circle, cut a small wedge out of it, and wrap it around to the right size. Wet the tape and attach to your rocket with more tape and/or glue. (The cones of our rockets didn’t last too long. I think more layers of mod podge may have done the trick…but I wont know for sure until I make another one.)

6. Make your fins using an old file folder. (I just cut a large triangle out, folded it in half, cut a tiny slit at the top and then folded the sides so it would fit flush with my rocket)

7. Then you can decorate your rocket however you want and cover it with more and more layers of glue or mod podge. Cover everything, even the fins! I think we did about 5 or so layers…but it could have used more =)

8. Then all you gotta do is go fly ‘em!

And they do fly FAR:

HAVE FUN! Let me know if you have any questions…