|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Cautionary Tales For Children
Wonderful witty poems great for reading to your children. The stories and rhymes will stay with them for the rest of their lives.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Research has shown how important YOU are to your children and how as a dad the things you do, and keep on doing, really count, whether you live with them, or you are a single dad and are only able see them once a month, once a week or more, what you do really matters. This site is dedicated to all dads but will be of special relevance to the single dad. Remember, you are half the reason your children exist and they need you whether you live with them or not. As their dad, you have what it takes to make their lives successful and fulfilling no matter how often you see them. This site is about all the positive things that we as parents have to offer our children.
|
|
|
|
Polymorph (Shape Lock, US)
|
149
|
Plastic chips that soften at about 60°C (in hot water) and can be moulded by hand before setting rock hard.
This homework assignment was completed in an evening (about 90 minutes) thanks to Polymorph’s rapid melting and hardening cycle using just hot water, and was immense fun for both dad and son.
. . .
I stumbled across Polymorph in the Maplins (UK) catalogue and thought it might come in handy for something or other. In the US this product is branded as the products, Shape Lock, and Friendly Plastic). It’s great for moulding small components, robot hands, robot, doll or puppet faces or dolls house items for example. We used it most recently to make the White Blood Cell for a homework assignment.
. . .
 It’s a very low melting point plastic, that sets as tough as polypropylene (it’s almost indestructible when it’s set). A useful quantity (250g), in granule form, only costs about £10 ($10 in the US). When you want to use it you just put the granules in a jug and pour boiling water over them. After about two minutes in the hot water the granules which started out opaque white, go transparent, start to agglomerate and soften (it’s softening temperature is approximately 60C (160F). Once it is transparent, you pour the water away (none is absorbed at all), and the lump of plastic can be taken from the jug and molded to any shape. When hot, it is very malleable and yet it is just about cool enough to manipulate with your bare hands. However, younger children should not be allowed to handle the hot plastic, and children of 12 years and over will need some supervision.
. . .
The hot plastic may be formed easily and holds its shape reasonably well once formed while it is setting. However, it is not a perfect modeling clay (which ideally would be perfectly plastic), because there is a degree of elasticity to its behavior. Nevertheless the brilliant thing about it is that within a few minutes as it cools, it quickly hardens into a very tough rigid white plastic. It is completely reusable. If you are not happy with the result, simply return it to the hot water and it softens again.
. . .
The product specification and instructions claim that you can machine the hardened plastic. I would beg to differ on this point. The average person's home machining tools are not water cooled, and so the typical equipment like electric drills and jigsaws that you might use, will generate so much heat in the process of machining, from friction, that the material rapidly goes over its softening point and it becomes impossible to get a good finish. In addition to that, it’s far too tough to carve with a knife when it is set. In fact, attempting to do so could be very dangerous if the piece is not held down properly because it is very slippery. My advice is to use Polymorph to make selected components within your model and aim to make them entirely by molding in the few minutes of soft-time you have after you have heated the material.
. . .
Once you are happy with the result, the hardened material can be coloured in using permanent markers, or painted with acrylic tube or spray paint.
Ploymorph may be bought from a Maplin store or by on-line mail order in the UK, go to Maplin online store here ,or if you live in the US you can buy the US version, Shapelock online from Shapelock.com here. Have fun.
|
|
|
OR |
|
149
|
|
|
|
|
Funky pompoms
|
|
 Dadcando has some truly amazing funky pompom projects, and making a pompom couldn't be easier or more instantly rewarding. You don't even have to have wool, you can make a pompom from any lightweight plastic bag, bin-liner or sandwich bag.
This tiny little pompom was made from a transparent blue plastic sandwich bag. Perfect for making little pompom creatures to decorate the top of your pens and pencils.
All you need is a piece of cardboard, which you cut into two same sized rings.
You bundle up some wool into 2m lengths and thread them through the rings about 8 at a time (or a plastic bag).
Keep threading the wool through the ring until you can't fit any more through.
Push the tip of a pair of scissors into the wool and between the discs inside and cut round the rim.
Tie a few lengths of wool round the pompom bundle between the cardboard discs and then remove the discs by slipping them off the wool or cutting them.
 That's it. It couldn't be much simpler, but it is only the start. Both boys and girls love making pompoms and dadcando's projects have easy to follow instructions and the beautifully designed printed image patterns will make sure that your pompom looks fabulous as well as being something really wacky and memorable, and they’re all so quick and easy to do.
So, beg or borrow a ball of wool off someone to get you going, or visit your local fabric shop and buy a ball or two. There are some crazy wools out there, have a look at the wonderful pompom William designed in Your Models, using a fun multicoloured wool. I guarantee once you start making pompoms with your kids, they won't want to stop.
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
