Quick tests to choose the right adhesive for paper, wood and fabric models

I love telling very small stories that do double duty: they charm the viewer and quietly teach a making technique. A three-panel visual fable is perfect for that. It’s short enough to keep a single, satisfying narrative beat but long enough to show a process — a single craft gesture, a material trick or a simple sequence of steps. Below I’ll share how I design these pieces, from the seed of an idea to thumbnail sketches, visual pacing and...

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I love the way ordinary things carry invisible stories: a chipped porcelain button, a length of brass tubing, a toy soldier missing an arm. Turning these found fragments into a sculptural narrative is one of my favorite creative games. It’s equal parts detective work, collage and small-stage theatre. Below I share a practical, stepwise method I use to take disparate objects from a junk drawer (or a market stall) and assemble them into pieces...

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I often get asked how a small idea — a doodle in the corner of my sketchbook — becomes a little mechanical prop that actually moves. Designing tiny paper-and-cardboard mechanisms is one of my favourite ways to combine storytelling and craft: you get the immediacy of drawing with the delight of something that springs, flips or slides when you least expect it. Below I walk through my usual process, from the first sketch to a working prototype,...

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I have a soft spot for things that transform the ordinary into something a little magical — a cereal box becomes a stage, a bit of wire becomes a puppet armature, and a bedside lamp turns into a spotlight. This shadow puppet theater is one of those small, joyful projects that feels equal parts craft, theatre and tinkering. It’s cheap, quick to make, and endlessly adaptable. I’ll walk you through how I build mine, offer variations, and...

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I often get asked how to translate a studio tutorial—one that I designed for a quiet, curious afternoon in my own workspace—into something that works for a classroom full of makers ranging from seven to seventeen. Over the years of running workshops and teaching mixed-age groups, I’ve learned that what makes a project sing in a classroom isn’t just the idea itself but the scaffolding: clear steps, flexible materials, simple...

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I love making small paintings that feel expansive — pieces that, at arm’s length, glow with the same presence you’d expect from a larger canvas. There’s a little sleight-of-hand to it: you don’t need more surface area to create depth, light and drama. You need a few deliberate color-mixing strategies that read big. Below are three tricks I return to again and again. Each is practical, tactile and forgiving — and all of them work...

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I have a soft spot for experiments that misbehave. There’s a distinct kind of magic that comes out of a failed attempt — a smudge that looks like a map, a torn edge that suggests a silhouette, a mechanism that squeaks in a way that feels charming rather than broken. Over the years I’ve learned to listen to those accidents and coax them into new projects. Here are five approaches I use to turn failures into sources of wonder. They’re...

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I love tiny devices that make an idea feel like a small miracle. A pocket-sized thaumatrope is exactly that: two simple images that seem to animate when spun. It’s one of the oldest optical toys — Victorian parlour entertainment — and it’s a brilliant little project for anyone who likes drawing, tinkering, or teaching the basics of persistence of vision. Below I’ll show you how I make a durable, delightful thaumatrope that brings my...

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I love the challenge of telling a whole tiny story in a very small space — a single-minute sequence that still manages to surprise, amuse or linger. Over the years I’ve turned many of these micro-narratives into postcards: compact, tactile objects that can be mailed, pinned to a wall or slipped into a sketchbook. Below I’ll walk you through how I storyboard a one-minute visual story that fits on a postcard — from initial idea to...

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I love a simple trick that looks like magic, and this little paper automaton — a flipping bird that needs no glue — is one of my favourite quick projects to teach and to make when I want an instant charm hit from humble materials. It’s the kind of thing I sketch in my notebook between larger pieces: quick to prototype, satisfying to wind up, and endlessly tweakable. Here I’ll walk you through how I build it, why the mechanism works, and...

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