Golf moustache!

Sent in by my aunty Susan. Golf-tastic, and very artistic.

Snow moustache!

I found this on my camera the other day, from the beginning of December. I want the snow to come back so I can make some more.

Make your own 3D eyes.

I think eyes are even more fun than moustaches. I started making wobbly eyes before the tashes came about. The large eyes i have previously designed are primarily for the public realm, although they started out life in a domestic setting. I imagine these on billboards, adverts on buses, signs and on anything or anyone else that can be poked fun at, or made a bit more friendly looking.

Now, obviously you don’t all have vacuum formers, laser cutters, vinyl cutters and bandsaws, like I did when making my eyes.

Because these eyes are probably only going to be on static objects, they don’t need to be wobbly, you simply place them facing whatever direction you like. To make it wobbly, make sure the plastic top is shallow and use a black bottle top for the pupil, without gluing it down.

I have tried to make some 3D eyes you can recreate at home, using things you should be able to find around you, or not cost you much. As they are so cheap and quick to make, you can stick them to stuff and leave them! (but not without taking a picture and sending it in.) It would be great for the eyes to stay in position a fair while, but this needs to be balanced with not damaging property, I don’t like that man. Try to use glue that peels off (Pritt Glue dots, for instance) or don’t worry too much if it’s on a paper billboard, as they are temporary. Did I just say that? DAMAGE NOTHING, I don’t want to get sued.

Let’s get cracking, better go and get some more M&S shaker salads (also look like McFlurry tops) and head into the world.

The things you need are:

• Clear plastic top from a drink or boxed salad.
• White card (thin enough to cut, but still be sturdy), like mountboard.
• Black card.
• Coloured paper (optional)
• Eggcup or similar sized circular thing to drawn round.
• Glue, PVA or Pritt Stick. And a glue gun if you have one.
• Scissors or craft knife (plus cutting board).
• Something to stick it to stuff. Think carefully about this. try and find some glue dots that are prepositional, like what you get to hold cd’s onto the magazine.Firstly, with your white card, get your lens i.e. your plastic top. Draw round, with the back of the card facing up. Now cut this out, carefully cutting about half a centimetre outside of the drawn circle, so it is just a little bigger than the plastic top. You can do this either with some strong scissors, or with a craft knife. Please note, I had to hold the camera with one hand, so am only using one hand in these photos. In the interests of health and safety, and this turning out right, use TWO hands.

Next, you should cut out the pupil. Draw round your eggcup onto the black card. Cut straight round this, keeping carefully to the line. Now, this is where you can get a bit more creative. If you have some coloured paper, you could make some coloured irises, but that’s up to you. Just find something else to drawn round, maybe a jam jar lid, as long as it’s clean.
Now you need to glue it all together. You can see I used clear craft PVA, but you can use a glue stick, or even a glue gun if you like. Once they are in place, it’s time to stick the back to the front. Now, the easiest way of doing this is to use a glue gun, as it flows easily and dries like lightning. But you could also use double-sided tape on the bottom rim of the plastic top. If not cellotape used very neatly may do it too.

And that’s it. Simple eh? I got a little bit carried away and made some eyelashes for this one. I just cut up some more of the black card. Now, unless you are having this close to you at all times, it might be best to think of these in the same fashion as you would a pantomime set. i.e, detail is not so important, because it is designed to be seen from far away. By all means, make a super duper neat one for inside the house!

where it all began…

Long ago, in a year far far away (2011), I began making big wobbly eyes. I had no idea where this was taking me, especially when thinking about my masters course. I like wobbly eyes, so i make some big ones. But with all projects like this, it needed a purpose to save myself from a futile end.

I started thinking about eyes, and where to put the ones i had made. At first, reaction to the idea of having a big eye on your living room wall was muted to say the least. Bog Brother is watching and all that. But i then sat on my home, on the sofa, and realised i had 29 sets of eye peering down at me. In my entire home, i counted 139 sets. This isn’t some kind of coincidence. Eyes make us feel comfortable. They could be the eyes of loved ones in photo frames, or a child’s toy. But they are passive or friendly eyes.

Old people’s walls are full of photographs. In the majority of living rooms of the elderly, across the world, you will find family plastered all over the walls. This shows elements of boasting as well as recreating company.

Could having an eye on you bring a sense of comfort as opposed to a feeling of being spied on?

There are some instructions to follow in the next few days on making your own eyes to see.

Here are a few prototypes I have been working on.

They are all made using the same techniques. All the lenses for the eyes are vacuum formed from styrene, with the backs from birch ply or various thicknesses.

The smaller ones have white styrene on the backboard, with a sticky vinyl pupil. The lager two have a white acrylic lasercut base, with lasercut acrylic pupils. I have used small pieces of dowel i turned to attach the lens to the ply, masquerading at lashes.

The backs have a keyhole fixing, so can be hung on the wall, and the one with the eyelashes has a rudimentary mechanism that lets you choose which direction the pupil is facing.

A walk in the park.

Cabin Fever is kicking in. I thought I was about time I got outside for a bit. I took some moustaches and eyes I have made and had a little walk out in the park.

The moustaches were attached with pins (being very careful not to harm the tree.) and the eyes were attached with gummy glue that feels straight off.

Instructions on how to make the eyes coming very soon.

more moustachy christmases!

A more manly Santa guarding the sweets, at my in-laws, David and Jennifer Willis.

Everyone knows Adam had a moustache.

Well, here it is folks, proof that the tash has been in fashion since we had top lips.

Bring on the photoshop!

Sent in by James Price.

a plethora of moustaches! Yay!

Blimey, my parents have been busy! Very impressed!

more christmas moustaches!

I think this is as close as we are going to get to putting one on a snowman.

Sent in by Susan Holliday.

fake moustache on a fake cat!

If only they were both real! It’s making me want to find next door’s cat…

Sent in by Marilyn and Bob Young.