DIY Slime Monster Toy

As Mentioned before i like to make stuff (well who doesn't on here) but i like to make things low tech as possible so that everyone can give it a try.

This includes DIY toys

In this instructable i am going to show you how to make a Slime monster out of paper clips, masking tape, cotton wool, coloured hot glue (which is probably the most high tech thing in this instructable) and some other household objects.

Its pretty easy, fairly quick as you can make one in about 45 mins to an hour.

Lets go.

What you'll need.

Tools:

Hot glue gun

Pliers

Wire cutters

Scissors

Grease proof paper or baking parchment.

Stapler + staples (not necessary)

Materials:

Paper clips

masking tape

Colored glue sticks (it also works with normal glue sticks)

Cotton wool

a few pennies

Optional:

Some bits and bobs to add to it

Take your paper clips and start straightening them out. they don't need to be perfect. your going to want to do this for about 16 - 20 paper clips

take eight and trim them down a bit in size if they are too long. this really depends on how big you want to make your monster, I aimed for roughly an inch for each section.

If you do trim them down DONT throw away the clippings just yet as they may come in "handy" later on

Using your pliers bend the ends of your wires back into a small hook making the piece into a "S" type shape.

Take two and interlock the hooks then press them shut with the pliers. not too tight, you want them to act as a joint.

Repeat until you have four limbs

Hands

Take another bit of wire and bend it into a "G" like shape with a part sticking out from the top (see pic 1). again you may want to trim the "sticky out" bit down as this will be the hands thumb.

Remember those clippings you didn't throw away? bend one end into a hook and lock them into place along the front of your hand. I am using 3 per hand but feel free to make more/less fingers. who's to say how many fingers a slime monster has ;) leave them straight for the time being

If you didn't have any clippings just cut up a piece of wire

repeat for the second hand

Feet

A lot easier than the hand, simply bend a piece of wire into a triangle type shape with a hook at the end and repeat for the second foot.

Once you have made these attach them onto the limbs

Upper body

Take two bits of wire, bend one end of each and lock them together. this one can be tight as it wont be a joint.

Now keeping the joint off to the side (so it wont hinder the neck) start to fold it into the shape seen in the photo marked "upper body".

You will notice that near the bottom of the shape (the waist if you will) one end points towards you and the other down. Fold the end that points towards you around the downward pointing end to secure the shape and fold the downward pointing end into a hook.

Lower body

Much like the upper body but slightly smaller and upside down. Also you don't need to keep the joint off center.

Neck

take one of your clippings and make a hook at the bottom and attach it at the top of the upper body.

and now you have all the parts of your body BUT don't attach the limbs just yet

Keeping the limbs separate for the time being makes it easier to handle.

Take your masking tape and wrap up the limbs and torso, covering the joints but leaving the un-jointed ends clear.

Once you have covered all the bits attach the limbs to the torso and cover these joints as well.

Take some small bits of your cotton wool and start to wrap it round the bones to make muscles using the masking tape to cover it.

Be sure to keep it cleat of the joints so not to hinder the articulation of the toy

When you get to the feet, wrap up the pennies in masking tape and tape them to the upper part of the foot. this gives the toy some weight at the base to help it stand.

For the head, take a chunk of cotton wool and wrap it in masking tape to make a block/ball. skewer it onto the neck and attach some masking tape to the head/neck to keep it in place

Take your grease proof paper/baking parchment and cut it into small squares (about 1 x 1 inch)

cut a line into and just over the center of the square and then cut a small "cross" in the center of the square.

place the paper around the joints and secure the ends. a stapler is a bit tricky but holds it better than tape but tape is easier to apply.

you want to have these bits of paper acting as barriers between the joints so that the hot glue forms sections rather than on big piece.

Now is also the time to bend the fingers into what ever position you like.

Now that all your partitions are in place start covering it in hot glue (just remember hot glue is just that, hot. so be careful)

I'm using green glue here (and a bit of black but i wasn't happy with it) but you can use what ever colour you wish, even normal glue.

Don't put loads on at a time as it will just go all over the place, take your time and build it up.

also remember to let gravity do the work, start high and let it run down.

If you want to help speed things up put your monster in the fridge to speed up the glue cooling down.

Now is also the time where you can add eyes/teeth/wires/tubes if you want to (i made some out of polymer clay but beads and other random bits work just as well) or just leave it as a featureless mass :)

When it comes to the feet, place a bit of grease proof paper/baking parchment on a flat surface and stand your monster on it before applying the glue. this will make sure his feet are flat at the base and he can stand (he will be a bit wobbly due to the random nature of the glue)

Once he is slimed up and cooled down, peel away the paper and voila

and there you have it one DIY slime monster!

make it as gross as you like in what colours you like, give it extra limbs or an extra head, go wild. once you have the basic skeleton down it pretty customizable

NOTE: this toy is not suitable for toddlers who may put stuff in their mouth

ENJOY!