Origami-o-lantern
Here at the SmileyBuzz offices, we're completely addicted to our Internet connection. So when it was down for a few hours recently, things came off the rails pretty quickly. Desperate for something to keep my hands busy, I turned to Origami, the Ancient Art of Keeping Oneself Entertained During Boring Business Meetings.
Since Halloween is right around the corner, I tried to keep it seasonal. Since this is a technology company, I tried to keep it nerdy. The result:
Want to make one?
What You'll need:
- 1 Square Sheet of paper, preferably orange, and at least 8.5" x 8.5" (Mine was cut from a piece of orange 8.5"x11")
- 1 USB Optical mouse that you're no longer particularly fond of.
- Small Phillips-head Screwdriver
- Scissors
- Scotch tape. Irish tape would also be acceptable.
- 1 piece of black paper (optional)
Construction
- Turn your square sheet of paper into an Origami Balloon. I'd describe it here, but I don't get paid by the word, so I'll just have someone else do it with this video:
(Part 2 is here) - Carve a face in one of the smooth sides using the scissors. If you're smarter than me, you'll make sure that the hole that you used to inflate the balloon is on the bottom, so you can stick the light through it later.
- Disassemble your mouse. It would probably be cooler to strip it all the way down to the circuit board, but I just took the top off. On my mouse, I just had to remove the rubber feet to expose two screws. Once I unscrewed those, the top came off pretty easily.
- Find the LED, and bend it back so it's vertical.
- (optional) Cover up the rest of the mouse with the black paper, so it'll look like a stand for your Jack-o-lantern.
- Place the hole of the Jack-o-lantern over the LED, and tape it down so it won't come free.
- (optional) To make a stem: Cut out a ½" x 1" square of paper (I used a green marker to make it green), and roll it into a tube. Tape it up, and then secure it to the top of your Jack-o-lantern.
- Plug the mouse into the computer, and prepare to be scared!
