Beaded Counters

These are beaded game counters. My family play Magic: The Gathering and other games that require counters. We used to use ten-sided dice but these counters make more sense because they can be accidentally nudged without losing track of the number. I pair the beads I am using with homemade cording in the color and thickness I need. The beads must be movable but not slide around unless forced to do so.

I have ten beads in the top section and ten beads in the bottom section. The bottom section are the "ones" and the top section are the "tens." This way they can go up to 110. However, for some games, I only need 20 counters so I just make them all "ones."

The top have a loop for hanging (or for holding onto) and the bottom of them are finished in tassels. One the third from the left, I actually baked polymer clay right around the cording with the glass beads in place. However, on the rest, I made some beaded dividers and other decorator accents.

I wish I could get a better picture but this will have to do until the camera returns.

Alien Mutant Plants of Doom

For you elementary school teachers, homeschooling parents, or crafters with unusual tastes I'd like to direct you to my math education blog: Family Math where I have posted instructions on building alien foliage for a math puzzle called Evil Mutant Plants of Doom.

Family Math is where I get to discuss math education and encourage a dialog about mathematics problem solving between adults and children. I developed a number of math puzzles and games intended for Family Math fairs. It is a fantastic way to combine my math fandom and my crafting skills.

Using Paper Cones

Here are some cones made with the directions in my Paper Cone Tutorial in use. The "tree" is just three stacked cones made with the same angle cut and different slant heights.

My favorite use so far has to be the snack stands. I made the top cones as usual and snipped off the tip. Then I lined them with waxed paper for food safety. To line them, I just cut a half circle with a radius of the same slant height as the cone it went into, rolled them to fit inside, then folded over the tip. The bases were cut using an arc I drew with the compass--about 1.5 - 2 inches away from the center point. I suggest making the snack cones and their bases fairly wide so they aren't "tippy."

I plan to give specific directions on the snack stands in a later post so stay tuned. I may also be talked into making some templates for those who don't want to figure out the math.

Tutorial: Modular Paper Cone

Paper cones are versatile for crafting.
- tip down, they serve as hanging vases
- holiday paper cones can represent trees
- they make great party hats

It's simple to roll paper into a cone. But what if you want to make a cone that's a specific radius and height? What if you want the base to sit evenly on a flat surface?

Making custom cones is simple and only uses a little math. To make it more accessible (that is, to prevent your eyes from glazing over), I will simply give the instructions here. I plan to post an explanation of the calculations on my Family Math blog.


Step One: Determine the radius (r) of your base and the height. You'll use these to find the "slant height". This online calculator will do it for you: Calculator. Just enter the radius of the base and the height as the sides. The result (hypotenuse) is your slant height: s. (If you know a little geometry, this slant height is calculated using the Pythagorean Theorem.)



Step Two: Determine the angle of the wedge shape you'll need to cut from paper. This another simple calculation: Angle=360r/s
(r is the radius of the base, s is the slant height from the previous step)



Step Three: You will be drawing this angle on your paper. To do this, select a point for the vertex of the angle. Draw one line that starts at the point and is length s.


Using a protractor, mark a point that makes the angle you determined from this point. Draw a line that connects the point to this line and extends beyond it for length S. At this point, you should have an angle with two legs of equal length on your paper.



Step Four: To draw the arc which will be the edge of your cone's base, you will need a compass*. Adjust your compass so the distance it spans is the same as the slant height, s. Place the point of your compass on the vertex of your angle and sketch the arc.



Step Five: Make a tab along one side of the wedge, as shown. This will be the gluing tab. I added the red lines to this picture to show the details. Notice, I cut the tab short on the point side.




Step Six: Cut out the wedge, roll into a cone and glue together.





*(You can also substitute a strip of paper a little longer than S for the compass. Place the paper to be cut onto cork board or some other surface you can pin into. Mark a line on the strip that is the same length as S. Make a small hole in one end of the line. Then pin the other end of the line through the vertex of your angle. Place a pencil into the hole and make your arc line.)

Math and Crafts

I found this lovely post on Math and Crafts . I am always looking for patterns in things. Maybe it's the closet synesthetic in me, but it really gives me a thrill to see math used as an expressive form--which it kind of always has been to me.