Here's a miniature Bug Zapper you can make to hang on your dollhouse porch. It doesn't actually "zap" bugs, but cute enough that it doesn't really matter. SUPPLIES YOU'LL NEED: Scissors Tin Cutters (shown below in pic with hose) Box Cutter All Purpose Craft Glue Quick Grab Glue Crazy Glue Pencil Ruler (preferrably metal) Cardboard (from a case of pop) Plastic Hose from Hardware Store - 1/2" diameter, 1 1/4" long (I used hose that was from the plumbling dept, it has a criss cross pattern on it, you'll cut to size, see pic below) 5 x 12 Screw Eye Hook (Silver hook from a craft store) Black Screens from Hardware Store (used to replace household window & door screens, it's like plastic not like the regular metal screens) Black High Gloss Spraypaint THE FOLLOWING ARE OPTIONAL (Do not use if you want your bug zapper light white): Fingernail Polish (CoverGirl Nailslicks Electric Blue) Transclescent Glitter Black Paint Toothpick |
Supplies shown here: Hose with fittings cut off from Hardware Store, piece of hose cut & painted, top of zapper not folded or glued yet, 3 side pieces (1 unfinished and 2 painted), 4 screens cut to size. |
Cut a 1 1/4" square piece of cardboard. Draw an X in the middle of it from corner to corner (See pic A above). Cut a small slit (about 1mm wide or less), 3/4th's of the way to the middle of the X from the corner. Do each corner this way. If you only cut a straight line without a little gap, they will not fit together when you glue them later on. Poke a small hole in the middle of the X to insert the Screw Eye Hook later on. Draw a 1/8" line around the inside of the whole square, to make the flaps. Lightly score the inside lines on the flaps with a box cutter, using a metal ruler to keep it straight (as shown above). Be sure not to cut it all the way through, otherwise you'll cut it off. This will make the flap fold over neater, when you go to fold it. (See pic B above) Fold the flaps down. (See pic C above, flaps are folded) |
PICTURE D: Underneath the "F" & the "L" in the word FLAP are the corners that you'll need to snip with scissors to line them up when you glue the sides together. (See Pic C also) PICTURE E: One flap corner is cut and the rest are all uncut on the top portion of the cardboard. Bend each side down from the edges of the slits that you cut (Pic D). Picture D shows the one side bent. Do the same for all of the sides and it will look like Pic E above. It will look flat on the top after you've bent each side, see the fold marks in the middle. PICTURE F: Now you can join each side seam together and glue using Crazy Glue. Glue one side at a time until the glue is dry, then go on to the next side and so on, so that it won't be crooked when you are done. This process will make the cardboard "rise" a little so that it looks like the real thing (See pic at the top of the page of the real thing) |
The real thing |
The real thing |
Miniature DIY Bug Zapper |
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
Spraypaint all your above cardboard pieces (already glued)(my pic above I didn't have them glued yet though) with Black High Gloss spraypaint. Spray the inside and outside twice for nice even coverage. After the paint has dried, glue your Screw Eye Hook into the top of the zapper using All Purpose Craft Glue. Do not use Crazy Glue glue on any showing painted surfaces, as it has fumes that will turn your painted piece white. |
Cut your piece of plastic hose to 1 1/4" length. I used these cutters as scissors didn't work too well. Paint a light even coat of Covergirl Nailslick Electric Blue nail polish (or something similar) on the outside of the cut hose. You can leave this hose white if you prefer, it still looks good that way, because of the nice criss cross pattern on the hose. After the nail polish has dried, lightly spread glue on the hose with your finger and roll around in translescent glitter. Shake off any excess. Take a toothpick and dab the end into black paint. Paint dots on the hose in random order to simulate a "dead bug" look. Glue the finished hose piece to the inside of the top piece using Quick Grab Glue. Cut out your screen in a triangular fashion for the sides (see Screen Measurements pic below). The top of the triangle will be 78" width and the bottom will be 15/16" width. The length is 1 3/16". You'll probably have to adjust it as you are gluing it so that it fits in the side cardboard piece nice and tight. It looks sloppy if it is too large when you glue it. You can always cut it to size as you are gluing it to make sure that this outside screen housing fits into the top nice and snug. Glue a piece of the screen into one side of the cardboard piece using All Purpose Craft Glue. Now glue another screen into that same side piece on the other end of the fold. Keep adding a side and a screen until you join them together. Before the glue dries, set the screen housing into the top and bottom of the zapper to make sure it fits snug and the screen isn't too wide, If the screen is too wide, then cut some of it off to fit snug. This was the hardest part to do, just have a little patience with it and don't forget to fit it to size before the glue dries so that you can cut the screen smaller if you need to. Glue screen housing into the bottom of the zapper using Quick Grab Glue. After the glue has dried in the last step, glue the screen housing part (with the bottom attached) into the top of the zapper. |
Cut out a 5/8" square out of the cardboard, this will be the top of the zapper. Follow the same directions above, but don't use flaps for this piece. Poke a hole in the center on this piece also. TIP FOR THIS PIECE: Since it is so small you might want to use needlenose pliers to bend it with (much easier than using your fingers). Glue this piece onto your other piece using Crazy Glue, lining up the corners and the holes. Now your top is ready to be painted. Before painting you should make the following pieces so that you can paint them all at one time. Make a 1" square piece out of the cardboard using the above directions. This is the bottom of the zapper and it will use the flaps also. You do not need to poke a hole in the center of this piece. Cut 4 strips of cardboard 1 3/16" long and 3/16" wide. These will be the sides. Lightly score a line directly down the middle of each piece lengthwise with the metal ruler and box cutter knife, to make it easier to fold. (See pic of Supplies above). Remember not to cut all the way through. |
I made this bug zapper label on my word processing program, you can right click it and save it to your hard drive to print it out. If it doesn't come out clear enough, you'll have to make your own, just make sure the font is 6pt., that's the correct size to fit on the completed zapper. Coat the label with clear fingernail polish after printing it out, to insure that the ink won't fade in time or smear. Cut out the label and glue to the top flap of the zapper. I put two labels on the front and back flaps. |
Please respect my copyright protection and use for personal use only. Thank you! |
Screen Measurements. |
Bug Zapper Label |
