A fun project for middle school students is creating shadow puppets from craft sheet metal. Shadow puppets are a traditional art form in Indonesia where they are called “Wayang Kulit”, and are used to enact plays based upon Hindu religious themes. Students can be shown slides of Indonesian Wayang Kulit, and videos of Wayan Kulit performances, so that they will understand the possibilities in this form of puppet performance. In the Balinese and Javanese versions, one man in a trance state manipulates all the puppets and the performances go on all night long to the accompaniment of hypnotic bell and gong gamelan music. In the school project the puppets are manipulated by the students in a “theater” made from a large cardboard box with a cut-out window covered by a cloth screen which is illuminated from behind by a strong light. The students duck beneath the level of the screen to manipulate the puppets, and the light throws the shadows of the puppets onto the screen.

To make shadow puppets, first draw the separate body pieces on cardboard – body and trunk, arms and hands, and legs and feet; and then cut them out. The arm and leg pieces will be fastened to the body piece with eyelets so the body, arms, and legs can be manipulated separately with thin sticks or rods. Trace around the pattern pieces onto craft metal sheets with a stylus, and cut them out. Hole punches can be used to make holes for eyes, nose, mouth and other features. Indonesian Wayang Kulit are often decorated with very ornate designs of cut-out holes. Use a hole punch on the body, arms, and legs pieces where they will be joined together with eyelets.

The body pieces can also be textured and embossed and facial and body features can be enhanced with paint to make the puppets’ appearance more pleasing, even though these details won’t be visible to the audience. Since the puppeteers can see them, it makes it easier for the students to get into the spirit of the puppet show. Hair can be fashioned from wires bent to form spirals of different sizes and lengths, and clothing can be made from craft mesh. When the ornamentation is done, the arms and legs are joined to the body with eyelets placed with an eyelet tool, loose enough so that the limbs move freely. Then cut rectangles of craft sheet metal and bend them around the thin sticks or rods to form tubes, and glue the tubes to the hands, feet, and bottom of the puppet. Other tubes of the same diameter are glued to the lower edge of the theater screen to hold the puppets in place while the puppeteers manipulate their hands and feet.

One of the easiest ways of doing away with the free time and also earning fame, recognition and money is to make crafts; of course if you have the prerequisite skills for making crafts. But then, making crafts isn’t that difficult. With the many courses available on the internet as well as the guide books, you can create some beautiful crafts and sell them or gift them to your loved ones to attain that warmth and respect. One of the most famous crafts is the leather crafts. These can be given as gifts to the loved ones and believe it or not, they remain to be one of the most treasured gifts of all.

Most of the times people get confused regarding what to gift someone special on their birthdays or anniversaries, well handmade leather crafts are one of the most treasured and beautiful gift items to be given to people you love. Leather is a royal thing and many of the celebrities also flaunt their leather accessories, be it their bags, purses, shoes, leather pants, etc. But then, it’s not only celebrities who love leather, even the common people are in love with leather. Leather is a royal and classy object and using leather crafts gives an extra zing to one’s personality. These handmade leather crafts can be carried to any occasion like cocktail parties, birthday parties, etc with elan.

Another factor which makes these handmade leather crafts special is the fact that they have been created by hand and someone has put their heart and soul into creating these products. One can achieve a lot of finesse and beautiful designs by using hands rather than machines for making these crafts. These handmade leather crafts look beautiful when gifted and they also are durable unlike the ones bought from the market. Thus, indeed handmade crafts are one of the most treasured gifts.