Hot Novelty How-Tos


How To: Make a diorama waterfall
If your son or daughter is planning on making a diorama for a classroom project or just because, making a cool water feature can be a great idea. Using real water may be fine and all, but if you want to prevent any kind of mess from happening, you can build one using materials that give a water like feel. So in this tutorial, you'll be finding out how to make a diorama waterfall from scratch. It's great for dioramas and is sure to be a much better fit than actual water. So good luck and enjoy!

How To: Make a "Harry Potter" Victorian dragon egg case dome
Remember Harry Potter and the Triwizarding Tournament from "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"? If you consider yourself any type of repectable Harry Potter fan, then you know that Harry retrieved a dragon egg from his challenging dragon during the first round of the tournament.

How To: Make a Captain Fordo from Star Wars Lego minifigure
No Star Wars Lego battlefield depicting the events of the popular animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, is complete without Clone Trooper Captain Fordo. This video will help you to remedy any Fordo deficiencies in your battleground scene by teaching you how to construct a minifigure of Captain Fordo. There, now your Arc Trooper army is complete.

How To: Make a sniper rifle for a Lego minifigure
Has your Lego arsenal grown stagnant relying on the supply of weapons offered it by the Lego corporation? Take matters into your own hands. This video features detailed instructions for building a sniper rifle out of Lego blocks that one of your Lego minifigures can hold. This will make this piece a deadly force on the Lego battlefield.

How To: Change the Batteries in a Nerf Vulcan EBF-25 Blaster
Bottoms up Turn the Nerf Vulcan EBF-25 so the bottom side is facing up.

How To: Tie a Bumblebee knot
In this calming and useful video, JD of the Youtube knot-tying instructional channel Tying It All Together demonstrates the tying of an obscure knot called a Bumblebee knot, for which good instructions are apparently hard to come by. It is a pretty piece of knot-tying indeed.

How To: Make an El Diablo assault pistol from Knex
This video is not for Knex noobs. It moves very fast, and requires a whole mess of pieces. If you have the skills and the selection of pieces, however, then this video will teach you how to make a very cool El Diablo assault pistol out of Knex. It is elaborate, and looks like it should launch a Knex piece very, very far.

How To: Build a terra cotta roof for a miniature building
Papa Tom teaches veiwers how to easily make a terra cotta roof for a realistic looking house for a diorama or school project. This is easy to do and provides incredibly realistic finishing touch to any plain old miniature building.

How To: Solve the Rubik's Cube intuitively without algorithms
Check out this three-part video tutorial on how to solve the Rubik's Cube intuitively and without algorithms. With this method there is no need to memorize complicated algorithms. Crack the Cube with sheer brain power, if you can. No one said you had to be a genius to solve a Rubiks Cube, you just have to have a little common sense and patience.

How To: Make water effects for a diorama
If you are planning on making a diorama for a school project or anything else, using real like effects can be a big boost. Water effects can have a great looking effect, but using actual water can be messy and won't get the job done.

How To: Remove money from the cash box in a slot machine
If you have a casino, or maybe just a single slot machine, chances are you're making money. But how do you actually get the money from the slot? All of that cash will sit in there for ages if you don't retrieve it, and it could cause a malfunction if not removed in a timely manner, because of getting too full. This video will show you how to remove money earned from the cash box in a casino slot machine. There's two ways to access the cash box in a IGT S+ model slot machine, so check them bot...

How To: Whistle like a train
By following this tutorial, you can learn how to easily make a train whistle sound using only your hands. By simply folding your hands and adjusting for the air flow as you blow on your thumb knuckles, you can replicate the sound of a train whistle. This is a very easy trick to learn so with just a little practice, you can use the train whistle to play with your kids, call them to dinner, etc. A great trick for somebody who has difficulty with conventional whistling.

How To: Blow a bubble with bubble gum
Blowing bubbles isn't just a way to waste time at the bus stop… It's an art form! In this tutorial, you'll learn how to blow bubbles that will dazzle your friends. There are also various examples of people blowing bubbles, to show you how it's done.

HowTo: Turn a Lighter Into a Lightercycle
The english version of this how-to is found here. Little did I know, that lighter in my junk drawer has a bad ass motorcycle inside it, just burning to get out.

How To: Fill a hopper with coins in casino slot machines
Almost every coin handling device has a hopper inside. In a slot, it's usually in the bottom of the machine. Troubleshooting casino slot machines can be tricky, but if it's a mere coin dispensing issue, it might just mean you're running low on coins. This video will show you how to fill the slot machine hopper, and it's best to use about 200 coins— at least. It's just a basket that holds the tokens, so when someone wins, the machine will dispense them.

How To: Replace burnt light bulbs in casino slot machines
Running a casino can be a pain, especially if you have to call the maintenance guy to come repair all your slots. When they break, you lose money each minute, but you can save the time and save the money by repairing the broken slot machine yourself. One of the easiest slot repairs is changing a light bulb. Most light bulbs inside slot machines are fluorescent. Just keep some in stock and follow the instructions in this video to learn how to replace the burnt lightbulbs in your casino's slots.

How To: Build a samurai katana sword out of cardboard
The katana (also known as the samurai sword) originated in Japan's Muromachi period (1392–1573). These curved blades are known worldwide for their elegance and craftsmanship. But if you can't afford your own antique model you can create your own reproduction using junk you've probably already got in your garage.

How To: Make a ball out of rubber bands
Do you have too many rubber bands cluttering your desk? Gather them together into a rubber band ball!

How To: Create a string figure Jacob's Ladder in Cat's Cradle
Did you play Cat's Cradle as a kid? Well, there's more to string figure art than just Cat's Cradle. This string art video demonstrates how to make a Jacob's Ladder. Song by Alice Cooper.

How To: Builds a diorama for a cliff dwelling
Papa Tom teaches users how to build a cliff diorama for a cliff dwelling adobe looking house. You'll need a hobby knife, water, and sticks.

How To: Turn a Finger Board into a Mini Snowboard
Unscrew the trucks from the bottom of your board.On the deck of your fingerboard you will see two groups of screws. These screws attach the trucks to the board. To unscrew the screws use a mini screw and wrench used to change trucks and wheels on finger boards.Unbolt.The trucks consists of two parts - one is the part that holds the wheels, and the other connects the trucks to the board. The only thing connecting the two is a tiny bolt. Unscrew the tiny bolt and the pieces should fall apart. Y...

How To: Create a custom checkered gun stock
Want to add a personalized touch to your favorite gun? Looking for some ways to dress up the stock on a new rifle? Checkering a gun stock is a way to add a little unique twist to your favorite rifle or gun. It is not an exceptionally hard technique to master, and you only need a few basic tools to do it. This tutorial from Midway USA shows you how to create a custom checkered gunstock for any wooden stock.

How To: Make a flying helicopter out of office supplies
Bored in your cubicle all day? It's time for helicopter wars! This video shows you how to make a fun and simple helicopter out of some basic office supplies. The materials you will need are: a big paper clip, a smaller paper clip, a large aluminum can (such as from Rockstar or Monster energy drinks), a ruler, Scotch tape, a rubber band, a pair of pliers (if you have a Leatherman multitool, those will work just fine), a pen you can take apart for the long tube, a pair of scissors, and some pla...

How To: Make a helicopter powered by rubber bands
This is a great little rainy day project you can make for almost no money, or a fun party trick you can use at the next office Christmas party! You will need two disposable drinking cups (stiff plastic or paper will work best), a fairly thick straw, a sturdy paper clip, a thick rubber band, a cocktail stick, a bead and a plastic ring you can get from the neck of a soda bottle. Assemble as shown, and then let it go!

How To: Make little people out of candy for the holidays
This is a budget friendly gift you can use to give out during the holiday season - make little candy people! They're easy to make - all you'll need is some lollipops, platic wrap, small assorted candies, and some decorative ribbon.

How To: Mod a G2 pen for better spinning
If you're serious about spinning pens, you probably already know how awesome spinning with a modified one is. The G2 is great by itself, but stretched out like this it looks cool and spins great. Watch the video to learn how to make it.

HowTo: You Killed Kenny Doorstop
Instructables user BrittLiv uses a moldable silicone called sugru to sculpt this awesome doorstop of South Park's miraculously indestructible Kenny McCormick.

HowTo: Make a Jenga Pistol
Not only will this wood-block pistol make you the terror of your next family activity night, it'll actually improve your Jenga game! Through science! For, you see, the faster you can knock a block out of a Jenga tower, the shorter the amount of time over which it can exert a frictional force on its neighbors. Which means the whole kit-and-caboodle is much less likely to come tumbling down. Want one? You'll have to build it yourself. Which is fitting because the word "jenga" actually means som...

How To: Make a cheap DIY laser vortex for fog machines and lightshows
A laser vortex is a basically a tool and allows you to make a circle of red laser light quickly and easily for creating lightshows, especially useful when combined with a fog machine. This video will teach you how to make one for cheap out of parts your can find at any hardware store.

How To: Craft a "Harry Potter" Lumos wand that lights up
How cool would it be to be a wizard and conjure light out of thin air? While this tutorial won't instruct you in the wizarding arts, it will teach you how to make a very cool "Harry Potter" style Lumos wand that lights up on your command.

How To: Make playdough for your kids
It is a rainy day and the children are bored. What can they do? Mom has a great idea, make play dough. You have all the ingredients in the house.

How To: Recycle a plastic bottle to make a toy bottlebocket
In this tutorial, we learn how to recycle a plastic bottle to make a toy bottle rocket. First, take a large plastic bottle and a sharp knife, then cut it in half. After this, take the side with the cap on it and then paint on the inside of the bottle. You can paint whatever you want on the inside, feel free to use different colors and get as creative as you want! From here, take some bottle caps and poke holes in the center of them. Then, string these together by pushing a string in the middl...

How To: Recycle plastic bottles to make a toy windmill
In this tutorial we learn how to recycle plastic bottles to make a toy windmill. First, cut the bottle in half so you just have the cap end of it. Then, use the scissors to cut strips in the plastic, all running next to each other. Once you have all of these cut, pull the strips out so they are flared away from the cap. Then, twist these so the are all going backwards from the cap and place a stick on the bottom of these, connecting with the cap. Now you can use these as a toy windmill, enjoy...

How To: Do an orbit at an orbit light show
In this video, we learn how to do an orbit at an orbit light show. The light should spin clockwise in one and and counter clockwise in the other. You must pay close attention to keep these spinning back and for. Start out by winding the lights up and mastering this so you can produce different shapes. After you learn the wind up, learn how to make the stars with it by winding it up one direction and let the orbit in the middle unwind itself in the opposite way. Once you're comfortable, you wi...

How To: Make your own crazy putty out of school glue and borax
It stretches, it squishes... it's silly putty! You can make your own toy putty at home, using a simple recipe of school glue (don't get the washable variety), borax, water and food dye to add a bit of color. Mix and then let it dry out a bit. Silly putty!

How To: Turn a squirt gun or Nerf gun into a steampunk ray gun with spray paint
Start with a regular plastic toy gun, like a squirt gun or NERF gun. Then, spray paint it a matte black. Once it dries, take several different colors of rub'n'buff and apply with your fingers. Now, you have your own steampunk style ray gun! Or, High Velocity Electrochemical Propellant Device!

How To: Transform a plastic toy gun into a tricked out steampunk weapon
Start with a plastic squirt gun. Then get together your art supplies - a facemask, matte black spray paint, metallic craft paint, rub'n'buff (in gold, silver and ruby), small pliers or wire cutters, a hot glue gun and an assortment of brads and metal attachments. Then follow the video and you'll have a new addition to your steampunk arsenal!

How To: Give any item or prop a steampunk inspired paint job
The key to a good steampunk paint job is getting the distressted metallic look just right. This tutorial shows you how to add a lot of aesthetic appeal to your next steampunk prop mod, whether it's goggles, binoculars or something entirely different.

How To: Make your own 3-D glasses with polarized lenses
3-D is the next big thing for Hollywood, but 3-D glasses can sometimes be expensive. You can take a pair of sunglasses and turn them into your own 3-D glasses wtih just some packaging plastic, permanent markers, scissors and super glue.

How To: Make a layered liquids decoration with different density household fluids
Ransack your kitchen and grab some dish soap, vegetable oil, honey, food coloring, rubbing alcohol, tall glass, water and a spoon. Why? Because you're going to create a visually stunning display of layered liquids. This illustrates the effects of different densities in liquids, while becoming a cool, psychedelic art piece for the living room. It's a super colorful decoration!