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How-to: Oz the Great and Powerful Thaumatrope

June 3, 2013 6 Comments

How-to: Oz the Great and Powerful Thaumatrope at HandsOccupied.com Explore the magical Land of Oz with this simple & kid-friendly thaumatrope project. Umm, what is a thaumatrope, you say? It takes two separate images and combines them into one when you spin it between your fingers. Since this post is sponsored by Oz the Great and Powerful, I watched it looking for crafty inspiration. What inspired me most was the movie’s portrayal of turn of the 20th century carnival magic. The opening credits are completely black and white and feature paper stick puppets moving about a puppet stage (I’m pretty sure they were CGI’d, but I loved ’em anyway). In the movie, James Franco plays the titular character, and – no spoilers here, I promise – his face spends chunks of the movie projected in black and white onto a cloud of smoke. I knew I wanted to make something that captured the 20th century black and white, steampunky spirit of the movie. So that’s where the thaumatrope idea came from! PS: You can get your copy of the Oz the Great and Powerful DVD starting June 11.

Supplies

pencil
coaster or other round object
scissors
glue stick
hole punch
2 ft. string
a picture of James Franco from Oz the Great and Powerful printed in grayscale on cardstock
a simple doodle of a billow of smoke printed out on some cardstock

How-to: Oz the Great and Powerful Thaumatrope at HandsOccupied.com

The above image is for personal use only.

Directions

Find a picture of a simple doodle of a smoke cloud online and copy and paste it into a blank document, aligning it near the middle of the page. Print it on a sheet of cardstock that is blank on both sides (I’m all for recycling, but for this project, you’ll want a totally clean sheet of cardstock). Find a picture of James Franco in his Oz the Great and Powerful getup, and print it using a grayscale setting.

Cut out James Franco’s handsome face really closely, as shown, and set aside.

How-to: Oz the Great & Powerful Thaumatrope at HandsOccupied.com

Using a coaster or other round object, trace a circle around the cloud of smoke and cut it out. Play around with Mr. Franco’s face (ha!) until you decide where in the could of smoke you’d like his face to appear.

How-to: Oz the Great & Powerful Thaumatrope at HandsOccupied.com

This is the trickiest part of the project. You’re going to glue Mr. Franco’s face on the back, blank side of your cardstock circle, but upside down, as well as in the position at which you’d like him to appear. I used my circle-shaped object (my coaster) to help visually demonstrate where on the back side of the smoke circle he’ll need to be. Scroll down to the second image below to see what the back side of the thaumatrope looks like. 

How-to: Oz the Great & Powerful Thaumatrope at HandsOccupied.com

Punch two holes straight across from each other on your circle and attach a string to each side of the circle. Then use a glue stick, ideally one that is reposition-able since figuring out where to put the head is challenging, to adhere James Franco’s head to the back of the circle.

How-to: Oz the Great & Powerful Thaumatrope at HandsOccupied.com

Next comes the fun part – test out your thaumatrope to see how it works! If James’s head doesn’t quite line up in the right place when you’re spinning the thaumatrope, carefully remove and reposition him until you’re satisfied. Here’s a glimpse of my completed thaumatrope in action:


Check out Oz the Great and Powerful online at #DisneyOzMovie or:
Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest. I wrote this post as part of a sponsored campaign with Disney and The Blueprint Social. The opinions in this post are my own.

Filed Under: Giveaways, Reviews & Sponsored, How-to Tagged With: crafts, diy, easy, kid-friendly, optical illusion, oz the great and powerful, thaumatrope

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is a craft book author, designer & creator specializing in yarn crafts like knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé. Her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now.

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Comments

  1. Carolina

    June 3, 2013 at 11:59 am

    What a fun idea, and a great craft for kids (with a little help).
    Did you know that if you “wind up” the thaumatrope by spinning it in a circle with each string in one hand, and then pull tightly on the strings, you can get it to spin really fast? It’ll then wind itself back up with the recoil, and you can do it over and over, kinda like a yo-yo.

    Reply
    • Heidi

      June 3, 2013 at 1:42 pm

      Awesome tip, Carolina! Thanks!

      Reply
  2. Heidi @ Mom's Crafty Space

    June 3, 2013 at 1:10 pm

    This is so cool! My boys would love this!

    Reply
  3. Vanessa

    June 3, 2013 at 1:19 pm

    What a creative idea!

    Reply
  4. Natalie @ A Turtle's Life for Me

    June 3, 2013 at 2:49 pm

    Such a unique idea! I love it!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Science Meets Crafts Program Kit: Thaumatropes | Library as Incubator Project says:
    December 19, 2013 at 7:00 am

    […] out my tutorial for how to make a thaumatrope, and whip up a couple of these for practice (and to have on hand as samples) before your program. […]

    Reply

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), a craft book author & pattern designer specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. Really anything with yarn! ❤️  My work combines vintage and modern design elements, featuring bold colors and graphic motifs.

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Helping yarn crafters untangle various techniques on the internet since 2010
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Heidi Gustad 🧶 knitting & yarn crafts
The first lesson of the Spiral Hill Sweater Vest K The first lesson of the Spiral Hill Sweater Vest Knit Along is now up on the bl0g! First thing’s first: better understanding gauge in intarsia, a.k.a. my most-requested intarsia tutorial topic. 🧶
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Maybe it isn’t the flashiest or funnest of topics, but knitting your patterns at gauge accomplishes 2 important things for projects like the Spiral Hill Sweater Vest. 1️⃣ Your garment will fit properly. 2️⃣ The intarsia you’ve worked hard to knit won’t look squished like an image in Print Wizard 2000. (Is that software reference too niche? 🖨️)
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Find the first #spiralhillsweatervest Knit Along lesson at the 🔗 in my profle. 
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P.S. I’m currently finishing editing a related video for the lesson, which will be live on You2ube later today/tomorrow. I’ll post in Stories when it’s up.👍🏻 
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#handsoccupied #intarsia #knittinggauge #knitting #sweaterknitting #nightmarebeforechristmasknittingbook #knitting_inspiration #stopswatchandblockit #swatching
This audio was me last summer while secretly desig This audio was me last summer while secretly designing the Spiral Hill Sweater Vest pattern behind the scenes. 😆 I very often design with primary colors, so trying to explain suddenly working with black, white and grey was awkward/kinda funny. 🩶
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In case you missed it, this is my design from the new book ‘Disney Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas: The Official Knitting Guide to Halloween Town and Christmas Town,’ available now from @insighteditions & @tanisknits. We’re doing a knit along starting very soon, and we’ll be knitting this pattern! I’ve got weekly video tutorials planned for this educationally-focused knit along. This KAL is especially for you if you’re eager to work on your intarsia. 🧶
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Full KAL details, yarn quantities & pattern information are available on my bl0g, the 🔗 is where you’d think. 
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Yarn: @brooklyntweed Imbue Worsted
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#nightmarebeforechristmasknittingbook #handsoccupied #spiralhillsweatervest #knitting #halloweenknitting #knitalong #kal #knitting_inspiration #intarsia #intarsiaknitting #learntoknit
Wow! I am floored by the awesome response to the S Wow! I am floored by the awesome response to the Spiral Hill Sweater Vest. Thank you. 🙏🏻❤️ If you love this pattern & didn’t know already, we are going to be doing a knit along (KAL) from October 1-29 featuring this spooky sweater vest & lots of tutorials, especially for the intarsia part. 
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Later today my newsletter will be coming out with additional Knit Along details, so if you’re not already signed up, now is a great time - the 🔗 is in my b1o. 
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Pictured: My Spiral Hill Sweater Vest pattern from the new Nightmare Before Christmas knitting book by @tanisknits. Model is wearing size 1 with 2” of positive ease, knit in @brooklyntweed Imbue Worsted. Vest images via @insighteditions 
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#spiralhillsweatervest #handsoccupied #nightmarebeforechristmasknittingbook
At long last! I can share the Spiral Hill Sweater At long last! I can share the Spiral Hill Sweater Vest, my contribution to the new book Disney Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas: The Official Knitting Guide to Halloween Town and Christmas Town, out now! 🎃💀 
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I’m hosting a knit along (KAL) October 1-29 for anyone who’d like to knit this vest along with a group & learn a little about intarsia while we’re at it. I’ve got weekly tutorials planned to help you knit this worsted weight sweater vest, and there’s a prize package giveaway at the end for KAL participants too. Details are on my site - you know where to find the 🔗 I think. 😉
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Book by @tanisknits 
Publisher @insighteditions 
Yarn @brooklyntweed Imbue 
Find it wherever fine books are sold. 
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#handsoccupied #nightmarebeforechristmas #intarsia #sweatervest #knittingpattern #knittingbook #spiralhill #knitting_inspiration #knitting
Since there was some interest in stills of my WIPs Since there was some interest in stills of my WIPs closet after this weekend’s quick tutorial, here are few. ✂️ The tutorial is one post back in my feed as a video.
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As you can see, I didn’t worry about the wire hangers all being perfectly uniform, but it doesn’t matter to me. Also, this closet holds a lot! Despite that, it is already at capacity. Since the hanging bags don’t appear to be recyclable, I want to reuse them as long as possible. Who knows, maybe this will be a way to limit my WIPs? 😅
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P.s. In the third photo you can see how I use this system to store the original swatches, scraps, yarn ball bands, & notes from a design project all together. 
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