DIY Air Vase

When I saw an air vase for the first time I knew I had to make one simply because I wasn't going to pay $28 for three small sheets of paper with slits in them. Besides, as the consumer I was still going to have to do most of the work by stretching the vase.

If you google 'air vase' or follow this link you will find the originals that I am talking about! Very cool.

At first I thought this would be a really hard project but after creating the PDF of lines to cut on it's a total cinch!! So, what I'm saying is hurry up and make one of these because I already did all of the hard work!

 

First start by printing the PDF on a piece of printer paper. If you choose a different kind of paper with a pattern just make sure it is about the same thickness as standard
printer paper.

I tried an air vase using wrapping paper for a really interesting pattern but the weight was too thin and the vase wasn't sturdy enough to stand up on its own. I fixed it a bit by spraying it with starch but the results weren't the same. Boo! You could certainly try scrapbooking paper, again, just make sure it's not too thick or thin!

You will need your printed circles, an x-acto knife and a self healing cutting mat. Start by cutting all of the printed lines. This will take some time, care and patience but the end result is worth it!

*****Please use extreme caution with an x-acto blade. They are very sharp and do not care what they cut. I would say this is not a good project for kids.*****

After all of the printed lines are cut you will need to make the opposite cuts (pics 2 & 3) in the negative space. I didn't include these in the PDF because I thought you might be seeing double for weeks if I did. I also thought it just might become too confusing!! :) Anyway, I think the pictures spell out what to do well enough. Complete all the negative space cuts. You will start to see how the vase is going to look if you gently push the center up a bit.

Using a compass, draw out a circle 2 inches in diameter on a piece of card stock. The smallest circle of the PDF is two inches so you will want the base circle to be the same size. Using a glue stick, glue the cut out circle to the bottom of the vase in the exact center.

The last step of this project is to stretch the paper. I found it easiest to hold the vase upside-down and gently pull the paper down (not sure why my first pic looks like the paper is pink but it is standard white printer paper). You can actually pull harder and farther than you think but if you pull too hard you are going to tear the paper and that would be sad. You will need to get the sides evenly stretched so the vase will stand up on its own. Keep stretching until you accomplish this.

Admire your vase!!

For full instructions and PDF for this project please visit instructables.