PopThatCard Blog

About PopThatCard

PopThatCard is the creation of Australian Illustrator Ricko.

Rick has been drawing since he was a kid. It's Mad Magazine's fault.

Paper helicopter gets a face-lift: How to make a ‘spinning ghost’ out of paper

June 12th, 2008 by ricko

The traditional ‘paper helicopter’ is an old favourite. You make it from a single sheet of paper and a few straight cuts. It’s about as simple as they get. If you’ve never made a paper helicopter then here are the step by step instructions.

The Spinning Ghost

The Spinning Ghost is a cool upgrade to the paper helicopter. It’s more fun and has a more aerodynamic design. It’s also very easy to make – just print the ‘spinning ghost’ cut-outs and follow the instructions provided. In a future post I’ll show you how to make a diving water bird out of paper…but one step at a time.

People like the Spinning Ghost because of the lofty way it twirls to the ground – a graceful and balanced paper toy. If you drop the spinning ghost near an updraft it seems to momentarily defy gravity. Even letting it go from your out-stretched hand is fun – it grabs people’s attention.

All this for the cost of a singe sheet of paper and a touch of glue. Go and make your Spinning Ghost.

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Make a Paper Helicopter

June 8th, 2008 by ricko

This is an old favourite. Maybe not as imaginative or clever as some paper tricks or pop-up-cards…but it works!

Start with a sheet of paper or click here to use a ready made cut-out.

Cut out the helicopter as shown in the picture. Fold the two rotors and add a small weight to the bottom like a paper clip.

When your paper helicopter is ready, drop it from a small height and watch it spin softly to earth. Enchanting.

In my next post I’ll show you how to make a genuine ‘spinning ghost‘ – a design I came up with last Easter when holidaying with our two young boys and their cousins.

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