Join me in making a 5 foot paper Santa using A3 cardstock of 130 lb!!

To start you will need a printer that can print big paper like canon pro 200 or you can also use a laser cutting machine like Glowforge. Perhaps a CNC machine or also the new large format die cutting machine like Cricut would work.
You can also just buy the kit from either us or your favourite 3D papercraft designer.
NEED:
If you want to make sure your Santa can stand for a while, I recommend at least 130 pound paper card stock. You will also need some very strong double side tape, the industrial kind, and I like to reinforce the inside seams with packing tape. If you can and have the inclination you could also use resin epoxy once you are done. This would basically turn your cardstock Santa into a plasticized version if you will.

I have also posted some more pictures and videos on my Instagram and TikTok channel @sofsdesigns
Have fun, take your time and watch your Santa come to life!

In the video above you can see the start of the process and my studio helper Mr .Toby the big Cat.

I use this double side tape which is awesome and you can tear it so no need to cut every little piece. For big project like this one however, ! also use packing tape on the inside seams as seen above.

Here he is finished!! He's 4 feet tall and sooo cute! Even my 'other' Studio helper Salie, the chocolat lab, loved him right away. 

I'm thinking he would be cute upside down trying to go through the chimney or propped up on a chair adding ornaments to your tree. Any which way, he will delight the whole family.
Thanks so much and please don't hesitate to ask questions if you get stuck. 
​
Have fun, Cheers,
​Sophie XOXO

This Pop Can Art sculpture will be an awesome decoration for your home, office or garden. The crafting process can be challenging, requires considerable time and patience, but will be very rewarding and result in a unique and impressive piece of art, you will be proud of!

​We collaborated with Daniel Eglito from Australia to offer you this very cool project. Daniel modified our Peace hand template so that you can make it out of Cans. Daniel started to make these types of Can sculptures during the Covid-Lockdowns (which he says were long and brutal here in Australia). He started doing a papercraft tiger head with my daughter and then was looking for a more challenging craft to recycle an abundance of beer cans after a backyard BBQ. Over time he has created more sculptures as home and garden decorations and have sold some when moving house recently. This was when he realized how much people like the sculptures and would like to craft them themself.

He was right, see photos, its amazing! Daniel wrote to us and we loved his idea right away. His instructions are detailed and clear and you will be able to recycle and reuse those great aluminum cans! You can make them and sell them if you wish as well.

You can use all kinds of cans, e.g. beer or soda drink cans; the chosen color will make the sculpture unique and there are various options for your you when designing the craft. You might choose the same color for the full sculpture or you could mix and match different colors for distinguished features or it’s also possible to use the inside of the car (silver side) for the entire or parts of the sculpture.

There are just simple tools and material required (glue isn’t one of them!):
● Knife or box cutter
● Strong and paper scissor
● Protective Gloves
● Sticky tape
● Ruler
● Templates printed on A4 paper or letter size
● Aluminium can of your choice (seen in pictures are Australian Beer Cans)

​The Peace Hand Can Pop Art Craft 3D is one pdf file, containing detailed instructions with important tips, tricks and security warnings. The templates contain 27 parts, requiring about 25 aluminium cans. The dimension of the final sculpture will be about 34 x 20 x 18 cm.

Take your time, have fun and show us the results by posting your makes on Instagram @sofsdesigns #sofsdesigns 
​Cheers, Sofs and Daniel 

​Recently you might have seen some of the results of my experimentation with AI (artificial intelligence). I put together some new books using my AI Art.  See here !

I started using AI at the end of 2022 when an craft and art platform (called Creative Fabrica) that I really like and am member of, started offering this new tool. I debated a bit at first as there are some opposing opinions about the ethics behind AI. However, after learning more about what the tool actually does and how the final art is created I found that, for myself, if I was not using 'prompts' (I will explain what that is below) that would specifically target other peoples art by name, I was able to create completely new, never been seen unique styles of Art pieces. 

To be able to produce good AI pieces, it took me some practice and I needed to learn how to use these new tools, just like I would with any other design tools. Part of the learning is knowing how to create prompts that will work with AI. What are prompts you may ask? Prompts are essentially the language (words or a sentence describing what art you want the AI tool to spit out for you) that is used when you are asking the AI tool to produce something you want. There are lots of work being done and tools created just for prompts alone as it is essentially the motor of AI Art since you need to know how to use words to create Art. 

I learn a bit more recently about how AI uses its data bank to create new images using prompts. In a very simplified way of describing it, it basically scrambles images and re-draws using the 'noise' left by the scramble. You can read more about it in the article recently posted by Make 

I feel I have still so much to learn and experiment with, as a maker and designer this is very exciting!

Ultimately I want to see if I can use these AI generated paper art pieces to inform and inspired my next 3D papercraft pattern collection.

You probably already guessed that the image on the left is AI and one the right is ours but as far as creating a cute plant creature, I am thrilled with this first result! 
​
Normally, I get inspired by what I see and experience around me combined with my imagination. When I started playing with AI, I could actually put down into words what my imagination was telling me and I created prompts telling AI what I was seeing in my head. I was able to generate really cool 3D papercraft graphics that I wanted to share hence why I published the inspiration collection books mentioned above.

Now, one step further, I am actually just created my first AI 'imagined' piece in real life! To celebrate this new adventure and collaboration between 'Artificial Intelligence' (AI) and 'Sofs Intelligence' (Sofs I) (hahaahha) I want to offer you my first AI inspired pattern !  If you ever end-up making it, please share your makes on insta with #Sofsinspirations 
Have fun! 

You know the days... It actually starts right when the pumpkins get put outside! Time for the squirrels to get their fill and get big enough to last during the freezing winter months. Halloween contributes to the survival of our beloved Canadian squirrels! 

To ease off our Halloween buzz, here is a fun post-craft celebration activity, free for all you little ghouls, witches and monsters! We need to keep our hands busy so we don't eat al our candies at once.
Much love,
​ Sofs

I want to give you joy!!
Remember last year we offered a santa hat box? (scroll to find the free pattern!) Well this year we want to offer you this free Giant (24 inches tall) Candy Cane 3D Papercraft! It just feels right...I think we all need the bright and whimsical colors around. Enjoy! If its your first time at printing the patterns, head over to our how to pages for some support.  (for starters, you just need to click the image to get the pdf pattern or click here!)
​Much love, Sofs

FIRST you make pink popcorn! Good start yes?! I used a recipe I found online here. You may need to try it a few times before you get the right texture or the right color.
pssst you can also make it other colors for any other fun occasion.

SECOND make a hippo! That’s the best part in my opinion ( of course!) You can purchase the kit which will sent to you or you can also purchase the digital download template. 
The template makes a BIG hippo ( 36 inches long) but you can also print it on a smaller scale to make samller ones (make sure to reduce eac page to the same %). Use the size that fits your need. I used the large one for the photo but how cool would it be to make a few of the mid size ones.

NOW you pretty much got all you need to surprise your loved ones! You can add a few cute drinks and a few balloons if you want. Either way, I think that you are sure to make this party memorable. Take some pictures and wow your social media friends!! we want to see too, find us on instagram @sofsdesigns 

ENGLISH: It is obvious that I am not the most active blogger! But that won't let me stop me from trying..For this holiday season 2020 I give you a little gift and hopefuly the gesture will bring joy as we wrap up a cray cray year!! (click on image to open the pdf pattern.) Have fun, keep playing...Thank you so much for your support. 
FRENCH: Il est évident que je ne suis pas la blogueuse la plus active! Mais cela ne me permettra pas de m'empêcher d'essayer ... Pour cette saison des vacances 2020, je vous donne un petit cadeau et j'espère que le geste apportera de la joie alors que nous clôturons une année bananas !! (cliquez sur l'image pour ouvrir le modèle pdf.) Amusez-vous bien, continuez à jouer ... Merci beaucoup pour votre soutien.

If you are new to the wonderful world of papercrafting, I made a little video! 

We sometimes promote the facts that our paper kits are ecofriendly and a great crfat all around since once done all of our models can be recycled. We probably don't mention that enough but in any case we also are working on a new recycable packaging which will be even more more ecofriendly then our regular concept. Not only did we want to remove the plastic usage of our kits by using paper but we also wanted to use recylced fibers and 'locally-ish' sourced products. We have researched and found these 100% recycled enveloppes made in North America. 

Now can someone guess what the geometric shapes on each packages represent? Hint hint, I grew up on the ski hills?? We will implement the new packaging gradually. First it will come with our new line of super easy and friendly DIY papercrafts. The first one of of the line is this super cute and useful organizing containers that are kraft color on one side and fun summer colors on the other. 

Si vous êtes tout nouveau dans le monde du papercraft 3d, ces patrons seront surement vous plaire! attention, ils ne sont pas seulement pour les débutants, vous pourrez faire des déco génial même avec des modèles super simple.

If you are new to the world of papercraft these patterns will sure to please. Not just for begginers though! You can make very beautiful home decoration with simple models, don't you think! 

Imprime à la maison sur papier et vous pouvez le colorier ou prendre du carton de la couleur que vous voulez! Montrez nous les résultats. Une fois terminé attache en face d'une fenêtre! Nous sommes plus fort ensemble.
Here are a few papercraft to help you and your family spend a zen moment. Participate in the mouvement, it will be ok by making this papercraft and install it in your window so that kids gign for walks can see them. There are 2 models, choose the one you want! Show us once its finished!
#cavabienaller #itwillbeok