I am a Published Crafting Authority

Just in time for the holidays...well, Dr. Farmer has actually been advising me for several months now, but Cassandra graciously bothered to write up instructions, and the editors of "What's Paining You?" agreed to put them in print. So many people to be thankful for.

In case you were wondering: sometimes I set the Wheel of Paul Farmer to a real, moving, direct-from-"Mountains Beyond Mountains" tubthumper; more often, though, he recommends something like "Let's consult the JPS," or "Don't let the [expletive deleted]s get you down." Not a direct quote, but within the realm of possibility.

And now, to the instructions!

Good Hutkeeping
With Little Mari Hutmaker


Sometimes you just need a little advice. But out there in the wilderness network isn’t always available. For days like that you need ‘The Wheel of Paul Farmer’. This month’s project was submitted by your very own Blair Cochran (Thanks Blair!!) Read farther to find out how to make your very own ‘Spinning Advice Wheel.’

What you’ll need:
Tape
Colors/colored pencils/markers
Pen
Picture of someone you find inspirational (an Inspirational Person Picture)
Scissors
Thumbtack or paperclip
Scrap paper
Bowl/plate for tracing a circle
Heavy cardboard (such as from a box)
Medium strength cardboard (like from a notebook cover)
Good quotes
Glue

What to do:

Step 1: Crop your inspirational person picture (IPP) to the size you would like.

Step 2: Cut the heavy cardboard to the same size as your IPP. Then glue the picture to the cardboard.

Step 3: Now, get your bowl or plate. Trace a circle on the plain paper; you’ll need three all together. The largest should be on the blank piece of paper. The bigger the circle, the more quotes you’ll have later. The other two circles should be consecutively smaller—but just a bit! Use the medium strength cardboard for the second circle and the heavy cardboard for the third.

Step 4: Now, color the biggest circle (unless you’re lucky enough to cut it out of construction paper like Blair).

Step 5: Arrange the circle next to the head of your IPP and trace where you would like the speech bubble to be. Then carefully cut it out with your scissors. Tip: If you have cut any quotes out from magazines, your speech bubble should be just large enough to fit the largest quote. Otherwise, make it just large enough for you to write a decent-sized legible quote.

Step 6: Center the three circles one on top of the other. Then find the center of the top circle and poke the thumbtack through to mark the second circle. Next, remove the thumbtack and enlarge the hole in the second circle so that when you spin your wheel it can spin freely. Then replace the tack (or paperclip) centering the circles on top of one another. Tip: The tack should be firmly in place, but not so much that the wheel won’t spin.

Step 7: Using the glue and/ or tape, affix the spin wheel to your picture. Tip: I attached mine by taping thoroughly one heavy cardboard to the other. But make sure nothing is obstructing your second wheel!

Step 8: Write in the quotes. Using your pen, write one quote after another turning the wheel slightly after each. You should move the second wheel just enough that the previous quote leaves the bubble in order to have the maximum number or quotes possible.

Step 9: Once your wheel is full you’ll secure the top circle so it doesn’t spin with the middle one. I did this by loosely attaching clear tape from the front of circle one to the back of circle three at both the top and bottom, leaving room on the side to spin the second circle.

Step 10: Test your wheel! Almost finished now. Give your wheel a spin to make sure nothing is keeping it from spinning freely. If so, do some investigation and clear the block.

Step 11: Nail it on your wall and voila! No more ‘No-network-no-advice’ days!

If you have your own fabulous Hutmaker idea for a coming issue, please feel free to send it along. I can be reached at: Galleh Manda, Day 4. Thanks again for reading. And Happy Spinning!

Yours truly,
Mari