Hot Hobbies & Toys How-Tos

How To: Solve the Rubik's Cube intuitively without algorithms

Check out this three-part video tutorial on how to solve the Rubik's Cube intuitively and without algorithms. With this method there is no need to memorize complicated algorithms. Crack the Cube with sheer brain power, if you can. No one said you had to be a genius to solve a Rubiks Cube, you just have to have a little common sense and patience.

HowTo: Make a Jenga Pistol

Not only will this wood-block pistol make you the terror of your next family activity night, it'll actually improve your Jenga game! Through science! For, you see, the faster you can knock a block out of a Jenga tower, the shorter the amount of time over which it can exert a frictional force on its neighbors. Which means the whole kit-and-caboodle is much less likely to come tumbling down. Want one? You'll have to build it yourself. Which is fitting because the word "jenga" actually means som...

How To: Do the most amazing hairstyle on your American Girl

In this video from stephenswodadancer we learn a new hairstyle for your American Girl doll. You need 4 clips and a brush. Take your thumbs in her hair and wrap a circle in the crown of her head. Brush that part out, twist it around, and poof it up. Take the clips and put it on either side of the poof you've just made. You can leave it like that if you want or continue and take a small piece from the side of her hair and begin braiding it. Bring the braided piece across the back and clip the b...

How To: Do woven pigtails on your American Girl doll

In this video from stephenswodadancer we learn how to do woven pigtails on an American girl doll. Start by parting the hair in the middle down the back and put one to the side in a pony tail and on the other side, take a section from the top and twist it. Then take another small section and twist. It does get harder as it goes on because you're not able to hold on to everything. Make one more piece of hair twisted as well. Now take all 3 pieces and tie them together. Now put the remaining hai...

How To: Do a super cute hairstyle on your American Girl

In this video from stephenswodadancer we learn how to do a hairstyle on the American Girl doll Mia. You need a brush, 2 regular sized bobby pins and 2 rubber bands. Start by brushing her hair back from her head and hold it with your hand. Using your finger nail start at about the corner of her eye and go up on each side. Pick up all that hair in the front. Turn her around and brush it out smooth and put the bobby pins in on each side. You can leave it like that or continue on. Part the back o...

How To: Do a clipped bun on your American Girl doll

In this video from stephenswodadancer we learn how to do a clipped bun on an American Girl doll. Start with your doll's hair in a pony tail. Right at about the crown of her head works. Take the piece of hair from the top and curl it and fold it under. Clip the part that you curled to her head. You can go all the way around until you get to the bottom and keep clipping. Repeat this process all around her head until it is to your liking. This will need lots of clips so make sure you have them!

How To: Twist a monkey balloon animal holding a banana

This be a little challenging for beginner balloon sculptors, but if you have some skills, then twisting this monkey balloon animal should be a cinch! The Balloon Bandit shows you how to twist your balloons into this wonderful and kid-friendly primate. you'll need 6 balloons for the monkey (4 mocha brown, 2 blush) and a piece of yellow balloon for the banana.

How To: Do a hair headband on your American Girl doll

In this video, we learn how to do a hair headband on your American Girl doll. Brush the doll's hair out and then take a section from the bottom front of the hair. Twist this up and then do the same thing to the other side in the same spot. After you have twisted both sides, cross them both over to the opposite side of the head. After this, clip the side of the hair where the braid is left at. When finished, you will have a cute hairstyle on your doll! This work on any length of hair and only ...

How To: Do cowgirl pigtails on American Girl doll Nicki

In this video, we learn how to do cowgirl pigtails on American Girl doll Nicki. First, brush the hair out and then make a part down the middle so you have hair on both sides. Then, put one of the pigtails to the side. After this, go to the other side and brush it out again. Make this low and then tie a rubber band around the pig tail. To make it curly, you will take little pieces of the hair and curl them up with your fingers. Repeat this on the other side and then you will be finished with t...

How To: Paint your American Girl dolls' nails

In this video, we learn how to paint your American Girl dolls' nails. First, stand your doll up and then dip a tiny paintbrush into nail polish remover. After this, put some nail polish onto another tiny brush. Then start to paint the toes using the tiny paintbrush. If you make a mistake, just use the other brush to remove the nail polish. Don't put too much polish on the brush, or it will get messy and turn out badly. Repeat this process on the fingernails when you are done with the toes. Fr...

How To: Do a cute braided hairstyle on your American Girl

In this tutorial, we learn how to do a cute braided hairstyle on your American Girl. To start, you will first need to brush out the hair and then part it in the middle. From here, clip the right side of the hair and then clip the other side. Take the rest of the hair and tie it into a ponytail. From here, take the left side and start a braid, then do the same thing on the right side. When you finish, clip the middle hair into a bun and then clip the braided section in the back. This will fini...

How To: Make a fast and easy tennis ball trebuchet

In this tutorial, we learn how to make a fast and easy tennis ball trebuchet. This tool will throw tennis balls easily so you can hit them without having a partner around. This only needs a few pieces of wood and 2x4's along with dumbbells. There isn't a whole lot to this, it's very simple to build. Use two 10 lb dumbbells clamped with a hose clamp onto the top of a 2x4. Use a dowel to go through this, so it will help it rotate. Down at the bottom is the release mechanism and on the sides wil...

How To: Do a hippie hairstyle on your American Girl doll

In this video, we learn how to do a hippie hairstyle on your American Girl doll. To start, you will simply take the side of the hair and braid two braids into it. Pull these across the back of the head and then repeat on the other side of the head in the same exact braid. Next, you will pull these braids all together and then braid these together going all the way down to the bottom of the hair. Tie this off with a rubber band at the bottom. This will finish up your hippy hairstyle, enjoy and...

How To: Style hair on an an American Girl with long wavy hair

In this tutorial, we learn how to style hair on an American Girl w/ long wavy hair. First, brush the hair out and then grab the top left section of the hair. Split this into three and then twist these together. This will be like a French braid, but you will be twisting it as you braid. Continue this until you reach the bottom of the head, then tie it with a rubber band. After this, do the same thing on the other side of the head. Then, tie it with a rubber band in the back and you're done!

How To: Make a somersaulting robot

In this tutorial, we learn how to make a somersaulting robot. You will need: a gear box, 1.5 v DC motor, battery holder for AA, and a few gem clips. First, glue the gear box onto the battery holder and then glue the motor shaft in. Next, glue the gem clip on the pistons of the gear box. From here, add a broken eraser to the gem clips. Next, add another jumbo gem clip to the motor and you will get to play with it! This is a fun little robot to play with, enjoy using it and making it do tricks!

How To: Lay and ballast O-Scale 3-Rail track

In this tutorial we learn how to lay and ballast O-Scale 3-Rail track. First, lay the track down on a piece of bare plywood. Also, you will paint the wood to prevent it from absorbing liquid when you place glue on it. Put the track down onto a flex bed and then set the flex bed on the wood. From here, place the track onto the road bed and line it up. Make sure the track is centered completely. After this, take a track screw and secure the ends down. Continue to do this throughout the entire t...

How To: Do a double twist flip on your American Girl doll

In this video, we learn how to do a double twist flip on your American Girl doll. First, part the hair down the middle and then brush it out. From here, pull out the rubber band one side and then split the middle of the hair in half. Push the rubber band with the hair through this, then tighten it up. Do this on the other side of the hair to make them both even. This will finish the hairstyle on your doll! The great thing is that you can do this on dolls that have short hair or long hair and ...

How To: Do a basic French braid on your American Girl doll

In this video, we learn how to do a basic French braid on your American Girl doll. First, comb the hair back on the doll and then take the top section and split it into three. From here, you will start like a regular braid, going over three times. After this, you will take a little bit of the hair from one side and pick it up. Add this to the section that is closest and pull it over the middle piece. Continue to do this on the opposite side and then go back and forth. As you go down, you will...

How To: Make a robot car

In this tutorial, we learn how to make a robot car. To start, you will need to prepare the sensors by placing in the pins and soldering. After this, you will need to connect the wires to these and solder them into the correct places. Use a map to find the correct placement for everything. After this, you will take your sensor boxes and bolt them into place on the base of the car. From here, you will need to use a band saw to cut out the cover for the car and the sides/back. Glue the sensors i...

How To: Do a cute hairstyle on an American Girl with short hair

In this video, we learn how to do a cute hairstyle on an American Girl w/ short hair. First, brush the hair and then take a small piece from the front section of the hair. Twist this and then pull through and tighten with a rubber band. Then, part the hair in the middle and start the braid the other side of the hair until you reach half way down. When finished, you will put ribbons on each side of the hair and then brush out the excess hair in the ponytails. This will finish this really cute ...

How To: Weave ribbon into your American Girl doll's hair

In this tutorial, we learn how to weave ribbon into your American Girl doll's hair. First, grab the hair in the front of the head on just one side. After this, you will tie it with a rubber band. Next, repeat this same process on the other side of the hair. Then, do this again behind the first rubber band on each of the sides two times. Tie these together in the back, then tie in with a ribbon of your choice. Make a bow and then use another piece of ribbon to tie into the hair, finishing at t...

How To: Do a twisty updo on your American Girl doll

In this tutorial, we learn how to do a twisty updo on your American Girl doll. First, brush your dolls hair into a ponytail. After this, take a piece of the hair and twist it around with your finger until it curls. Then, take a clip and clip the twisted hair into the ponytail. Now, take another piece of hair and do the same thing. Continue to clip the hair up and repeat doing this on all the pieces of the hair until there is no more left. You will have some hair at the top and it will look cu...

How To: Do a French braid wrap around on your American Girl

In this video, we learn how to do a French braid wrap around on your American Girl. First, brush the hair out and then grab the section on the right side of the hair. Split this into three sections and then start to braid down four times. After this, you will start to French braid the hair, adding more hair in as you go down. Incorporate the middle strands in and go to the other side as you continue to braid. Pretty soon, you will incorporate all the hair into the braid. Finish this off by ty...

How To: Do a ponytail veil on your American Girl doll

In this video we learn how to do a ponytail veil on your American Girl doll. To start, you will take the top front section of the hair, then brush it back. After this, you will tie it in a rubber band and then repeat these steps on both sides of the head. Then, you will take the hair that's in the ponytail of each one and split it into two. From here, you will tie these with another piece from another side and then tie together with a rubber band. do this once more on the very back and then t...

How To: Care for your American Girl doll

In this video, Sarah tells us how to care for your American Girl Doll. Tip number one is to not put any product on the doll's hair. The next tip is to not wash the hair on the doll unless you absolutely have to. Don't put pressure on her hair as you brush it, use a light touch with a comb. If your doll has frizzy hair, you can clip off the frizzy area with some scissors. If you get a mark on the doll, you can use a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser on her without damaging the skin. If you don't have tha...

How To: Fix your American Girl Doll's loose limbs

In this tutorial, we learn how to fix your American Girl Doll's loose limbs. If your doll doesn't stand up very well because her limbs are loose, you can re-string her. First, take the knots off from around the head and then pull the head off. After this, take out all of the stuffing from the doll. From here, you will find the inner limbs with the elastic pieces on them. Take a rubber band and tie it around between the gold piece and the white piece. Do this for all the limbs, then stuff the ...

How To: Do a "Downy dunk" on your American Girl doll

In this tutorial, we learn how to do a "Downy dunk" on your American Girl doll. First, take a small plastic container and pour some Downy into the container. After this, lay the doll down on some stacked up books and then dip the hair into the Downy. Avoid touching the Downy onto the skin or on the base of the head. Next, you will use a spoon to help cover the parts of the hair you need it to cover. When finished, rinse the hair out in the sink until it's all removed. Dry the hair when finish...

How To: Restore Your American Girl Doll's Shiny Silky Hair

In this tutorial, we learn how to restore your American Girl doll's shiny silky hair. You can wash and condition the hair, use a flat iron on the lowest setting, trim the ends and fly-aways with scissors, and more! If you have done all of this and it's just not shiny enough, you can help fix it. First, you will put a plastic bag around her body. After this, this is the bag so her skin won't be affected. Now, cover her face with a towel so just her hair is left. Now, take some Son of A Gun spr...

How To: Do a fishtail braid variation on your American Girl doll

In this video, we learn how to do a fishtail variation on your American Girl doll. First, brush the hair out so it's smooth and then take a section from the top right side and top left side. Cross these together on the back of the head and then grab another piece of hair. Start to braid these together and push them from side to side. Alternate grabbing pieces of hair from each side of the head, making them as big or little chunks as you want to. As you continue to cross the hair, you will rea...

How To: Do your American Girl Doll's in a ballet bun

In this video, we learn how to do your American Girl Doll's in a ballet bun. First, you will need to brush out your doll's hair and put it into a low pony tail or high, depending on where you want the bun on the head. After this, take the hair and twist it around the rubber band base and then take a thicker rubber band to tie around the bun to keep it in place. You can then place another rubber band around for decoration. This will finish the simple bun, which will be easiest to do on a doll ...