Working Bubble Gum Machine Hat

It works! Created from parts you can find in your garage, this is a working bubble gum machine you can wear on your head! (Because gum doesn't come in convenient little sticks in packs of 12). Just push the black button above the 25 cents sign, then try and catch the gum in your mouth. It takes a bit of work to make this, but I think the end result is worth it.

The materials you need are:

Cardboard

2 rubber bands

Paper clip

Packaging plastic

Duct tape

The tools you need are:

Scissors

Stapler

Step 1: Making the Body

Cut out a piece of cardboard that's maybe a foot in width and it's length is the circumference of your head. Then, trace the inside of the cylinder you just created onto another piece of cardboard. Make a hole the size of your gumballs in the center of the cardboard. You will need to make 2 of these circles with holes.

Step 2: Making the Slider

This is the magic piece that lets this machine work. Cut out the shape that is shown, with a hole the size of your gumball in the middle. After you have done that, cut notches in the back of the piece. This is where the rubber bands will hook on. You also may want to reinforce the thin part with a paper clip, because it is being pushed on a lot.

Step 3: The Tape Slide

This helps the slider to only slide in the right way. To do this, cut a piece of duct tape about an inch longer than the width of your slider and put that down sticky side up. Then, cut another piece the same length as your slider and put that sticky side down on top of the first piece. You should end up with two sticky ends on one side of the tape.

Step 4: Attaching the Slider

Line the slider up on one of the circular pieces of cardboard so that the two holes the size of your gumballs are directly over each other. Then, use the tape you made in the last step to secure the slider in place. THE SLIDER SHOULD STILL BE ABLE TO MOVE BACK AND FORTH, ALLOWING THE HOLE IN THE CARDBOARD TO BE COVERED UP.

Step 5: Putting the Slider on the Body

Find where the piece of cardboard fits in the body. (It should be a perfect fit, because you traced it out!) Where the slider pokes out over the body, make a cut into the body the width of the slider and approximately 3 thicknesses of cardboard down. Then, make 2 notches on either side of the cut you just made. Stretch each rubber band from the notch you just cut to the notch on the corresponding side of the slider. Finally, put your second circular piece of cardboard over the whole thing. The video shows how it works once these steps are complete (the mechanism works better than it does in the video, I just needed an extra hand and was trying to do it by myself).

Step 6: Making the Channel

Cut a piece of cardboard about 2 inches wide and slightly longer than the diameter of the body of the bubble gum machine. Fold it lengthwise at 90 degrees. Test fit it by flipping over the body and placing it in the center of the body, right below the opening of the slider mechanism. Mark the place by stabbing a pair of scissors through it. Then, cut out a triangle of cardboard. Place it at about a 45 degree angle in the channel.

Step 7: Making the Exit

Cut out the shape shown where you stabbed the scissors through. If the slider mechanism is facing upwards, then the line goes through the hole from the scissors and the curve is above it. If you place your gumball on the trapdoor/hole when it's closed, then press on the piece that opens the trapdoor, the gumball should fall out of the hole and go down the channel.

Step 8: Making the Ball

This is the clear ball on top of the machine that holds the gumballs. Cut four equal pieces that are about 1 inch wide and 10-12 inches long. Join them together at the top.

Step 9: Decorate!

There is really no way you can do this wrong, just don't alter the sliding mechanism.

Step 10: Cover the Ball

Use the tough plastic that things are packaged in to do this. Cut out the amount of plastic you need, and cover the ball. I used a stapler around the bottom to ensure there are no gaps so nothing falls out. Be sure to cut a hole in the top of the plastic to put the gumballs in. Also, if it doesn't stay on your head well, you may need to make a chinstrap to hold it on.

You're done!