SANTA IN A CHIMNEY...a decorative classic...

Post by **Howard** » Sun Mar 21, 2021 9:38 am

Greetings to all…

Back in December, Lynn, shared a photo of her collection of Santa figurines with me…one that caught my eye was a Santa in a chimney…we thought making one, using our favorite techniques and materials, would be projects to share with our forum friends…by the way, we invite you share pictures of your version with all of the forum…

Mine was built along the lines of the “Rolled Card Stock Santa Figurine” previously posted here on the forum…go here…
https://www.cardboardchristmas.com/foru ... =14&t=1977
The links plus the photos below should fill in any details I haven’t spelled out…

BODY…cereal box cardboard cone…4” tall x 1 5/8” diameter at base…slit for arms armature, that cuts body almost in half, is 2 1/2” down from tip…later, the base is gently squeezed into more of an oval…note…after the cone was totally dry, the top cap portion was crumpled and gently folded over to one side a little…I found it useful to slightly dampen the area to be folded…and was surprised at how easily it molded and stayed crumpled after drying…

ARMS…rolled paper tubes 3” long x 5/16” in diameter on soft wire armature…cut at an angle at the shoulders…trim to appropriate length, bend at the elbows and pose after securely gluing to body…

FACE…I bought a Santa face push mold several years ago…then cast one with water putty and carved away the cap, beard and any details I didn’t want until I had a generic face…after making a modeling clay push mold, I cast several with Dunham's water putty...go here...http://www.waterputty.com/creative.html
Note…Pete may have a suitable face available…contact him here... oehmen@sbcglobal.net

3” SQUARE CHIMNEY…made from triple thick corrugated cardboard…top of chimney is recessed 3/8” down on inside from top edge…outside covered with layer of copy paper and cardboard strips added to top edge of corrugated sides to cover exposed flutes…note…the chimney could be made with a candy box cavity…or you could use a ready made paper mache craft store box…I seem to remember that forum member, Lucy, has used empty cardboard ribbon spools on some of her projects…

BRICK PRINTED GRAPHICS…I found the one I used on the internet eons ago…you’ll see it when I post pictures of the finished piece later on…the internet is full of printable brick images…do some searching…I’m sure you’ll find one you like…Paul also has several brick patterns available…go here and scroll down to “Building Textures“…
https://bigindoortrains.com/indoor_reso ... ources.htm …
Note…you may want to resize the images if the bricks look too small…

SNOW WRAP ON CHIMNEY…white cotton batting…glued to brick paper covering…folded over top edge and down inside to top of chimney box…highlighted with random glitter accents…

BASE…4” square x ¾” thick putz house style base…

HANDS WITH MITTENS…a sandwich of a double layer of green felt with soft wire armature glued between layers…let dry thoroughly and cut to shape…see sketch…

CAP POMPOM…made by tying a tight knot in a large diameter, frilly chenille craft stem…closely trim off a 3/8” long area below the knot close to the wire core…think of the pompom as a tiny bottle brush tree with a trunk…glue in small hole drilled in top of cap…note…could use a craft store pompom about the size of a large English pea…

BAG…2” x 3” rectangle of gold felt…fold in half, sew and turn inside out…stuff with tissue paper…cinch with fine wire…drawstring is length of burlap string…

FINALLY…I became a fan of Gorilla ® Super Glue while making this project…it was used on the assembly of some parts…it’s a little tricky and you only get one shot contacting surfaces…so read and follow the direction on the package…of course, the main glues were Aleene’s® Original Tacky Glue® and Elmer’s® Glue -All®…note…I have no affiliation with any products, makers or vendors…

Stay tuned for updates...

Howard...

Post by **Howard** » Sun Mar 21, 2021 6:33 pm

Update...3-21-2021...

A quick picture of the way the major parts look when temporarily assembled...the arms have been posed...but the final assembly and glue up with all the detail parts won't be done after all the parts are finished...also a detail of how Santa's bag and mittens were made...

Howard...

Post by **maria** » Mon Mar 22, 2021 6:30 am

oh wow---this will be fun!

Post by **DCrowe** » Mon Mar 22, 2021 11:52 am

I adore the in process pics here. You are making use of easily obtained materials, just as would have been done in Japan when an original like this might have been made. I look forward to seeing Santa ready to take the plunge!

Post by **Howard** » Thu Mar 25, 2021 8:28 am

Update...3-25-2021...

Here's the body after a couple of coats of primer, two coats of red craft paint and a carefully applied finish coat of fine grain red craft sand...Gorilla(R) Super Glue was used to attach the face...

Howard...

Post by **Lucy** » Fri Mar 26, 2021 11:43 pm

So cool. I love how you construct your figures. And you are always modifying and improving techniques.

Lucy

Post by **Howard** » Sat Mar 27, 2021 10:23 am

Update...3-27-2021...

Another project is finished...

My very best regards...

Howard...

Post by **maria** » Sun Mar 28, 2021 3:52 am

This is just marvelous Howard!

Post by **Lucy** » Mon Apr 05, 2021 4:04 am

What a vintage delight this is!!

Thank you, Howard.

Lucy

Post by **Shanniebaby** » Mon Aug 09, 2021 3:27 pm

Howard, you know I love all of your work, but this Santa is my favorite! I'm obsessed- I've been scrolling back and forth through this whole post making sure I don't miss any details. My Santa's cone body is being glued right now.
I'll post a pic when I'm done. Thanks so much for sharing!