Greetings to all...
It’s a new month, August...(well, maybe a day early)...and time for a new project…this one was inspired by an item on Papa Ted’s website under the December 2005 House of the Month…scroll to the very end of this link to see the original…
http://www.cardboardchristmas.com/papateds/Hom2005.htmlMy version is right at 9 3/4” tall including the base…that’s a couple of inches shorter than the vintage original…more photos and details will be posted over the next several weeks…
BODY…Cereal box cardboard cone covered with layer of paper mâché…there is a 2” wide horizontal slit centered on the back…it’s 3 1/2” down from the tip for the wire arms armature to slide into…a corrugated cardboard oval, with holes for bamboo skewers, is glued inside of cone 1/2” from the bottom edge…see the PDF...
I’ve used the rolled cardboard cone Santa body technique for two previous projects…I'll post links later when I update this topic...
LEGS…Two 1 3/8” long cardboard tubes, salvaged from a clothes hanger, wrapped with paper strips and glue to increase the diameter to 3/4”…
BODY AND LEGS ARMATURES…Bamboo chopsticks run from inside tip of body cone, through cardboard oval, leg tubes, carved wood boots and base…armatures are cut flush with bottom of base after final assembly…
ARMS…Strips of paper wrapped and glued around an armature of salvaged “survey flag” wire…these flags are used to mark underground utilities, etc…strips of paper mâché were used to reinforce the joints where the shoulders meet the body and also cover arms armature wire slit…
HANDS…Soft wire wrapped around nails…then wrapped with string to mimic a fist…coat generously with white glue…let dry thoroughly and remove nail…I used two different diameter nails…a large one for the twig walking stick fist and a smaller diameter nail for the fist holding the tree…
SAND FINISH…I primed and painted the entire body, arms, fists, legs and boots with three coats of red craft paint…red craft sand was applied with Mod-Podge…craft paint was used on the boots and fists…
BASE…3/8” x 3 1/2” x 4” wood with holes for chopstick armatures and twig walking staff…
BOOTS…Carved from 5/8” thick, soft wood…I used a Dremel rotary tool with a sanding drum and then hand sanded to smooth out the contours of the boots after rough carving with a knife…there is a hole through the center of each boot for the leg armatures…a 3/8” wide band of cardboard goes around the top edge of the boots…
FACE…Measures 1 1/2” tall x 1 1/8 inches wide…It’s a homemade one since I couldn’t find the exact size needed…it was done in several steps…I'll post links to the products listed below later...
1…Model/sculpt face with Sculpey polymer clay and oven dried per instructions that came with the clay…
2…Make a modeling clay push mold of the oven dried Sculpey face…I use dollar store modeling clay…mist the mold with non-stick cooking spray…put mold in the freezer for about 15 minutes…
3…Cast with Durham’s Rock Hard Water Putty…the cold cooking spray will give you a clean release of the casting when the water putty is dry…
4…Paint face details…I used clear fingernail polish for a glossy final finish…
ADIRONDAK LOOK BASKET BACKPACK…A 1 1/2” tall and slightly tapered cardboard cone covered in burlap with leather strips for trim and shoulder straps…the top opening of the basket is about 7/8” x 1 1/4"...there is a small cardboard oval in the base measuring approximately 3/4” x 1”…
DETAILS…White felt trim…bottle brush tree…twig walking stick…I'm still working on the toys for basket backpack…
In addition to Aleene’s original white tacky glue, I also used Gorilla Super Glue for some assembly…it grabs and sets up quickly…just a word of caution…it can be nasty stuff…be careful, read the instructions and don’t get any on your skin…
This has been one of the most satisfying projects I’ve built in the many years…
My very best regards…
Howard…
Note…I am not affiliated in any way with products referenced in this topic post…
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