WINTER CHORES part one

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WINTER WOOD

Wind and bird and brook are still,

Frosty hush on every hill!

Quiet as I can I go

Up this quiet steep of snow,

Lest I break, with step or sigh,

What other creatures, less than I,

Keep in awed and gentled mood;

Silence of a winter wood.

by Eleanor Elizabeth Stevens

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I hope everyone had wonderful, love filled, creative holidays and that you are

ready for another do-it-yourself, miniature project.  I dreamed up 

Winter Chores in between baking, wrapping, & entertaining and brought it to

fruititon after the 1^st.  It is always fun to see one’s imagination brought to life! 

This little vignette is perfect for January display, so let’s get to work.  Enjoy!

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THE BASE

Winter Chores sits on a simple, white 5” X 7” purchased wooden picture frame.

Remove everything from the frame.  Cut a sturdy cardboard (I used .080

 (approx.. 3/32” thick)acid-free Davey Board) rectangle to fit in the frame.

Glue it in place.  We will be using the back of the frame because it has more

room.  Cut a piece of sheet Styrofoam to fit in the frame and slice it so that it

is even with the top edge of the frame; glue in place. 

Use lightweight spackling compound (hardware store purchase, DAP

Fast ’N Final used here…make sure to read the label instructions before

use) to “frost” about a ¼” thick layer of “snow” over the Styrofoam.  Let it

flow over the top of the frame and down the sides a bit, here and there. 

Smooth as much as possible.  Let the spackle set…this could take several

hours or overnight.

Once the spackle has set you may carve a path into it where our boy has

shoveled the snow, adding heaps of snow (more spackle) along the outer

edges of the path.  You may poke or cut thru the snow to insert the mailbox

post, treetrunks and indent for the dog body, etc.  Patches of soil may be

exposed here snd there. 

The spackle may be  smoothed with a bit of water.

 I do suggest that you do as I did and wait until all the major pieces are ready

before making your path etc. so you can create to them rather than the other

way around.  After you have

your snow the way you want it I suggest you spray it with a clear matt fixative

to protect it from dust, etc. 

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THE BOY

This child started “life” as a Fisher Price Loving Family figure.  These figures

are inexpensive, well made, articulated pieces that with a bit of help can

become interesting additions to our vignettes.   As far as I can tell he is only

sold with the grandmother, as seen here.

 Starting with the shoes: You may choose to simply paint them brown or
black to resemble boots or you may do as I did; cut the little fingers off of a
pair of women’s brown leather gloves and stretch them over the feet, trimming
excess leather off at the crease in the pants just above the bottom of the pants. 
Hold top edges of leather to figure with glue.

Pants:  These are made of felt, wool if possible…your choice of color.  
To shrink the thickness of the felt, first soak it in water and stretch it in all
directions a bit.  Then steam iron it with pressure until dry.  Cut two pieces
of the prepared felt 2”H x 2”W.  Slit up the centers  1 ⅛” from one end. 
Apply a coat of strong craft glue, such as Crafter’s Pick Incredibly Tacky,
to one side of one of the pieces and to the back of the lower torso of the boy. 
Press on the pants back and mold it to the body…if using wool this will be an
easier job than with synthetic fibers.  Trim off excess fabric.  Repeat
procedure for the pants front, trimming both the front and back so they meet
at as a side and inner leg seam.  The pants should end just at the top of
the boots.  The whole process can take a bit of time but it does work. 
Of course if your talent is such you may choose to sew the pants on the body.

Sweater:  The sweater and the hat are made from a pair of inexpensive ladies
acrylic gloves.  For the sweater cut off the thumb.  Make a slit in the closed
end for the neck and a hole on either side for the arms to fit thru.  Pull it on
over the head, inserting arms in holes.  Glue the bottom edge over the pants. 
Cut the other thumb free and cut it in two, lengthwise.  Use the two halves
to make the sleeves of the sweater, gluing in place to meet the arm holes
of the body of the sweater, with the seam running from under arm.  Trim
all over as needed for a good fit.

Hat:  Cut off a middle finger of a glove.  Turn it inside out and fit it over the
boy’ head until it fits as you would like.  Sew the top gathered together at
the top of the head, trim off excess and turn right side out.  Put hat back
on head and glue to hold in place.

Scarf: Cut a piece of felt 6” long and ½” wide.  Paint glue on the back of the
bottom ½”of each end.  When glue has dried, fringe the ends.  Wrap scarf
around neck with one end in front and the other in the back.

Gloves: Paint hands with Gesso  and when dry with acrylic paint.  If the
gloves look shiny add a coat of matt medium or another matt finish.

Face:  To take away some of the sheen on the skin I dusted it with facial
powder.  Red artist chalk applied with a brush added rosy cheeks and lips. 
A dot of clear nail enamel was added to the eyes (don’t disturb the nail
enamel as it sets as it will remove any paint it touches).   

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These two pieces should keep you busy for a couple of days.  Come back

then for the rest of Winter Chores.

I am so flattered by the overwhelming response to my blog from all over the world...a special hello to Sweden & Portugal.

Do leave a comment to let me know if you are enjoying the project and how

it is going for you....I do like to hear from you, it makes the creating more

personal!

Joann

P.S.

Be looking for more project kits soon.  Sugar & Spice was so popular

it has inspired Charlotte (HoundDog Studio) & I to offer you more.