Craft your own clothespin dads!

Dad clothespin dolls in all shapes, sizes and colors. On the far left, is the new
version of Mr. Popover. You can read his where his story begins here, 'The Little Red House'

            For this craft, I will be demonstrating family clothespin fathers/dads that are dressed in relatively contemporary fashions and that will also include a variety of skin colors and ages. The shirts are decoupaged and the pant legs painted. Gather together small snippets of fabric for their ties and tiny beads for our wooden dad's shirt buttons. 

Details include, yarn and batting wigs,
tiny buttons, ties, collars, and beards.

 Supply List:

• wooden clothespins
• tacky white glue
• small clothespin doll stands (wooden parts)
• assorted acrylic paints
• decorative papers (tiny prints, plaids, stripes and solids)
• fur and yarn for hair
• chenille stems
• several cotton balls
• flimsy cardboard (cereal box)
• hot glue gun and hot glue

These clothespin fathers
are very simple to make.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

• First paint the flesh of your clothespin doll head any color you choose. I made six samples here to show a greater variety of looks.
• From the waist or hip down, paint the legs of your dad clothespin the color of his pants.
• From the waist or hip up, use white glue to decoupage his shirt made from scrapbook paper.
• Now unravel the cotton balls to cover the lengths of chenille stem(s) that you will need for the arm or arms of your own clothespin dads.
• Spread a tiny amount of the white school glue along the chenille stem and proceed to layer small amounts of cotton on top all the while smoothing the cotton down. Rub this covered wire between the palms of your hands to give it a nice even coating.
• Take a nail or tack and bore a tiny hole into either side of the clothespin exactly where you will insert an cotton coated wire arm.
• Now cut decorative sleeves from the printed scrapbook paper and glue this to the arms to make sleeves. Leave a small bit of wire uncovered to paint with flesh colored acrylics for hands.
• Cut little collars from flimsy white cardboard and paste these around the neck or necks of the clothespin daddies.
• Glue on a bow tie or a straight tie. 
• Glue on seed bead buttons.
• Cut and glue on his or their belts
• Now paint your clothespin doll's facial features and glue on yarn beards and hair.
• For an elderly dad you might wish to twist a tiny bit of wire into a pair of glasses too!

More details, a bowtie, a red beard and drier lint wigs too...