The Soda Straw Doll for Students

        Below is a printable diagram of how to make little soda straw dolls at our doll/puppet makers camp. You will need the following art supplies to make one doll: tacky white glue or paste, three soda straws, one yard of yarn, a plastic embroidery needle, a square of light weight cardboard approximately 5x5 inches, scissors and felt tip pens to draw the face of your doll.

The Directions:

1. From two straws cut the segments for the doll's arms, legs and vertebrae. The illustration below shows you how many you will need and the lengths of the cut units.
2. Cut the yard of yarn into one length of two feet, and you will have a second clipping of yarn that measures twelve inches in length.
3. Fold the two foot length in half and string on the torso and lower legs as seen in the diagram below. Knot the ends of the yarn where the feet of the doll would be to prevent the straw beads from falling off.
4. Cut a head of your doll from the cardboard. Do this twice and paste the yarn loop at the top of your doll between the front and back pieces of the doll's head. Let the paste or glue dry.
5. Draw a face on the cardboard head.
6. Now fold the second shorter length of yarn in half and knot it at your doll's neck.
7. String on the cut arms and knot these at the hands. Now your doll is ready for play!

String a soda straw doll for fun...

Cut and Color a Scarecrow Finger Puppet

        The use of finger puppets advantageously combines handcraft and storytelling. The example given here is a traditional Fall figure, but the project is adaptable to any story or real-life characters which the children might wish to make.
       The little puppet will come to life on a pupil's fingers, and act out a story as it is related. The student who is shy will find that the puppet helps her overcome her self-consciousness, while for all children, finger puppets provide a stimulus to the imagination, and open the door to creative expression. 
       The puppet pictured here is Jack the scarecrow. One he is completed, have the children think of a dozen experiences he may have had in the cornfield. Imogene Knight, edited

       To make the fall finger puppet below you will need: a print of the patterns below, crayons, white school glue, kids scissors and construction paper. 

       Remember the gloved hands are attached by accordion spring folded paper ribbons; a picture of these is included on the right hand side of the print below.

• See art teacher, Mr. Lundgren , do this here.

Imogene Knight, 1947, CC.

More Scarecrow Crafts for Fall:

• Draw a Scarecrow Emphasizing The Use of Pattern(s)
• Make a block scarecrow - fun with shapes 
• Craft a Paper Scarecrow Jumping-Jack
  

Pinocchio the Puppet by Hi Sibley

Sizing the puppet.

        "Pinocchio, the wistful puppet created by Geppetto, the wood carver, in Walt Disney's second full-length production, is an inviting subject for either a homemade puppet or an amusing and companionable little doll. The accompanying illustrations show how to go about making one patterned after the original, which was created by the Disney model department as an inspiration to the animators drawing Pinocchio.

       If you are an expert wood carver yourself, the head might be fashioned from a solid block of soft white pine and the nose inserted (Fig. 1), but a surer way to achieve a fair likeness is first to make a clay model. From this a plaster-of-Paris mold is taken, and the head is cast in plastic composition wood (Figs. 2, 3, and 4). The hat is made in the same way as the head and glued on.
       The casting process will be found simple if the steps are carefully carried out as illustrated. Note, however, in the step marked Fig. 4E it is not necessary to fill the mold with watery plaster. Just pour a little inside and swish it around to form a coating and prevent the wood composition from drying and shrinking. The joint where the two halves of the head come together should be filled and the whole sandpapered before painting.
       The torso is carved from a solid block of soft white pine (Fig. 5), and holes are drilled as indicated for the thongs to which arms and legs are attached, and for the elastic in the neck. The latter is a sort of ball-and-socket joint so that it may be turned and twisted within reasonable limits.

The Casting Process for Pinocchio.

String the marionette.

       Legs and arms are of maple, although if they are to be painted flesh color, white pine will do. These pieces are slotted and jointed as in Fig. 6. For a doll, make the slots fit snugly so they will remain in any desired position, but for a marionette the joints should be very loose.

       Hands and feet are cast in the plastic composition like the head, and the shapes are given in Fig. 7.

       The assembly is illustrated in Fig. 8. Rawhide thongs are driven into holes in the upper arms and thighs, and fastened with glue or thin wedges. Costume and coloring are shown in Fig. 10.

       There are various methods of attaching strings to a figure of this kind if it is to be used as a marionette, but one of the simplest is shown in Fig. 11. The wire extensions for the shoulder cords have the advantage of giving better control and hold the strings clear of the stiff white collar.

        Geppetto, the indefatigable wood carver who made Pinocchio, filled his shop with all manner of unique cuckoo clocks. This one can be adapted to serve as a desk ornament. A hand-carved background of rushes supports a dollar watch, and in the foreground is a painted pool with a pair of ducks, one of them ‚"headin' south." Jig-saw the back wall from white pine and carve in the design. The watch is set in a circular opening, being held in place by a brass spring. If a lathe is available, turn the retaining ring of hardwood; otherwise carve it out. The ducks are whittled from white pine." Modern Mechanix

And Here Is a Colorful Little Clock by Geppetto.

  Return to the Doll Guide Index Page 

Chalk Transfer a Parking Lot & Service Station

It's easy to learn how to design a place
 for Hotwheels to go for a tune up,
 tire adjustment or serious car repairs.

       I used a simple chalk transfer method in order to compose a service station/parking lot for any child sized, chalkboard table top. (See full sized table below.) You can print out a service station like mine from my car mat coloring page collection at Crayon Palace.
       You will need both regular white chalk and a liquid chalk pen to complete this craft project.
       If you do not have a chalkboard table it's easy to remedy this by spray painting the top of an old sofa table with chalkboard paint; but that project is for another post!

Steps for The Chalk Transfer Method:

1. Print or draw a design.
2. Rub the backside of the drawing with white chalk.
3. Turn it over drawing side up and position it on the chalkboard.
4. Use a pencil to trace the basic outline of the drawing.
5. The chalk should transfer onto the chalkboard. It should appear fuzzy.
6. Outline the final drawing with a chalk pen.
7. Dust off the surface using a soft brush.

More Chalkboard Surfaces Crafted for Car Play:

• Train tracks on the chalkboard table by the imagination tree
• Backyard Projects For Kids: DIY Race Car Track by Architecture and Design
• Fun & Simple Toy Car Play Mat by Crafting Chicks 
• DIY Ramp Race Track by thehomesihavemade

More Crafty Fun With Little Cars:

• the weisse guys cardboard city!
• A DIY Toy Traffic Light Craft by B-inspiredmama
• DIY Washi Tape Toy Car Track for Your Son to Play On from Kidsomania
• DIY: Pool Noodle Race Track by Ramblings From Utopia
• Noah's Car Cosy and Race Track by vintage gets crafty
• DIY Wood Race Track from View From the Fridge
• DIY wooden crate storage and display for hot wheels cars by frugalfun4boys
• Tips for preserving, packing and collecting Hot Wheels from hobbydb 
• The blog at Hot Wheels for more craft ideas
• use magnetic knife holders to store little cars by apartment therapy
• Toy Car Tunnel by Lowe's
• Hot Wheels Cakes from Sara's Sweets & Treats
• How to make your own sidewalk chalk and DIY sidewalk chalk eggs  
• The best activities and gifts for boys that love to play with cars from Uplifting Mayhem
• Free Plans - Build a DIY 4-In-1 Activity Table for Kids by addicted 2 diy 

      Photographs of my friend's chalkboard table. I spruced it up a bit with a new coat of chalkboard paint and a chalk drawing for little cars. When his children tire of this; he can wash off the table top and start over.

 I needed to give this little chalkboard table a fresh coat
 of paint before drawing my service station and parking lot.
 It was apparently, well loved. I thought the pencil table
 legs interesting.

I purchased these two slat bottom, kiddie chairs at resale for three dollars each.

Above is a close-up shot of the "Service, Fast - Service Station"
 from the 1950s, drawn with a liquid chalk marker.

The chalkboard painted parking lot is almost full.

I gave the parking spaces numbers; this is a good opportunity to
 teach counting and number identification with a toy.

I included a flower bed at the front of my chalk drawn service station.

The parking lot as seen from above.

The empty parking lot and little car service station
wait to be played with.