Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Paper animals



Recently we pulled out some brightly-colored cardstock that I'd bought for some paper piecing years ago. I thought it would be great for making some paper animals for Kate. I used to make things like this a lot, back in elementary school. (My desk was always a mess, and I went through a lot of glue.) We decided on a lion and a tiger.



I use my ruler to draw out patterns for boxes, complete with tabs for gluing.



Curious little hands. (Kate was "helping.")



I did the heads over again because I didn't like the first version.



The legs took a while. There are eight of them, and I put a little slant on top, which was a bit complicated.



The finished product.



And the back view. (Maybe I should make a bear to go with them. Oh my!)

I told Kate she could play with them after I took pictures. I don't expect them to last long.

Making animals out of paper boxes is a time-honored family tradition. Here's an old picture I dug up of Betsey with one of her creations. It's an Appaloosa uni-pegasus.

16 comments:

Amy Eileen said...

OH MY GOSH! Those are AMAZING!! I would totally want to learn to do that if I actually had patience!! lol My son would crush them in a matter of minutes. SO glad you shared those.

Heather T. said...

Now that's impressive!! Love the boxed striping going on, too--and the mane is really precious. How fun!

Ernie said...

Very cool. I really liked the Appaloosa uni-pegasus!

Anonymous said...

Those were always fun to make. I am very imporessed with your slant-top legs, that does look tricky.

I have a "Crafts for Kids" book that I picked up that I'm going to send along with Kate's Easter dress. It looks really fun, and I thought Kate might like it.

Mellykat said...

OMG Helena-you are like the coolest, most creative-est Mom EVER!

Great work and awesome pictures!

Melly :)

Kathey said...

Really cool Helena. We still have the little penguins Betsey made eons ago.

Love, Mom

Laura Call said...

I'm sitting here a little dumbfounded. You just amaze me, that's all there is to it!

Anonymous said...

You are unbelievably amazing.

Anonymous said...

:D! I remember that. I also remember the paper being extremely thin. It was one of my first lessons on how stability is affected by size and building materials.

Amy Sorensen said...

HOLY COW! You're amazing, Helena!!!

Kellee said...

Wow! You are talented in so many ways!

Donnah Ciempka said...

Impressive animals. I wish I knew how to do that.

scrapper al said...

You and your family are so creative!

dg said...

You have always been one of the most creative people. I've loved watching your work, as you display it on 2Peas or on your blog. These animals are adorable!!

Jen said...

Those are so unbelievably amazing! And it was all in a day for you...outstanding!!

The Frosts said...

Is there anything you CAN'T do with paper and a knife. Those are amazing and totally adorable. I can't believe you can just make these things up out of your head!