Woodworking

Here are the Felt and Wood Reeds that I used with the Wooden Ducklings to go along with the Book Nook - Have You Seen My Duckling? but they would be just as at home used with our Gnomes.  

I made 2 different sizes; one with 7 reeds and one with 8 reeds. The bases are an easy shape to cut out with a scroll saw, and I cut the dowels to different sizes to give a natural look. The directions are quite simple.

Materials
For Bases:
1" wood (popular, pine, maple, ash, etc.)
1/4" dowel rods
stains, paints, and finish (see note in text)
pattern

For Felt Reeds:
assorted green felt
embroidery floss
pattern

Wood Base and Rods:
Trace the patterns on to 1" thick lumber. I used popular for mine but pine, maple, and ash would also be good choices. Cut out the bases, sand, paint or stain, and finish. For general directions for cutting out and finishing wood, refer to the tutorial of our Wooden Apple Orchard.

Using the pattern as a guide, mark and drill holes in the base. The holes should be 1/4" wide and 1/2" deep.

Rods for small base cut 1/4" dowel as follows: 1 - 6 1/2", 1 - 5 1/2", 2 - 4 1/2", 2 - 3 1/2" and 1 - 2 1/2".

Rods for large base cut 1/4" dowel as follows: 2 - 6 1/2", 1 - 5 1/2", 2 - 4 1/2", 2 - 3 1/2" and 1 - 2 1/2".

Felt Reeds:
Make a copy of the pattern. For each rod, cut out 2 pieces of felt.

Blanket stitch the two pieces together using 3 strands of floss. Leave the bottom open.

Slide the felt reeds over the rods.

I did not glue the rods into the base. This gives you the flexibility to arrange the reeds in any manner you wish. Plus, I have some other ideas on how to use the rods and bases and I want to be able to move the rods around. Enjoy!

Here is our sweet little set of Wooden Ducklings to go along with our Book Nook - Have You Seen My Duckling? Just like the book, I made 1 Mama and 8 little ducklings. (Notice one curious duckling has gone off on his own!) I then made 2 clumps of reeds for a lovely backdrop or for mischievous ducklings to hide in. They are swimming through a wonderful sky blue silk that makes a lovely lake.

The ducks have very simple shapes and are cut from 1" ash. The reeds have ash bases, with 1/4" dowel rods cut to size, covered with felt blades. Today we are sharing the Patterns for Mama and Ducklings. Like all of my wood projects, after the shapes have been cut out and sanded, I paint them with natural milk paint, then finish them with a olive oil/bees wax finish. For information on cutting out wood, painting and finishing, follow the general directions of our Wooden Apple Orchard.

Here are a couple of notes that pertain specifically to the Wooden Ducklings. The necks have a rather small area that you need to cut and sand. When cutting out the ducks (which Tim did for me... it was too cold for me to be outside :), he didn't worry about follow the pattern line exactly. The necks aren't quite as deep as the pattern, but that's okay. Depending on the size of the blade and your skill, the shapes can be a little different... even desirable! Then use the pattern to lightly trace the wings, eyes and beak.

I painted the whole body first using a watered down milk paint. I like it when the grain shows through, plus you will be able to see your markings. Don't work if they are not all the same. If you goof... it just gives a duckling character. (Remember Nemo's small "lucky" fin :) 

Next time we will be sharing a tutorial for making the reeds. Of course, you don't need to make 9 ducks, actually, we made 18... 9 for our house and 9 to put away for Future Baby! And you don't need the book "Have You Seen My Duckling?" to enjoy these... but it is so fun to reenact books. There are many other duck stories out there that would well with these little ones. Two come to mind; "The Story of Ping" and "Make Way For Ducklings". Can you think of other duck stories to use with these ducklings?

Obviously, these would make perfect basket stuffers for Easter or spring. Enjoy!

Bug, Fairy and Pixie are learning about Ancient Egypt. When they needed a pyramid, and needed one fast, we got out the Big Bucket-O-Legos and started building. After about an hour, the five of us... Bug, Fairy, Pixie, Mommy and Gammy, constructed a pyramid we were all pretty darn proud of. When we were done, the children began playing. Before you knew it there was vegetation, the Nile, and some local animals. They were using pirates and spacemen to set to work on building a palace, but it wasn't long before Bug wandered over and said, "Gammy, we need a mummy and a pharaoh." He had already built a sarcophagus but was hoping for an authentic looking pharaoh and mummy.

Well... how hard can that be, right? We grabbed a couple of our 1 1/2" wooden people pegs, the crafting glue and a few strips of white fabric. Before you could say Tutankhamen, we fashioned a mummy and pharaoh. To make the mummy, simple cover a wooden peg with glue. Rip fabric into 1/2" strips and begin wrapping the mummy. If the glue dries as you are wrapping it, simply add more glue. Make sure you cover the top of the head and the bottom, and tut-tut, you have your very own mummy, ready to be placed in his sarcophagus.

To make the pharaoh, rub glue on the lower half of a peg. Wrap a piece of a 1/2" strip of white cloth around the lower part of his body 2 times. Cut the strip on a diagonal so the cut is on the front of the pharaoh. To make his head wrap, cut a piece of fabric 1" by the distance around his head plus 1/2". Put glue on the head following a natural hairline. Wrap the scarf around his head, overlapping in the back. At this point the fabric will be standing up straight. Place a little more glue on the back of the head and fold the scarf toward the back, making sure to leave 2 sharp points on either side of the scarf. Add an embellishment around the pharaoh's neck. We cut a necklace out of green felt, making sure we cut it so it fit around his neck, and glued it in place. When the pharaoh dries, use a fine tip permanent marker and add facial features. He is now ready to storm the castle... I mean the pyramid!
  

Every summer Britta and Axel, along with their children, leave the Thicket and head to the city to visit Britta's sister, Greta and her family. When they go, Britta makes sure to bring gifts from the Thicket including acorn jam, dried mushrooms and toys for the children whittled from wood. In turn, Greta and her family come to the Thicket to spend the Christmas holidays. They never come empty handed. There are many things Greta and her husband Eldar can find in the city that are not available to the Thicket gnomes. They bring buttons and small bolts of cloth. Cooking pots and books. But this year, they brough special gifts for Britta and the family. Something that she never even dreamed of owning... their very own city bed! No longer will they need to use their sleeping bags. Beds! Britta is so excited the first night in her new bed she can barely sleep! Britta decides here and now to make something extra special for her sister's family.

If you would like to craft your own Gnome City Bed like the one Eldar made or a mattress and pillow like Greta made, click HERE or the directions can be found with the FREE patterns. Enjoy!