Hi Helmar Lovers,
Today I have a bit of a different project to share with you. This month I was give the theme "Penguins". Random I know. I initially started off with a random photo of a sign that I took when travelling overseas that said "Beware of Penguins under parked cars" and the road sign image of tyre tracks over a penguin but then I changed my mind.
I have created a little penguin container recycling some 2 litre soft drink bottles. This little guy could be used as a gift container or a pencil case or just anything your heart desires really. You could change up the size of the bottle and use 1.25L or 600ml so long as they are round it will work.. They would all work and the technique is still the same. But here he is:
To start this project you will need:
2 Empty clean round plastic bottles of your choice
some fabric scraps to create the hat. (Size will depend on your bottle size.) I used appoximately 3 inches x 12 inches.
some ribbon scraps (long enough to go around your choice of bottle)
Black Spray paint ( I used Flat Matte but you could use gloss - Make sure it has a primer in it so you don't have to prepare your bottles in any way - just spray it on)
Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive - You could use any of the Helmar Glues - Craft, Acid Free. They will all work but I like to work QUICK
Fun foam scraps in White, Yellow and Orange
googly eyes
Scissors
Marker pen
Stanley Knife/Exacto Knife (whatever you call it)
To start, you need to first trim down your bottles. This was made easy for me as one of my bottles had a line about 2 inches from the base. I just traced over it with my marker pen to make it more visible. Then all you need to do is cut along the line with the knife. This part will become the hat.
Repeat the process on the second bottle but mark your guideline about 4 and a quarter inches from the base. This bottle becomes the body so you can make it as long or short as you like.
Once your body is cut, take it outside and apply a layer of spray paint. Apply thin even coats and allow to dry.
While that is drying, work on your hat. Run some Helmars 450 Quick Dry Adhesive around the bottom edge of the "hat" piece and begin to glue your fabric strip in place. Over hang the bottom by about 1-2cm. That way you can wrap the fabric over the cut edge and this will disguise any rough cutting or sharp bits.
Once you have glued your fabric in place, snip the overhang at 1-2 cm intervals and fold them back over the inside and glue in place.
To finish the top of the hat, run some glue in a strip on the plastic inside the fabric and then stick part of the fabric down, then fold the next piece over and glue in place. Once your first piece is glued down, pinch the fabric about 2 inches along and then glue this into place. They overlap themselves and don't glue flat but this is what adds to the hat shape. I found it easier to cut some triangle bits out of the fabric to reduce the bulk. You will see when you fold the fabric it forms a little triangle flap, I just cut out the bottom layer away and then glue it down. It is a bit fiddly but not difficult. You could also just gather up the ends and glue them into a point too. Make the hat how you want it to look.
To finish the hat, I added a strip of ribbon around the base and a pom pom to the top. That is it. All done. Time to finish the body.
In the time that I made my hat the body had dried. I got a little trigger happy on one side and the paint was a little thick and ran, so this is the side I decided to cover up with the body.
To make the body all you need to do is cut a basic shape of 2 circles and a bit at the bottom. I drew my shape onto scrap paper and then cut it out. I don't know why, I could have just drawn it on the back of the foam. The basic shape is not measured and is very free form. I did trim it a bit later to fit. The size will also depend on your bottle size. Once you are happy with your shape, just cut it out of the white fun foam.
Make a mouth from your Yellow piece of fun foam, I just played with this shape for a while. In the end I decided a little triangle with a triangle on each of the long sides was the best option. (The rectangle bit is where it will attach to your body, the triangles will be the beak part.)
At this point you can cut out some flippers from your orange funfoam. Again, this is not very technical. I just sketched 3 bumps at the top and tapered them down into a v shape.
Glue your white body to the front of your penguin. Trim as required. then glue on your yellow beak, flippers and googly eyes. Then you are done. For extra detail, I pulled out my chalks and added some shading and details to the penguins face. This is not necessary but looks cute. You could also use some acrylic paint or markers.
I hope you enjoyed this little project. It is quick easy and even the kids could do it. They would be a nice alternative to gift bags or every little Christmas decorations. You could even change up the hat and make it his head by painting it black too then add some ear muffs that could double as a handle if you glued them to the body. You just have to use a little imagination.
I will be back next month with another project; this one will be wedding inspired.
Til then - Happy Making Stuff
Krisy xx
