Post Updated for This Fall: "Wickedly Sweet Treat" Alternate Project:
Last October, even though the home decor project made with the kit contents is super cute, I felt compelled to try something totally different with the September 2015 Paper Pumpkin kit, Wickedly Sweet Treat. Guess what! The kit and the kit refill are still available, but only while supplies last.
You'll need to be a subscriber to order either. So, if you're not yet subscribed, please subscribe here. If you subscribe by October 10, 2016, you'll get your October kit at the regular price and you'll get the November kit free! Use promo code "BOGO".
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Because scarecrows are my favorite fall decoration, I made a scarecrow ornament. Cute huh? She's about 7" tall and I'll incorporate her as part of a fall centerpiece or table-scape.
The balance of this post is the step-by-step tutorial I published last fall, since edited a bit for better clarity
Feel free to contact me if you have questions. Thanks for stopping by, Michelle
What I used from the kit for a single scarecrow girl: 2 striped die-cut tags, 2 printed straws, 1 fringed sheet, 1 fringed bag, 2 pieces of yarn and 2 pieces of raffia.
You can make 4 scarecrow girls with the kit refill and you'll have a lot of leftover materials for party favors, including 4 fringed bags and 4 fringed sheets, 8 white die-cut tags and the 8 white rectangular pieces of cardstock.
What else I used: 3/4" circle punch, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Tear & Tape Adhesive, Paper Snips, Bone Folder, paper bead making tool, a 25mm/1" wood bead, tiny piece of a TP core, 2 rubber bands and a small adjustable clamp.
My first tutorial ever: FYI, it took me a while to make the scarecrow girl, designing as I went. Now that I have it figured out, it shouldn't take you but a few minutes for each step.
Below are pictures of the steps I took to make my scarecrow girl. Click on any imagine to enlarge the view.
Image 1) For the neck I used the paper bead making tool to roll up a tiny piece of toilet paper roll core. I made the neck big enough in diameter to push into the bead hole with a lot of force, twisting as I went. I wanted the neck to be sturdy and not floppy.
Image 2) Rubber band the 2 straws together to temporarily hold them together. "Eyeball" where to bend the straws for the legs and arms. Insert the neck/head assembly leaving enough neck exposed to tie and wrap other components around it.
Image 3) Rubber band the neck in place just under the arms. This band will be covered so it doesn't have to be tidy, just tight. Then snugly wrap 1/2 of the fringed sheet around the neck. The piece comes with the adhesive strip on it.
Image 4) Wrap 1 piece of raffia around the neck, front to back, then back to front, crisscross the chest, wrap around the waist a couple times and snugly tie a square knot (not a granny knot) around the waist, being careful not to break the raffia. (Tie a square knot: "right over left, left over right, makes the knot neat tidy and tight").
Image 5) The lower rubber band was visible through the fringed piece, so I removed it and glued the straws together at the lower torso. I used the adjustable clamp to hold the straws together snugly without smashing them. Originally I planned to use the fringe strips as pants, but it wasn't possible to spread the strips out evenly, leaving gaps for the rubber band to show. The strips being paper instead of fabric, I was leery of tearing strips off by trying to manipulate them too much. So instead of pants, she now has pantaloons for under her skirt. Also, if the rubber band was still on, it would have been lumpy under the skirt.
Image 6) To keep the raffia from sliding up and loosening around the neck and upper torso, I glued the knot down as low on the torso as possible to keep it snug.
Image 7) From the other 1/2 of the fringed piece, I used 5 strips around each arm. I used 1/4 of the second piece of raffia to tie around each wrist and each ankle and dabbed a tiny dot of glue on the knot to keep it from coming untied. I trimmed the fringe a bit longer than the legs and arms, not yet sure exactly how short or long I wanted it to end up.
Using the 3/4" circle punch, I cut the neckline in the 2 striped tags (the end with a die-cut hole). I used Tear and Tape Adhesive at the shoulders and around the waist to hold the shirt in place, overlapping the front tag over the back tag. Fast Fuse Adhesive, would work great here too.
Image 8) Then I wrapped the last bit of the fringed piece around the waist for added fullness under the skirt, sort of like a petticoat.
Image 9) Carefully pulling apart the fringed bag, I made a flat piece of short fringed paper. Then I cut and layer the piece as shown in the image to the left. (Click on the image for a closer cleaner look.) To keep the skirt flexible around the waist, adhere to the layers with Multipurpose Liquid Glue.
Image 10) I slightly overlapped the skirt in the back, adhering it around the waist with Tear and Tape Adhesive. (Love that stuff!) I folded one yarn piece in half, wrapped it around the waist by first centering her in the double length of yarn, tied a square not as tightly as possible without crushing her and trimmed the excess pretty close to the knot. I needed every bit of what was left for the hair. I dotted the knot with glue to keep it from coming untied. I love how the short yarn ends frayed. It gives her more of a raggedy country look. I curled the fringe of the skirt layers to add dimension, sort of like curling ribbon with scissors. I used a bone folder because the paper tears too easily for curling with scissors.
Images 11) I trimmed the arm and leg fringe about even with the straw ends. Then I pushed up the pantaloons legs to make them more puffy. A tiny spot of glue keeps the pantaloon legs from sliding down. I wanted more of the cute straw ends to show since they look like birch limbs. With my paper snips, I cut along the length of each fringe piece to make them look even more raggedy and easier to curl with the bone folder. These little details may not seem to matter, but they really made a difference in the finished project.
Image 12) If you look closely, you'll notice she now has a bust-line. I accomplished that very simply by pinching her shirt with my thumb and forefinger under the arms. My intent, because the shirt was laying so flat, was to make her more rounded, but I love that it gave her bust-line! In the back, the same pinching gave her vertical folds that looks like a back waistline.
For her hair I used the scraps and the second piece of orange yarn. There was just enough to cover her head! With Tear and Tape Adhesive I adhered short yarn strips side-by-side to create bangs and cover the head to just above the neck. For the sides of her head, I used short folded pieces of yarn and adhered them side-by-side with Multipurpose Liquid Glue. She ended up with sort of a short "bob" hair style. It was fun fraying the bangs simply with my paper piercing tool.
So, how's that for my first tutorial ever?! Your input would be appreciated.
Now I see why people charge for even the simplest project tutorials! It takes a lot of time to shoot and edit the pictures, explain the steps and put it all together in a post or a pdf so that it all makes sense. I chose to offer this tutorial for free since it's my first ever and because most people could probably figure out how my scarecrow girl was made just by looking at her.
What more incentive does someone need for subscribing to Paper Pumpkin? Not only are the products and intended projects great, but you can also make such unique alternative projects. Do a quick search on Pinterest for any kit and you'll find 100's of ideas. Stampin' Up! even has their own Pinterest page for alternate ideas for each Paper Pumpkin kit.
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Please feel free to contact me if you have questions about anything Stampin' Up! related, questions about my posts or you're not sure how to use the online ordering site.
Thanks for stopping by and checking out my scarecrow girl and tutorial.
Blessings, Michelle
PS Even though the bead came with a painted face, I used the blank side. The existing face was a bit too angelic for a scarecrow. Also, when I searched scarecrows online for ideas, almost every one was faceless. I suppose if you have a steady hand, you could draw on a face with a fine tip Sharpie pen. I don't have a steady hand nor can I draw very well, so alas my scarecrow is faceless too.
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