Wood animals are shockingly easy to make! (with the right tools) - Page 10

[RollerCoasterMama]

Originally Posted by NoliMum

I finally finished some toys!! :

Owl and tree

Moon mobile for friend's baby due in June (I'm going to hang stars from the bottom)

DD holding tree Is she not the most beautiful child!?!

DD helping me paint

DP has taken DD out to play so I can work on more.. better get off the puter and take advantage of my precious toddler-free time!!!

Oh wow! Those are great!!! My two year old is next to me and he is in love with your owl. (He's got a thing about owls and always has.)

[NoliMum]

Originally Posted by 3901sca

Oh wow! Those are great!!! My two year old is next to me and he is in love with your owl. (He's got a thing about owls and always has.)

Thanks, 3901.

I made a ton more but here are 4 that are completely finished:
Forest friends Deer, rabbit, hedgehog, mouse
At play

I am feeling so-so about the hedgehog. I think he looks more like a porcupine with a buzz cut. Or a turtle with whiskers.

Also, we've been talking a lot about the paint rubbing off. On the animals above, I used a very diluted brown water color. I used some brighter colors- red, blue, green- on some other pieces, and even though they were diluted also (you can still see the wood grain) they started to rub off while I polished, 24 hours after painting.

Do I need to dry them longer? Stick them in front of a space heater? Set the paint in the oven? I was really disappointed when I saw the beautiful color rub away with my polishing rag, leaving a blotchy mess.

[michelleklu]

For some reason when we cut the wood, it really splinters. For the most part we can sand it out, but any suggestions? Should we make the blade go faster, slower, take a blade and trace the outline before we cut it? Any tips would be appreciated.

[RollerCoasterMama]

Originally Posted by michelleklu

For some reason when we cut the wood, it really splinters. For the most part we can sand it out, but any suggestions? Should we make the blade go faster, slower, take a blade and trace the outline before we cut it? Any tips would be appreciated.

Is it maybe the kind of wood? I haven't had any splintering problems. We've used pine (which is a little bit splintery, but not bad at all) and poplar. I had read that some woods do it more than others. I also tend to have my blade at a pretty high speed, but I don't know if that makes a difference.

[luv-my-boys]

I'd like to start off by saying that MDC is horrible for my craft addiction
I have yet to even get my waldorf doll kit in the mail and now im bugging DH about making little wooden animals....but then again this could be counted as *his* project. Anyone know of a online silouette or patterns for sea creatures? Whales,dolphins,octopus or the like? I think were going to really water down water colors and beeswax for ours. I like the very faint paint look with the wood grain showing (and no facial features) on them. Im also thinking about doing a alphabet set since DS is a very tactile learner hopefully it will help him learn his alphabet.

[Danielle13]

ok, someone be completely honest with me...

how hard is this really?

We too live in an apartment with a balcany. I made dd a play kitchen out there in the dead of winter...so I'd say its safe to say I'm comitted

I bought a scroll saw yesterday to make some wooden animals but now I'm terrified. How do you get the little detail shapes? Like how your aligator has lots of teeth? Is it easy enough? do you draw on your wood or what? Can someone give me detailed instructions for an animal?

I am looking to make just simple wooden animal shapes. Not painted in color, just finished simply.

Any advice?

[thenaturefreak]

Originally Posted by Danielle13

ok, someone be completely honest with me...

how hard is this really?

We too live in an apartment with a balcany. I made dd a play kitchen out there in the dead of winter...so I'd say its safe to say I'm comitted

I bought a scroll saw yesterday to make some wooden animals but now I'm terrified. How do you get the little detail shapes? Like how your aligator has lots of teeth? Is it easy enough? do you draw on your wood or what? Can someone give me detailed instructions for an animal?

I am looking to make just simple wooden animal shapes. Not painted in color, just finished simply.

Any advice?

Here is a great site that will give you a great starting point and first project.

[RollerCoasterMama]

Originally Posted by thenaturefreak

Here is a great site that will give you a great starting point and first project.

This is the site I used too. And yes, I print out the outline in the size I want, then trace it onto the wood. Start with something simple so that you can get used to how to direct your wood. Wear eye protection because you WILL break blades. (I've never had one fling any pieces, but would hate to have that one fluke accident cause real damage!)

Alligators with teeth = really putzy hard work. Probably not good for starting out!

Have fun learning!!

[Danielle13]

can I use the saw on the ground? or does it have to be clamped?

[RollerCoasterMama]

Originally Posted by Danielle13

can I use the saw on the ground? or does it have to be clamped?

I may be misunderstanding. Ours is a one-piece unit. It's just sitting on the tool-bench at the moment. I don't think I could use it safely if it were sitting on the ground. We must have different kind of scroll-saws.

[Danielle13]

Originally Posted by 3901sca

I may be misunderstanding. Ours is a one-piece unit. It's just sitting on the tool-bench at the moment. I don't think I could use it safely if it were sitting on the ground. We must have different kind of scroll-saws.

mine looks like this

http://www.kaboodle.com/hi/img/2/0/0...AAAAADoG9A.jpg

so, I'm asking basically if I HAVE to use it on a table, or can I just use it on the ground and kneel down... I hope that made sense.

[RollerCoasterMama]

Originally Posted by Danielle13

mine looks like this

http://www.kaboodle.com/hi/img/2/0/0...AAAAADoG9A.jpg

so, I'm asking basically if I HAVE to use it on a table, or can I just use it on the ground and kneel down... I hope that made sense.

If you're comfortable with that angle it should work. Ours is really similar.

[Danielle13]

Originally Posted by 3901sca

If you're comfortable with that angle it should work. Ours is really similar.

ok thank you I was just nervous it would tip over or something...can you tell I'm scared to use it?

[sweetpeppers]

do you guys sand After you paint? I've heard this recommended, but it ruins the paint job

[thenaturefreak]

Originally Posted by sweetpeppers

do you guys sand After you paint? I've heard this recommended, but it ruins the paint job

I use water colors to paint my figures and the water raises the grain, making the pieces rough. So I lightly sand them with a finer sandpaper to remove the rough spots after painting them.

I am not sure if you need to sand after using acrylic paint though.

[sweetpeppers]

Originally Posted by thenaturefreak

I use water colors to paint my figures and the water raises the grain, making the pieces rough. So I lightly sand them with a finer sandpaper to remove the rough spots after painting them.

I am not sure if you need to sand after using acrylic paint though.

and you don't think it ruins your paint job? I've used like 400+ grit and it still takes the paint off.

[stellimamo]

I give all my pieces a lightly sanding after they are painted. If th paint is coming off totally after you lightly sand chances are your paint isn't watered down enough to soak into the wood. If the paint is too think is just "sits" on top of the wood.

[thenaturefreak]

Originally Posted by sweetpeppers

and you don't think it ruins your paint job? I've used like 400+ grit and it still takes the paint off.

Erin said it perfectly...

Originally Posted by stellimamo

I give all my pieces a lightly sanding after they are painted. If th paint is coming off totally after you lightly sand chances are your paint isn't watered down enough to soak into the wood. If the paint is too think is just "sits" on top of the wood.

It does lighten my colors slightly sometimes, but I want to see the wood grain under the paint. It never completely takes the paint off, and I use 150 grit most of the time..

Here are a few examples of what I have done with the watercolors.

[RollerCoasterMama]

Originally Posted by stellimamo

I give all my pieces a lightly sanding after they are painted. If th paint is coming off totally after you lightly sand chances are your paint isn't watered down enough to soak into the wood. If the paint is too think is just "sits" on top of the wood.

Thanks for explaining that. I'm certain that's what we did wrong with our Christmas animals. It was like painting with oil paints practically! I'm not a painter so I watched DH do the first one and just followed his lead. I've since bought some professionally made figures and realized we're doing it wrong! Gonna take another stab with the watercolors when I do some dinosaurs later this week!

[Danielle13]

about how tall are your animals?

I made a snail that was 1.5 inches and a bunny that was 7 inches. I'm curious about how big everyones farm animals are, and how big your trees are.

ps it is pretty easy. At first I was scared, but I got the hang of it fast

heres what I made. my fish and chick need more work

But I like my bunny and snale and whale

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o...io/fish022.jpg

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o...io/fish019.jpg