I have a dozen or so of these old spools that belonged to my mother, so I went through them and tried to find one in good shape to alter. I wanted to turn one into a little match-up toy.
I apologize for not having all the process photos for this one..I worked on it really late at night and the photos wouldn’t have been that great.
It was fairly simple…I had some little clip art images of Victorian children. I picked 4, colored them with pencils and cut them out.
I removed all the thread on the spool and cut it in half (with a lot of help from the Mr.) and then sanded the rough edges.
I cut and adhered some pink papers for the background and then cut the children in half (oh my!!lol)
Then I glued them along the edges. The top and bottom of the spool were covered with some parchment paper stamped in script.
Taking some sturdy wire, I threaded it through both halves, down through a pink pearl bead,and then back up through two more beads at the top, wrapping the end of the wire down and around under the bead.
I took some white string and wrapped it around the top and bottom of the spool, gluing it into place with some craft glue.
My daughter loves this. As simple as it is, there’s just something about it that makes you want to pick it up and spin the spool, matching up the little figures.
And I don’t think it’s too early to say that these would make sweet stocking stuffers!
I want one ;D These are sooo cute, I love the idea and how it came out!
You are so clever! I love the images you used, really beautiful~
Hi Scarlett .. very clever and quite delightful – every girl’s dream .. or boy’s dream if they had marching band players on .. such fun to see ..
Such fun – and beautiful to see – Hilary
It is really lovely! What a wonderful idea! I might just steal it – the idea that is! ;-)) Yes – you are very clever! 🙂 Have a great day!
How amazingly clever! I just love the beautiful decoration of it! And the photos are stunning! Thank you for sharing the eye candy. ~s
Cool Idea Scarlett, you’re so creative!
I saw this Crayon Idea on a friends blog and immediately thought of you:
http://stephieree80.blogspot.com/2011/10/crayon-art.html
Hope its something you might try out!
@Ella –Yay, I’m glad you like it! You know how I’ve been struggling with this challenge! Thanks so much!
@Hilary –Thank you! My daughter used to have a Hello Kitty toy long ago(plastic) that used this same sort of idea. I love your idea for a boy’s spool! A marching band would be perfect!
@Elizabeth R–If you make one, please let me know how it turns out! I think there may be a better way to assemble it (perhaps with a dowel through the center instead of wire?) but I’ve only made this one so far. Have a great weekend!
@Sue Costa –I appreciate it, Sue, and now you know how varied and un-focused my blog is…one day a drawing, the next day a toy…haha! Thanks for stopping by!
@Annmaree –Would you believe I just saw this on Pinterest!! It is AWESOME And yes I really want to try it. Thanks for thinking of me and sharing the link,and thanks for your kind words!
This is just delightful and a wonderful idea – now where can I find some spools….
These are beautiful! What a great idea.
Jessica
Stop it!! You are kidding me! These are SO FABULOUS – and right up my alley! You have such a talent for creating unique and gorgeous pieces of art from unusual things – this is just stunning (and should be in a magazine, just sayin;) LOVE love love (have a great weekend) xoxo
@Lesley –Thanks! You know, I was so excited to have these spools of my mom’s because I thought they were hard to find, but then I saw some wooden spools in the craft store just last week! lol, Not so hard to find anymore! Thanks again!
@tenthousandplaces –Hi there! , haven’t seen you in a looong while, thanks so much for your kind words and I’ll be over to visit soon. 🙂
@kristin –I wish you could see my face when I get your comments…this big huge smile comes on my face…and I think, whew!, I guess it turned out ok. lol, Thanks so much for being an encouragement. And your art is FABULOUS as well, so right back at ya! 🙂
That is such a brilliant idea! 🙂 Thanks for sharing it with us.