Time for another easy tutorial. We were inspired when we found this little calaca at our local Michaels store. (Yes, them again! They would get me and my wallet in a lot of trouble except that most of the things we find are so inexpensive. Phew!) This skeleton was the perfect size for us, but really, any wooden one would do.
First my kids picked out a 12 x 12 sheet of scrapbooking paper that they thought would look best on their calaca.
Then, my daughter turned over the paper to its blank side and began tracing all the different sections of the skeleton. Be sure to turn the skeleton over so that the front side is laying on the paper.
She started off keeping all the pieces tied together, but it would have been better to go ahead and disassemble the skeleton and arrange all the pieces on the back of the page until they fit just right. We wound up having to do some erasing and re-positioning doing it the way we did.
Once it was all traced and labeled (don't forget to label!!), she carefully cut out all the pieces (she thought the mouth was too scary, so she just didn't cut that part out. It looks better like this anyway) while my son glued the pieces to the wood. We just used tacky glue. Then he put them aside to dry for a few.
Finally, we re-tied the pieces back together using the same wire it came with.
NOTE: It helps if you pre-punch the holes first with a pin or something small and sharp. And be sure to poke from the front side to the back side, otherwise your paper will stick up funny around the hole. You want a smooth edge.
Then it was time to hang him up! And since then, he's been moved around the house quite a bit.
Then I found this project on Pinterest a couple of weeks ago. I really like her colors and how she framed it between glass. But her project is probably best suited for older kids (and adults) and more for display. If you have younger ones like I do, gluing the paper directly to the wooden pieces will give you a sturdier piece, especially if your kids like to play with it like mine do!
Happy crafting!
