Day 28- Paint Stick Toy Soldier

My sister put in a request for a few "boy themed" ornaments. As boys are completely foreign to me-I have 5 girls!-this was hard. So I'm starting by asking if any of you have any ideas to share PLEASE leave a comment and a link. I {and my sister} would love to see what you've come up with.

Here is my best attempt at "BOY"-

{sorry for the dark pics, it was really late when I did this}

Want to make one too? Here's what you'll need:

A small paint stick (the freebie ones at the paint counter)

3 jumbo craft sticks

scissors

paint (red, blue, white, black, and flesh)

white ribbon
and a few extras: I used a feather, yellow fabric paint,
 holiday themed buttons, a small piece of red polymer clay, floss,
and holly garland

{look around and use what you have! It makes it more your own.}

First use your scissors to cut the sticks.

I cut about 4" off of the paint stick to make the body, the rounded ends of 1 stick for the boots about 1/2 an inch , cut 1 stick in half {on a 45 degree angle} for the arms, and the rounded end of the third stick for the hat brim-round the cut just a bit.

 BE CAREFUL when you cut the sticks, they have a tendency to split if you don't hang on to them. It's a good idea to have a few spares around.

Painting comes next. I inked all my edges black once the paint was dry and added my rosy cheeks. Once the cheeks were dry, I dotted the eyes and highlighted the cheeks, boots, and hat brim. 

Add the ribbon detail next. I had thin 1/8 inch ribbon so it wrapped it twice.

Wrap a sleeve around each arm. A hat band at the base of the hat, and the stripes on his dress coat.

Glue the pieces together next.

 Add the soldiers embellishments. I gave his hat a feather

and used yellow fabric paint to make buttons.

I tied a small bundle of embroidery thread for a mustache

and added a red polymer clay ball for his nose.

Last comes the fun stuff he's hanging on to:

I glues the garland to his hands and then glues on the buttons.

I also gave him an official snowflake badge{to cover a misplaced blob of ink!} 

Add a hanger to the back of his hat and he's ready for duty!

Happy Crafting...