Idea 35: Barn

Crafty Time

By Dave Pierik, Shelton-Mason County Journal

Barn

Spring is in the air here, and also in our imaginary town of Happy Tree. Let’s make a barn!

Tools: ruler, scissors, paint brushes.

Materials: Cardboard, white glue, masking tape, paint. Optional: round toothpicks, straw, spool.

Difficulty: easy

Cost: less than $1 including paint and glue   Time: two to four hours or more of fun!

1. Mark

Base: 4” wide x 5” deep. Front (make 2): 4” w x 4” tall; 3 ½” mid-slope, 2” downside of roof. Sides (make 2) 2” tall x 5” deep. Roof: 6 ½” x 5 ½” with fold mark at 3 ¼” midpoint. Look at barn photos before starting.

2. Cut

Cut cardboard along the marks you made. For barn doors that open, cut an opening and glue bits of straw into the sides, allowing room for a round toothpick to fit. Test fit doors and glue to toothpick when ready. Glue parts together (except roof and doors), adjust as needed and let dry.

3. Paint

Prior to gluing roof on, paint the interior brown. Next, base-coat exterior with the same brown before you paint the walls and doors red and the roof black. The white “X” pattern on the doors is easier to paint prior to gluing onto the toothpicks.

4. Details

An adding machine spool made a cute chimney in this example. The barn door handles are cut-down toothpicks painted silver. Put the glue on the handle then carefully place. The barn quilt was hand-painted on a 1” square of white plastic.

5. Barn

Add a farm truck, toy horses or livestock of your choice and you can really make a scene! Note the farmhouse (Idea 19 from September 10, 2020 Crafty Time) in the background.

What would you like to see next in Crafty Time? Visit www.craftytimewithdave.com for more photos and project ideas.  Please email your photos and feedback to dave@masoncounty.com or call 360-426-4412. Visit our office to see the display!