Letʼs make a camp scene. This newspaper is a great start!
Campgrounds for your Matchbox cars and drivers
Happy Tree Villageʼs citizens enjoy going camping.
Tools: ruler and markers, scissors, paintbrushes.
Optional: hobby knife, garden pruners (to prune something if you donʼt have twigs)
Materials: cardboard, newspaper, twigs, masking tape, school glue, acrylic paints, mirror, Styrofoam, paper clips, string, sand.
Difficulty: Easy/Moderate Cost: About $1, including paint and glue (not counting car or fi gures)
Time: three to six hours
1. Base and Hills
Base and hills: Plan. Cut a 7” x 8” piece
of corrugated cardboard. Rip some 4”-7” pieces
of newspaper, wad them up and glue them down,
remembering to leave some flat area. Rip more pieces
of newspaper and glue and press the flat layers over
the wadded paper. Basecoat with brown and green
paint mixed with school glue. Let dry.
2. Trees
Trees: Find or prune some small dry sticks with
branches, about 6” tall. With a pencil or craft knife,
bore holes into the newspaper hills, poke sticks in
and add glue and small wads of paper until the sticks
stand on their own. Let dry. Rip and wad up several
approx. 3-6” round-edged pieces of newspaper and
glue them atop the sticks. Let dry. Mix dark green
paint with glue and paint the foliage, then highlight
in light green.
3. Tents
Tents: Straighten two small paper clips per tent. Bend into tent poles, crossing to a + shape on top. Add a square of masking tape to hold in place. Cut down newspaper, drape on top and trim with scissors until you have a tent shape. Tape and glue in place. Base coat white mixed with glue. Once dry, paint in a dark shadow color followed by a light highlight of the same color. Paint a black triangle for the
tent opening.
4. Details
Details: Trail – flock with glue dusted by sand. Paint. Fishing hole: Glue something shiny. Give the shore a natural look with small bits of paper around the edge and paint to match the surrounding area. Reeds: cut down the long bristles
of an old paintbrush, paint with a mix of green paint and glue, and glue in place next to the water using tweezers. Hammock: glue layers of newspaper into a hammock shape, tie with string to trees and reinforce with glue. Plastic canvas is useful for tying hammock corners. Fishing poles: cut down toothpicks, add string and glue in place. Coolers: carefully cut Styrofoam and/or craft foam with a hobby knife, prime the base in white paint mixed with glue, and glue in place.
5. Camping
Camping: Camping is a good time. Fishing, hiking, or reading on a hammock. Craft your own version of this scene
and you can picture it all, no bug spray required. I have fond memories of camping as a Boy Scout and also with family. This scene is inspired by those times, and by the Visitor
Guide to Mason County. What would you like to see next in Crafty Time with Dave? Visit http://www.craftytimewithdave.com for more photos and project ideas. Email your feedback to dave@masoncounty.com or call 360-426-4412. Visit the Shelton-Mason County Journal office at 3rd & Cota, downtown Shelton to see Dave Pierik’s Happy Tree Village Hot Wheels and Matchbox display!
Crafty Time With Dave 