Working together at the mine and living in the same house, the Seven
Dwarfs were sure to have a lot in common. Nonetheless, they had very
distinctive personalities. This collection of tissue tube replicas is
fun to make — and easier than you may think. All it takes is a few
little tricks to portray the unique facial expressions of these
pint-size characters
What you'll need
- 11 toilet tissue tubes
- Craft knife
- Measuring tape
- Craft paints and paintbrushes
- Pencil
- A few cotton swabs
- Fine-tipped markers
- Felt (assorted colors including white and skin-tone)
- Scissors
- Hot glue gun or tacky glue
- 7 small yellow buttons
- Black embroidery floss or string
- Craft wire (5-inch length)
- Pencil
How to make it
- Paint the
upper third of seven toilet tissue tubes a skin-tone hue. Then paint
the lower portions of the tubes assorted colors for the dwarfs' shirts.
From the remaining tubes, cut seven 2-inch lengths and paint them in
assorted colors for the dwarfs' pants.
When the paint is dry, snip each pants tube, as shown. Then slip them into the bottoms of the larger tubes.- Now it's
time to give the dwarfs their faces. Don't worry too much about getting
them perfect. You can always repaint the face portion of the tube and
start again. Begin by using the tip of a cotton swab to dab on the
whites of their eyes (pink eyelids for Sleepy), pink noses (red for
Sneezy), pink cheeks (red for Bashful), and white bushy eyebrows for
Happy. When the paint is dry, use markers to lightly outline the eyes
and add pupils (blue irises, too, for Dopey). Then draw on mouths (wide
smiles for Happy and Dopey, a scowl for Grumpy, and a small circle for
Sleepy), eyebrows (arched for Grumpy), and eyelashes (for Dopey and
Bashful).
- Cut
beards out of white felt for all the dwarfs but Dopey and glue them in
place once the facial features have dried. Cut out a pair of felt ears
for Dopey and glue them in place, as well.
Next, fashion a hat for each elf by rolling a 4-inch felt square into a cone, gluing down the overlapped edge
Trim
the brim, as shown. Fit the hats over the tops of the tubes. If they
turn out a little too snug, don't be afraid to gently stretch the felt
along the brim.- For
belts, thread the yellow buttons onto 6-inch lengths of the embroidery
floss or string. Tie the belts snugly around the tube and trim the ends.
Finally,
shape the craft wire into a pair of glasses for Doc by twice wrapping
the midsection around a pencil, as shown, to create a pair of lenses.
Glue the wire ends to Doc's face, positioning them so that the tips tuck
just under the sides of his beard and the lenses appear to rest on the
tip of his nose.
Lay an orange paper bag on a flat surface with the bottom flap facing up. Glue the jaw just under the flap.
Glue Tigger's head to the bottom flap.
Glue Tigger's mouth and tongue to his jaw.
Add details like eyes and stripes. Finally, glue on Tigger's expressive eyebrows.
Glue on details like Pooh's dark red mouth, pink tongue, and black nose.
Add details like eyes and a mouth with a black marker.
Glue Piglet's head, with ears attached, onto the bottom flap.
Glue on Piglet's pink snout and add details like eyes and eyebrows using a black marker.
Create
the doll’s head and torso by hot gluing the two wooden circles to the
wooden craft spoon, with the handle sandwiched between them, as shown.
Make sure the spoon handle extends beyond the circles a ¼ inch so you
can glue the hair to it later. 
For
the dress, first fold the largest fabric piece in half to create a
9-inch square (the folded edge will serve as the dress skirt hem). 
Scrunch
the top of the skirt around the spoon below the head, and use a rubber
band to hold it in place. Leave a bit of the handle exposed to serve as
the doll’s neck. 
Use the fabric bodice piece to create a ¾-inch strip by folding over the long edges and hot-gluing them in place, as shown. 
Glue the bodice in place around the top of the skirt. 
To
create the doll’s arms, first cut a 1¼-inch length from each end of a
wooden craft stick to use as hands. Hot glue the hands to the pipe
cleaner ends. 
Fold over and hot glue the short ends of the remaining fabric piece to create ½ inch sleeve hems. 
Then glue the pipe cleaner to the center of the fabric, as shown. 
Fold the long fabric edges over the pipe cleaner and hot glue them down. 
Glue
the center of the arms piece to the back of the dress bodice. Wrap the
arms around to the front of the doll, bending them at the shoulders and
elbows. 
Print the 
For
Merida’s long, curly red hair, cut seven 13-inch lengths of bulky yarn.
Gather six of the strands in a bunch and use the seventh to tie them
together at the center. Unravel the individual strands. 
Hot
glue the bound portion of the yarn wig to the end of the spoon handle
above the head. Then glue a few yarn strands to the back of the wooden
head. (Tip: To stand the doll upright, simply set it over an inverted
paper cup or a rolled-up piece of thin cardboard or cardstock.) 
Soak
the dried corn husks (approximately 20 per doll) in warm water for
about 10 minutes to soften them, then blot them dry. Next, gather twenty
10-inch lengths of twine and tie an overhand knot at one end.
Trim
the husks so that they are each about 8 inches long. Then sandwich the
knotted twine between 4 or so husks and tightly tie another piece of
twine around the bundle just above the overhand knot.
Make
the doll's arms by rolling up a pipe cleaner in a husk (this will make
the arms posable). Roll up 2 more husks (without pipe cleaners). Then
braid the three together and tie the ends with twine.
Take
the bundle from Step 2 and peel down the husks (as you would a banana)
to create a head and expose the hair. Tightly tie the bundle where the
neck should be, then insert the arms.
Braid
together 3 rolled husks (without a pipe cleaner) for each leg. Then use
2 of the inner husk ends to tie the tops of the legs to the dolls. Trim
the remaining husk ends an inch below where the legs are attached.
Snugly wrap a single husk around the doll's hips, tying the ends together to secure it. Trim the knot tails.
Now
it's time to dress the doll. If making a girl, go right to Step 8. For a
boy, create leggings by wrapping a single husk around each leg and
tightly tying twine around the very top. Then fringe the leggings by
making a series of short snips along the outer sides.
For
a skirt, sandwich the doll's body from the hips up with a few husks and
secure them to the waist with twine. Then peel down the husks. For a
girl doll, leave the skirt long; for a boy, trim 1 1/2 inches from the
waist. Finally, drape husks over the shoulders. Crisscross the ends in
front and in back of the doll and sash them around the waist with twine.
Rip
the fabric to the size you want (our piece is 9 by 32 inches). Tearing
the fabric leaves a natural-looking edge that won't fray. Lay the fabric
on a surface covered with plastic wrap or waxed paper. Draw your design
on the fabric with glue. For our autumnal design, we traced the
outlines of maple leaves, then added lines inside the shapes for veins.
Let the glue dry undisturbed for about 24 hours.
Use
a wide brush and water to wet the entire piece of fabric. Add small
puddles of acrylic paint to a plate or tray and mix each one with a bit
of water to thin it. Beginning with the leaves, brush the diluted paints
onto the fabric, allowing the colors to flow together as in a
watercolor painting.
Paint the background using the same technique. Let the fabric dry, about 2 hours.
Soak
the fabric for 20 to 30 minutes in a tub, bowl, or sink filled with
warm water. Gently rub away the glue, then rinse the fabric thoroughly
and allow it to dry. Iron it flat, if desired.
Lay
the fabric facedown and place the stick across the top edge. Fold the
fabric over the stick and glue down the edge to form a sleeve. Tie
braided yarn to the ends of the stick for hanging.
Have your child pierce the paper with the pushpin, creating a pattern of straight lines or swirls.