I am really excited about today’s project because I’ve been wanting to do it for so long. It just took me a while to figure out exactly how to get the shape the way I wanted it and have it not be too hard for you to replicate. There are a couple of things I’ve learned about snow shovels in the last few years. First off thy are almost comically large. And second they come in a wide range of colors so this should be a fun project to make.
This is another project that I have made a free pattern for you to use to make yours. You can find the pattern here.
In addition to the pieces of white card-stock cut from the pattern you will need some 20 gauge wire and a cocktail straw. Also some construction adhesive will be useful, more about that when we use it.
Glue the sets of the pieces together as shown in the video. You should end up with these pieces to work with. At this point it is a good idea to mark the centers on the pieces shown in the picture. This will make assembly a bit easier.
Now we can glue the shaped overlay (the funny shaped piece) onto the shovel back. Be sure to line up the bottom edge and center it as best as you can. This is a good time to give the back of the shovel a cure at the top using a pencil. Glue the strip reinforcement piece onto the top edge of the shovel at the same time. Allow the glue to dry.
This is a good time to start gluing the sides to the shovel. Be sure to glue the sides with the flatter side toward the back of the shovel.
Now
we can glue one of the smaller rectangles over the inside of the
shovel. First lay it in place and using something like a dotting tool
push the card-stock in around the shape of the back of the shovel.
You want to be able to see the ridges we have glued onto the shovel.
Now glue the piece in place using the same tool to really work it
into the those shapes.
Now we can work on the handle. First cut the cocktail straw to about 3” long. Next start forming the handle shape in the wire add the paper tube we made earlier and form the other side of the handle. Twist the wire ends together and cut to fit the straw.
Now smear something like
the construction adhesive I used over the twisted wire and slide it
into the straw. You need something that will hold the wire stable in
the plastic straw. Set aside to dry.
Painting time. I like to make the handle just a plain black that seems to be the color most of the real shovels have. But the shovel itself can pretty much be any color you want. I have seen a rainbow of colors of shovels around here. Of course they do come in just plain old boring black but why not make yours a fun color you love or that at least coordinates with your dollhouse. I decided to use a nice bright blue for mine. Be sure to paint at least the top half of the remaining small rectangle with the same color as the shovel you will need it soon and it will be a lot easier if you have that top edge painted.
Once the paint dries we can glue the handle to the back of the shovel back centered side to side and fairly close to the bottom. I used super glue to make it a little faster.
Once the handle is set use tacky glue to add that last piece to cover the back of the shovel. Let the glue dry and finish painting it.
Once the paint is dry give the entire shovel a coat of Satin Mod Podge and allow to dry before displaying near the door of you dollhouse.
A big thank you to Plaid for providing the paints, brushes and the Mod Podge used in this and many other tutorials.
As always I do want to sincerely thank all of you for watching my videos and reading my blog posts. It means so much to me that you are supporting me in this way. If I could ask you all to do just a bit more by subscribing to the channel and liking the videos and leaving comments. Those help more than you can imagine. Also if you could pass the links on to your friends I would appreciate it so much.
Great tutorial! thank you
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