Boys' Make-at-Home Things :: THE FARM THE SCISSORS BUILT

THE FARM THE SCISSORS BUILT

IT will be almost as fine as a real farm when it is finished and ever so much easier to make, because one will not need any boards, or tools, or huge nails to use in putting it together.

What do you suppose the barn is made of? Why, just a big piece of heavy wrapping paper that some one has brought to the house, and then has dropped on the hall table to be thrown away because it does not seem to be of any use now its wrapping days are over.

Folding for Barn.

First, one should cut the heavy wrapping paper into a large square. Then fold the square into sixteen small squares like the folding indicated in the diagram. Some of the lines in the diagram are dotted. Those show how the square is folded to make the little squares. Some of the lines are solid, heavy lines. Those are the lines to be cut. Make these cuts very carefully with scissors. There will be three cuts, each one square long and one square apart on two opposite sides of the paper. The two middle squares which are marked “a” in the diagram should be superimposed. That is a very, very long word, is it not? It means something very simple, though. These two squares are laid, one on top of the other, and are glued into place. Next, the squares marked “b” are brought together and their edges are glued. Then—one end of the wrapping paper barn is finished. Glue the squares at the other end of the barn in the same way, and cut a wide barn door. The door is made by cutting on a vertical crease on one side of the house, making two other cuts at right angles with the first one, and folding back the two sides of the door at the opening. If you want a window where you can toss hay up into the barn loft, it may be cut just above the door. A boy who has seen the inside of a real barn will be able to cut some strips of the heavy paper, and paste them together, fastening them to the back wall of the barn to show where the cow and the horse stalls are.

Some more strips of paper may be pasted together to form a barnyard fence. The barn may stand on the nursery table with the fence all around it, or an old suit box of mother’s will make a very fine barnyard indeed. The sides of the box should be ruled with a pencil to look like the bars in a real barnyard fence. Then you can cut the bars with a jack-knife, or some sharp pointed scissors. When you have finished the suit-box barnyard, the barn may stand in one corner of it.

Now you are ready to cut some animals to live in the barn.

The pictures in your animal picture books will make splendid patterns for the barnyard animals. Trace the animals with some tissue paper and then transfer these patterns to some stiff paper. When you have cut carefully on the traced outline, you may paste the animal’s feet to cardboard standards to make them stand up. There may be cows, and horses, and a donkey, and a whole flock of barnyard fowls. Then you may color the barn creatures with your water color paints or with colored pencils.

Finished Barn.

You can make a fine, large farm wagon, also, to stand beside the barn. To make the wagon, you should fold a small square of paper as you folded the large one for the barn. Instead of using the whole square, though, as you did for the barn, you must cut off a strip of four squares. Then make the short cuts as you did for the barn in the ends of the oblong piece of paper. Lay the three square laps which you have made by the cutting together, and paste them—one on top of the other. Cut out some wheels and fasten them to the cart. Glue on some cardboard or sticks for shafts, and the farm wagon is done.

CART, BARN AND BARROW, MADE OF CARDBOARD BOXESIf you want a wheelbarrow in the barnyard, you may cut one of mother’s old spool boxes in half. The edges where you made the cut should be curved. A wheel made of an empty spool, or a cardboard disk may be fastened to one end with a pin, and some cardboard legs may be glued to the wheelbarrow.

When the paper farm is complete, you must harness the donkey to the wagon, and set him to work. Cut out some of the gay pictures of fruit and vegetables that fill the seed catalogues, and load the wagon.

Fill the wheelbarrow, too. Cut out some paper overall boys to visit the farm and spend the summer. There is no end to the plays that the paper farm will suggest to you.

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