Download and print the above image of Little Miss Muffet on heavy stock paper, bright white is best. Lepage on wood1/4 inch or even 3/8 inch thick, if you prefer, and jig-saw on black lines. You can also make your own puzzles by tearing pictures from advertisements or magazine covers, drawing in the black lines and sawing out. Try it with a map of the United States cutting out on state boundary lines.
"Little Miss Muffet" is a nursery rhyme, one of the most commonly printed in the mid-twentieth century. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 20605. Read more...
Outside design for book ends. Child on her way to school carries both her books and a fistful of flowers for her teacher. She is wearing a hooded red cape and Mary Jane shoes, popular dress items of the late 1920s and early 1930s, for young children. There is an idealistic landscape behind her: home with a pitched roof, trees, birds, clouds etc...
Made entirely from 3/8 inch plywood. Trace the outside lines of these shapes over carbon paper on wood or paste page on wood and jig-saw out. Dado a groove 3/8 inch wide and 1/4 inch deep in end of base and nail and glue upright to it. Shave base off at one end with planer or sander.
"The Cherry-Tree Carol" is a ballad with the rare distinction of being both a Christmas carol and one of the Child Ballads (no. 54). The song itself is very old, reportedly sung in some form at the Feast of Corpus Christi in the early 15th century. The versions eventually collected by Francis James Child are thought to be a combination of up to three separate carols that merged through the centuries.
The ballad, "The Cherry Tree Carol," relates an apocryphal story of the
Virgin Mary, presumably while traveling to Bethlehem with Joseph
for the census. In the most popular version, the two stop in a cherry
orchard, and Mary asks her husband to pick cherries for her, citing her
child. Joseph spitefully tells Mary to let the child's father pick her
cherries.
At this point in most versions, the infant Jesus,
from the womb, speaks to the tree and commands it to lower a branch
down to Mary, which it does. Joseph, witnessing this miracle,
immediately repents his harsh words. The more contemporary versions
sometimes end here, while others often include an angel
appearing to Joseph and telling him of the circumstances of Jesus's
birth. Other versions then jump ahead several years, where the next
verse picks up with Jesus on his mother's lap, telling her of his
eventual death and resurrection. Read more...
In Defense of Joseph . . . Angels did appear to Joseph to explain to him what was
transpiring in his life and he shared this with Mary and others. So in
his defense I have referenced the scripture. However, the carol is still
quite lovely, however inaccurate it may be. (smile) The implications here are that Joseph actually had frequent directions from angels.
"But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him
in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary
home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy
Spirit." Matthew 1:20
"When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.
"Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt.
Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child
to kill him." Matthew 2:13
And also the name of Joseph carries big news in scripture; any man selected by God and given the name is in for an unusual life story according to the Bible. The name literally means "to add to or give increase."
"Judy Collins sings this traditional nativity ballad, thought to date back
to the 15th century. The story tells of the fetus Jesus performing a
miracle by lowering the bow of a cherry tree so that Mary can reach and
pick the fruit. This clip comes from a 1996 performance at the Biltmore
Estate in North Carolina, available on the 1997 DVD release titled
"Judy Collins - Christmas at the Biltmore Estate." Look for more clips
from the concert here on YouTube's Judy Collins Channel."
This parrot makes a very colorful ornament. Trace or transfer design on thin wood with carbon paper and jig-saw out, cutting notch in bottom to fit trapeze, ring or pedestal mounting.
Click directly on the images to download
the largest available size.
Lepage design on thin wood, saw out outline, paint
edge bright color, glue to a white or colored back panel.
All of these silhouettes can also be lepaged
as plaques to children's furniture, etc...
Trace outline on wood and saw out coloring to suit taste.
Screw in metal eye and suspend with cord for child's tooth brush holder.
These designs can also be used for door-stops and
book-ends by tracing outline and coloring in.
A very cool project for woodworking. Use the silhouettes
above to make one or more shadow casting lamps
for Christmas. Love it, folks; give it a try!
Have a question about the illustration?
Just type it in the comment box and I'll get back to you as soon as
possible. I only publish content that is closely related to the subject,
folks.
Click to download the largest available size. This Dutch cousin holds a bouquet of flowers and her white apron is trimmed
with a ribbon of polka-dots.
Either trace the outside lines on transparent paper and transfer to wood, jig-saw out and color yourself, or print and cut figures out, lepage or paste them on wood and saw out. Use plywood, Presdwood or other thin wood 1/4 inch to 3/8 thick. Dado one end of base to hold cut-out and put gradual bevel on other end with belt or drum sander. Lepage upright to base.
Illustration of "Mad-Cat" bench along with diagram on a grid.
A novel settee like this is something every youngster will prize, and it is very easily made. The drawing above shows one end piece drawn to scale. This you can enlarge to any size you wish by simply ruling off a piece of paper in squares to sizes proportionately larger than those shown and drawing in the lines. The design should then be traced onto a piece of 5/8 inch or 3/4 inch close-grained wood with the grain running vertically, and cut out with the jig-saw. The dotted lines on the drawing are not for cutting. They indicate the positions for back and seat.
The back should be the same thickness as the ends but can be of open-grained, cheaper wood, about 14 inches wide and 24 inches long depending on the overall length desired. The seat measures 9 inches wide with length same as back, of 7/8 inch or 1 inch stock. After these are sawed to size the back and seat are nailed together and secured in place on the ends with the cat's tail acting as the back brace. The feet being cut cross-grain should be reinforced with small cleats on the inside. The strip across the bottom is essential as it provides additional strength. All nails or screws should be countersunk and filled with putty or other filler before painting.
Any combination of colors can be used in lacquering or enameling the bench to harmonize with surroundings. The seat can easily be padded with cotton or curled hair and covered with bright colored cretonne. Cat's whiskers are painted on in white as finishing touch.
If you have never sculpted a tiny cotton batting ornament before, this project is perfect for beginners. I included a project similar to this one last year, an ear of corn, but this one is even easier!
Left, the unpainted pea pod ornament. Right,
The finished version of this vegetable made
from cotton batting.
Supply List:
cotton balls
white school glue
tacky white glue
newsprint
masking tape
wire for hanging
green and white acrylic paints
tiny paint brush
Step-by-Step Instructions:
Crush the newsprint into a small narrow pea pod shape, approximately two inches long.
Wrap this newsprint form in masking tape.
Insert a wire for hanging at the wider end of your pod. Tape and glue in this wire firmly.
Unravel a couple of cotton balls and take a very tiny piece between
your finger tips with a small bit of glue and roll this wad into a tiny
ball. (unravel pictured below)
Repeat this process until you have made four or five pea sized balls.
Use the tacky white glue to begin sticking one, two, three peas
side by side from the top to the bottom of your pea pod shape. Press
these peas together as you go. Take your time and let these dry as
you go. It helps to work near a warm light or heater.
Now wrap a layer of cotton batting around the sides and back of your pea pod. Layer glue on top of this addition before painting it. The front of your peas should not have any additional batting wrap on them. (see picture of unfinished peas in pod above.)
Let your finished pea pod dry overnight.
Paint the pea pod using multiple shades of greens. Use a very tiny brush to get down inside the cracks with
paint.
Let the cotton batting ornament dry and then seal it with a acrylic
gel (Matt finish) to keep your ornament looking clean over time.
Store your cotton batting ornaments between white tissues inside a
tin box with a tight sealing lid. These boxes are the types used to
store butter cookies and sometimes candies.
Unravel ordinary cotton balls to craft this pea pod ornament.
This classical music CD is one of my favorites to play during the Christmas holidays. I know that the choir also has a newer versions that I have yet to hear so I've posted a link to their website below for you to visit and check them out.
The college maintains five choirs, three bands, two orchestras, three
jazz ensembles, two percussion ensembles, and two hand bell choirs.
Historically, music education began with the college's 1891 formation,
when piano and organ lessons were taught by one instructor. The college has since expanded to hold a music department of 45 faculty, which offers five Bachelor of Music degrees and two Bachelor of Arts degrees.
The college has put on an annual Christmas concert since 1927, which remains a tradition of the local community. From its inception, it has featured the music department's choirs and orchestra. In 1940, Christianson began working with painter Cyrus M. Running to incorporate murals with the concert to reflect the music's themes. Running completed the designs until 1978, when their development was taken over by David J. Hetland, whose murals have traditionally extended 56-by-20 feet. After Hetland's 2006 death, mural designs were taken over by artist Paul Johnson. The concert is currently performed four times annually on Concordia's campus and twice annually at Orchestra Hall. Over 450 students perform for an audience of twenty thousand, and the concert is broadcast on radio and television. The 2009 concert, Journey to Bethlehem, was recorded by Twin Cities Public Television and won a regional Emmy. It was broadcast nationally by members of the Public Broadcasting Service.
Left, In 2015, my husband has set up the white pine near to the front window of our cozy little family room. I am relieved to report that these pictures were taken last week and the tree is still very fresh. Give your real trees plenty of cool water to drink while they are exhibited during the holidays. Right, the lights are strung and I have yet to cover the rug and plastic at the bottom.
This year my adult children requested that the tree be decorated in traditional silver; it is not my husband's preference but we will make the exception this time. For a few years I have accumulated silver tinsel garlands, picks, baubles and snowflakes on after Christmas sales for mere pennies. This is the only time to shop for such frivolities if you can bring yourself to do it. Most folks are "burned out" by this time; they are tired of the shopping and crowds. However, if your funds are limited such as mine, this is the most practical time to purchase items for your future Christmas trees.
Here is a photo of the tree top to bottom. This white pine is very delicate and only light weight trimmings may be used to hang from it's branches. My youngest loves the shimmery glow of lights reflecting off of silver on old-fashioned trees like these. This year she chose the theme and colors of our family tree. I rarely have decorated trees using this theme because my husband does not like them so very much. However, he did find this one nostalgic and pleasing. Our oldest family member who is 91 was delighted to see it. Grandpa Al said that it looks just like a Christmas tree from his childhood approx. 1910. The silver tinsel, cotton batting and Victorian scrap all were typical of that time period. Below I have included links to some of the ornaments included on my little Christmas blog. You can make your own versions for the tree this year or next.
Originally I intended to turn these little wire frame baskets into paper mache´ornaments. But because I decided to decorate my living Christmas tree with cotton batting ornaments this year, I chose to wrap them with cotton.
Our family tree this year is a white pine and as some of you may know, these branches can hold little weight and the foliage is generally quite sparse. The white pine needles are long, fine and soft. For all of these reasons, many people avoid cutting white pines and opt for a sturdy blue spruce instead.
The positive aspect of selecting a white pine is, however, what is looks like when properly trimmed. These trees are often used to display very light weight, antique glass ornaments because it is much easier to view large collections through fewer branches from every angle and although I do not have an expensive glass collection, I do have many cotton batting reproductions that I like to show off with similar flair.
These wire shaped baskets were made with chenille stems intertwined together across the backside of a small bowl. The examples are not yet wrapped with cotton batting because I thought that I would craft them into paper mache´ baskets. If you wish to make your own using cotton, I recommend that you wrap them first with batting before shaping the basket on the backside of a small bowl.
Supply List:
ornamental picks with berries and strong wire stems
cotton balls
white glue
masking tape
chenille stems
quail eggs (hollow)
a small bowl to use as a form
Step-by-Step Instructions:
Twist masking tape around the chenille stems until the furry parts have all been covered and as you twist the tape, pull it slightly to help stiffen the wires a bit.
At this point I recommend that you coat the masked wire with white glue and begin to wrap the wires with white cotton. This is a vert messy prospect but you will get the hang of it in time.
You can also try rolling the wire between the palms of your hands in order to twist the cotton in a more uniform coating about the wire. It doesn't matter if your surfaces are imperfect at this point.
Take the longest cotton wrapped stem and twist it around the outer rim of a very small bowl. Tape the edges together. You should let these overlap a bit. When you are finished with this step, you should have a wire circle the same circumference as the lip of your bowl.
Leave this around the outer lip of the bowl. Now you will need to begin to weave additional wires around this wire "hoop" and across the back of the bowl. Cross these wires back and forth and tape them together with strips of masking tape wherever they come in contact with each other. See photo above. When you are finished, you should have some lovely, abstract wire baskets to fill.
I decided to twist some decorative, artificial raspberries, leaves and stems around my baskets and to also give each one a handle as well. I took apart a few inexpensive picks to accomplish this.
When the baskets looked the way I wanted them to, I then lined each one with some soft fluffy cotton padding and a bit of glue. At this point you could line your wire baskets with tinsel instead to craft an alternative look.
I stuffed the inside of my cotton batting baskets with hollowed out quail's eggs. These baskets are so light weight that they can be hung from the branches of a white pine quite successfully!
Far left, the wire frames taken off the bowls are neatly shaped and ready to paint, mache´ or wrap with cotton balls. (unraveled cotton balls) Center, close up, side view of one basket. Right, I filled my small, light weight baskets with hollow quail's eggs and more soft cotton before hanging it on my Christmas tree.
When I was a young girl, I often visited my grandmother who lived next door to a very unusual house. The home owner loved to decorate his front lawn with crushed bits of glass, shell, and porcelain pressed into cement forms. That's right, he had no grass.
Being a very young person, I thought this was quite the fantastic display. However, I am certain that his neighbors did not appreciate his taste so much. His creation was dismantled after the house exchanged hands but I still remember it fondly and I thought of him while crafting these ornaments for my white Christmas tree.
These paper baubles are fashioned from egg cartons.
Supply List:
paper egg carton
shell pieces for mosaic crafts
tiny shells
porcelain figures of sea creatures
tacky white glue
white school glue
wire for hanging
aqua blue glitter (fine)
masking tape
Step-by-Step Instructions:
Cut apart the small units of your paper egg carton and glue/tape these together in order to shape your paper bauble forms. I crushed newsprint into small "spikes" and taped these shapes to my egg carton pieces in order to replicate vintage bauble forms from the late 1800s.
This process takes time, but once you get the hang of it, you'll be crushing and taping enough ornament shapes to open your own factory! Don't forget to crush and tape around wooden toothpicks in order to craft features that would ordinarily bend or bust off over time if not reinforced by stiff materials inside your bauble.
Tape in a wire hook for hanging and reinforce it with a bit of glue as well.
Now you are ready to glue shells and shell mosaic pieces onto the bauble surface. Use a very tacky white glue for this procedure. If your ornaments are three dimensional like mine, this will take much time and patience because it takes time for the glue to dry properly. I know that many of you are thinking, "wouldn't hot glue be a better alternative?" Well, it wouldn't for many reasons. The most obvious reason being that you would definitely get burned many more times than you expect. Secondly, it is my opinion that hot glued work looks sloppy and it is not really permanent. I could continue to rant but that is enough for now.
Next, I pooled white glue inside the crevices of my shapes and sprinkled aqua colored glitter. This may take a couple of days to dry. Don't bother trying to smooth out this surface. In nature, it would not likely be so smooth. My intent here was to suggest a shallow pool or puddle of water where one might see a small sea creature, such as a tide pool.
I then purchased a couple of miniature sea creatures from a local hobby shop to swim about these mosaic shell baubles. I chose a tiny fish and an octopus that have the same shiny surface as the shell pieces.
I glued the shell mosaic pieces directly onto the masked surfaces with tacky glue.
Details of the finished mosaic baubles. The tiny octopus and clown fish are made from porcelain.
Now many folks debate over politics, religion, sporting events, evening meals etc.... But in my home the debates surround the Christmas decor.
I had it in my mind to decorate a white Christmas tree and put the progress online. So now I am off to wander a bit today to see what I can find. My younger daughter has told me that she does not want me to decorate this tree in red, white and blue. She told me this because she knows that I would try to do that very thing, given the fact that my two favorite colors are red and blue.
Wish me luck, I'm thinking perhaps a pale aqua and copper color scheme instead? I'll be back to show you my progress . . .
Here are some of the items that I purchased. Pale blue snowflakes,
white snowflakes, two different copper colored glitters, copper foil spray
paint and aqua blue and copper colored sea glass (acrylic).
As I consider designing the ornaments for my tree, there are several practices that I usually conform to. The selection of a color scheme is the most obvious of these practices. Keep in mind that color schemes should be obvious from an easy distance. Although, it is not important that every ornament shares the exact same color. In fact, it is better for there to be slight variations in a color palette in order to lend a greater sophistication to a Christmas trees' appearance overall. For my white tree this year, I will be sticking with two color selections: copper and teal. I will also be over emphasizing the white of the tree as well.
A large group of similar ornaments should also be evenly distributed throughout the tree from top to bottom.As you can see in the photo above, I have acquired these ornaments already: snowflakes in white and pale blue.Snowflakes are a motif that I prefer to ordinary glass baubles because of the textures and visual complications these add to my trees. These are also affordably priced in the states and seldom break. I will also accumulate and alter a generous selection of pine cones to wire to my white tree from my neighborhood. Not only are these inexpensive to decorate with but large numbers of similar ornaments, like pine cones, will give my tree a formal regulated appearance.
The lighting of my tree needs to be consistent as well. For this tree I will most likely select white lights. But what is more important to me, is that the length of wiring attaching the lights should be white.In order for the wiring on any tree to be less evident, it must be the same color as the tree itself.
Left. Baubles that I purchased on clearance after Christmas. The red versions will be put on the green tree only I think. Center. A few more art supplies for this year's white tree. Right. The tree topper that I began to work on last year. It is partly finished but I will show how to paint it on a future post. I will look really nice on the white Christmas tree I think.
Selecting metallic baubles for each of my Christmas trees is also a matter of routine. I usually hang these close the the interior of my trees, just behind the electric lights. These metallic finishes will help reflect the artificial lights and lend more sparkle to my tree overall. Because my color palette is copper and teal for the white tree this year, I will use metallic glass baubles already in my collection with similar color variations.
The crowning glory of the tree should be consistent with the overall appearance of the tree but for many folks, a tree topper is a neglected item. Perhaps this is because tree toppers generally cost more and there are fewer choices to be had in the Christmas market places of America. Most Americans will top off their tree with an angel, star, or Santa. I will be making my own tree topper in order to save money and I already know in advance that this particular topper will be a star of some sort.
When designing my tree ornaments, I try to remember my husband's eccentricities. He is not fond of tinsel. I, however, am of the mind that every Christmas tree should have some sparkle! For this reason, I have had to come up with more complicated designs in order to achieve an overall "glittery" affect without using obvious ropes or prefabricated icicles on our family trees.Sometimes I feel like the cook in that child's classic book, "Stone Soup." After every member of my family takes what they don't like off of my Christmas trees, there is very little left! One daughter doesn't like this color, the other doesn't like too many ornaments and the husband wants only trees to look like his mother's versions, wow. And you thought picking out the perfect tree was a contentious process among your family members? That event is only the beginning of negotiations at our home.
The debate over real or artificial continues. Which is best?
Go with both! I get one real one for the sake of tradition
and then put up several artificial ones. These I have
kept for many, many years.
The ornaments that I am in the process of crafting for this tree:
Here is a fanciful collection of antique-looking pet patterns for those of you who love to embroider old-fashioned redwork. You can enlarge the pictures, if you need to, by printing them out and rescanning them in your photo copier.
dog and cat seated, side by side
kitten and puppy in a basket together
cat fishing for trouble
Mandy Shaw loves her redwork and inspired by this antique quilt she
shares with us how
to design your own and then transfer the designs
ready for stitching; this is just a taster
video; the watch the full
film you should go to www.justhands-on.tv
More free redwork patterns from my Prickly Pins Blog:
The Mexican couple shown right, and the "jumbo" cactus just below, provide novel containers for salt, pepper and sugar. The cactus is turned by following the method described for the powder box. It should be finished smoothly on the inside. The handles are notched around the edge and hollowed out in the center to resemble flower blossoms. The one at the top can be turned with the lid and later carved, while those glued to the sides are turned separately. Holes bored lengthwise through the salt and pepper shakers are tapered at the bottom to fit the corks, after which a number of small holes are drilled through the top to meet the center opening.
Use three shades of green paint for this cactus sugar bowl: dark green, a lighter shade of green and then a very
pale green for the star shaped, prickly needles.
This holder will provide a novel decoration to dad's smoking set. The figure is scroll sawed from 1/4-in. plywood and the base is of 21/2 inch solid stock. Tenons extending down from the feet fit snugly in holes in the base to support the figure, which is sanded and painted in appropriate colors. Note that a small oval depression is made near the end of the base to take the pipe bowl so that it will not tip.
Charring Enlarges Pipe Stem
A rubber pipe stem that does not fit tightly can often be made to fit by charring it with a match to increase the diameter of the portion that fits into the bowl. Hold the stem in the match flame until small bubbles appear in the rubber, then stick it into water to harden.
Crossword-Puzzle Fan Pulls Lettered Strips to Find Words
Here's a clever gadget that will help anyone in solving crossword puzzles as it is based on the fact that it is easier for most people to see combinations of letters than it is to imagine them. Twenty-six strips of tough paper, each lettered from A to Z, are slipped next to each other in a holder which has a slotted face through which any selected arrangement of letters can be seen. The width of the strips should be such that they can be slid back and forth individually in the holder.
Starting at the top, with brown yarn make a chain of 71 stitches.
Row 1 - Work 1 Sg. C. in first stitch, * 1 D. C. in next stitch, 1 Sg. C. in next stitch, repeat from * to end of row, chain 1, turn.
Row 2 - * 1 Sg. C. on top of D. C. of preceding row and 1 D. C. on top of Sg. C. of preceding row, taking up the whole stitch, repeat from * to end of row, chain 1, turn.
Repeat row 2 until you have 6 rows brown.
Row 7 - With green yarn work 1 Sg. C. in each stitch, taking up the whole stitch, chain 1, turn.
Row 8 - With green yarn work 1 Sg. C. in each stitch, taking up the back loop to form a rib. Repeat these 8 rows until you have 6 brown stripes and 5 green stripes. * With green yarn take up 35 stitches, repeat pattern, decreasing 1 stitch at each end every 4th row until there are 6 brown stripes and 6 green stripes, there should be 9 stitches left, finish end with a loop of 8 chain, work 10 Sg. C. on loop, now repeat from * on the other side of hood, sew hood together at the top and with brown yarn work a row of Sg. C. all around, with green yarn finish with picot edge.
Form 2 pleats at the top where hood is sewed and finish with button, the ends of the cap are crossed at the back and held with the loops over the button.
Your small child will take pride in possessing this gaily colored chair, and anyone can make it with a scroll saw and a screwdriver. All parts are cut from 1/2 -in. plywood and assembled with flat-head screws. These should be countersunk carefully and puttied over. The chair looks nice with the elephants finished in light gray and the blankets painted on with a darker gray and bordered with brilliant orange.
Using enlargements of favorite photos, you can make these tie racks for yourself, and they will be appreciated as gifts by your friends. A photo of the head and shoulders is glued to 1/4-in. plywood and then cut out with a jig saw. When finished, the photo should be about 7 in. high. If desired, silhouettes can be substituted for photos. In this case, the outline of a photo is traced directly on the wood, which is then sawed to shape and painted black. The rack for the ties is a block of 3/4-inch hardwood cut as shown and screwed to the plywood back near the lower edge. L-hooks to hold the ties are then driven into the edge of the hardwood piece.
Process of putting the pieces together shown in
the above illustration.
"LIGHT UP" with this novel sailboat lamp means "Port your helm," with the rudder arm and rudder, which controls the toggle switch to turn the light on and off. The light itself is enclosed within a parchment shade, which is shaped around wire frames at top and bottom to resemble a ship's sail. Most of the construction concerns the hull of the boat. As shown in Left, the bottom part of the boat is a separate piece, while the upper part and the cabin are cut from a single thickness of 2-in. stock. By band sawing the deck line carefully, the cabin will fit into place perfectly. Shaping of the hull sides is accomplished by simply tilting the band-saw table to an angle of 83 degrees. A few strokes with a plane will round off the forward sections. After shaping the outside of the hull, the pieces can be taken apart and the necessary cutouts made for the cockpit switch and wires, as shown. It is advisable to make a full-size plan of second picture below, erecting the station lines on 2-in. centers, before commencing the actual construction.
The sail is made from parchment paper, which may be purchased flat or cut from a discarded shade. It is laced around wire loops at the top and the bottom, and then can be laced to the 1/2-in. dowel which serves as a mast. The jib sail is merely a
triangular piece of parchment, cut to the size shown, and suspended on a string running from the mast to the bow of the boat. The boom and the gaff are made easily, and add to the sailboat motif while helping to hold the shade securely in place.
The last illustration shows the switch detail. This is made by
slotting the arm of a small toggle switch so that the brass rudder can
be soldered in place. The rudder arm, which is made of 1/8-inch brass,
is soldered to the rudder, the whole unit serving as the light switch.
The light socket is carried on a 1/8 inch by 3-inch pipe nipple, which
is held to the base of the hull by means of two locknuts. The pipe is
cut near the lower end to allow the wires to be connected with the
switch.
Plywood template, draw to scale before starting your projects.
Additional finishing touches can be added if desired, such as port holes, a small anchor, mooring line, etc. As shown in the heading photo, the hull is done in white pine with a colorful lacquer finish. A varnish finish on hardwood would make up nicely also. The lead in the lower part of the hull makes the lamp "stay put," but could be omitted if desired. The bottom should be covered with felt to prevent the wood from marring polished surfaces.
