Enchanted Birdhouse – Inspired by the Enchanted Tiki Room | Level 3

July 24, 2020July 29, 2020 / Alex Nadell / Leave a comment

Aloha! Welcome! Today we are creating a tropical birdhouse for our macaw hosts Jose, Michael, Pierre, and Fritz. We’ll be singing like the birdies so grab your pineapple whip and let’s get started! Here’s what you’ll need:

Supplies List:	Tools List:
Gazebo Birdhouse	Hot Glue + Glue Gun
Twine	Tacky Glue
Wooden Matchsticks	Scissors
Assorted Round Wood Shapes	Acrylic Paint Brushes
Acrylic Paint	Macaw Printout (below)
	Colored Pencil Set

Instructions

Feather Roof

We’re going to start with decorating the roof with these tear-drop shaped wooden pieces. The pattern goes like this:

Layer 1: 5 small

Layer 2: 3 small

Layer 3: 3 medium

Layer 4: 3 medium

Layer 5: 3 large

If you want, paint the wood before gluing the feathers. I would if I did this again, but that’s what I get for making decisions on the spot.

Spread out your pieces in order of your layers and start painting!

I tried to match the colors to the hosts of the Enchanted Tiki Room so the colors would be more cohesive in the end. I also made sure to have 2 green, 2 yellow, and 2 blue layer 1s.

Start hot glueing layer 1 to the bottom of the roof, letting a little overhang,

Follow that with layer 2 in the center of the 5 layer 1 feathers.

Layer 3 on top of that with the center feather angled towards one side so it covers a gap.

Layer 4 is the same with the center feather angled the other way covering the other gap. This will make you lower that center feather. It’s all good, though.

Top it all off with layer 5. The center feather goes down first. Nestle it under the topper and glue the other two pieces on top. Don’t let the feathers go too much over the edges or else the other sides won’t fit.

Repeat the process for the other roof sides.

Ta-da!

A Couple Details

Grab some Tacky Glue and your Wooden Matchsticks. We’re making a little deck for our birdhouse. This part is optional if you don’t want to spend more time than necessary.

Layer your matchsticks so that two sides meet at one corner of your birdhouse forming an arrow. It will leave 3 alternating corners open–which we’ll fill later.

Finish your topper by glueing around some twine. You can use tacky glue or hot glue.

Rooftop Pizzazz

Mix together some brown paint and finish your roof. I wish I had done this before glueing the feathers down.

We’re also painting about a half inch onto the birdhouse sides.

As you let your roof dry, cut pieces of twine. Each corner will get a center string and two strings folded in half.

Glue your twin to the corners with a single cut string in the center and a folded string on each side.

Cut off the excess.

Take your twine and line the outside edge of the roof.

Then, wrap and glue twine around the top of the sides of the birdhouse. 3 times should do.

The Birds Sing Words

I outlined some existing art of the macaws and have a printout for you to download if you wish. They are each 2″x 3″.

Print out your birds and cut them out.

macaw-profile Download

Trace around the bird in the center of 4 out of 6 sides.

I left the front and back panels blank (for now) and drew on the remaining sides.

Flip over the printouts and use a soft pencil to trace the lines from the other side. You should be able to see them. If not, place it over a window. Really layer on the graphite.

Put the printout back on your panel and trace the lines on the top of the printout so the graphite on the back rubs off onto the side panel. Like a carbon copy.

Repeat for the other three sides.

Paint Time

Mix together some black, blue, and green paint for the background. Do not mix it thoroughly so you’ll be able to get some variation as your paint.

I added some streaks of blue and yellow-green on top of my background to give it more interest.

Paint your macaws with their respective colors! Everyone gets a tan chest, white faces, and dark versions of their head feathers for the dots on their cheeks and the streak on their faces.

Red head, tan cheeks and brow, and yellow under feathers for Fritz.

Green head, white cheeks and brow, and yellow under feathers for Michael.

Blue head, white cheeks and brow, and red under feathers for Pierre.

Red head, yellow cheeks and brow, and green under feathers for Jose.

I finished the back panel with a pineapple whip. Yum!

Use a black colored pencil to flesh out some details once everything is dry.

Paint the deck with brown. Again, use a loose mix of dark and light brown so you get a “wood grain” appearance.

Paint the bottom of the birdhouse the same way. Be sure to paint in the direction of the wood grain. If you can’t, just make sure it’s all in the same direction.

Grab 3 little oval wood pieces and paint those a light brown. Glue them down where there were gaps in the deck once they’re dry.

Horticulture

Take a bunch of large and medium sized oval wood pieces and paint them half light, half dark green.

Once dry, take a dark green colored pencil and draw a line down the middle of each oval. Follow that up with some curving lines to create leaves!

Take a bunch of medium circles and paint them in yellows, pinks, and purples.

Add thin green stripes like spokes on a wheel.

Finish up the medium circles with flowers in the middle.

Paint the large circles a purpley brown.

Top those with different colored flowers like blue, pink, yellow, and purple. The tips of these flowers should be different, even contrasting, colors.

Paint the small circles solid red and yellow.

Adorn your Birdhouse

Arrange and glue down your flowers and leaves onto the birdhouse.

You can start with minimal decoration and then add on if necessary.

It doesn’t matter where the pieces are placed as long as they don’t block the macaws’ faces. I wanted to cover the bottoms of their portraits which also hid some areas I missed while painting.

Clean up all of the hot glue strings when everything is set!

Lastly, paint the little dowel perch on the front of the birdhouse.

You Did It!

Amazing job, friends! I love this birdhouse. It might be my favorite project so far! I’m excited to see if any real birds will like it… if not, I’ll definitely enjoy looking at it in my backyard.

Thanks to everyone who made it all the way down here! Please be sure to follow us on Instagram and Pinterest for more projects like this and photos from the Disneyland Resort. Share with your Disney DIY loving friends and family! We’d really appreciate it!!

@mainstreetdiy

All images on this website were taken by and belong to Main Street D.I.Y. If you wish to share an image, please give credit where credit is due! Send the people our way!

Cafe Orleans Terrarium | Level 1 or Level 3

July 17, 2020July 29, 2020 / Alex Nadell / Leave a comment

Hello, y’all! This terrarium is inspired by favorite restaurant in New Orleans Square: Cafe Orleans! You read that right, not Blue Bayou. Cafe Orleans. They have pomme frites, monte cristos, and they used to have the most delicious sausage gumbo! And if you’re lucky you can watch Fantasmic from the outside dining area after dinner.

Originally, I was planning on putting a lot of plants in this terrarium–you’ll see in the supplies photo– but I ended up using just one faux plant. It made things simpler and I think it really worked out.

This projects is a level 3 because we’re going to be painting, HOWEVER!! You can make it as a level 1 by printing out a photo of New Orleans Square!

Here are the supplies:

Supplies List:	Tools List:
For Level 3:
Watercolor Paper	Watercolor brushes
Watercolor Set	Ruler
	Pencil, Colored Pencils
	Paper Towel
	White Gel Pen
For Both Level 3 and 1:	Scissors
Terrarium
Moss
Small Vase Filler Rocks
Black Vase Filler Stones
Magnolia Flowers
Mini Dining Set

Instructions

Painting the Background!

Grab a piece of Watercolor Paper and lay it underneath your terrarium. Outline it with a pencil. Depending on the shape of your terrarium, you might want to do more than two paintings.

Have some references at the ready! I chose to paint the blue building for the inside of my terrarium and the tan building for the backside.

Start lightly sketching out your building with a pencil. Use a ruler to keep things straight and symmetrical.

The blue building has a circular window at the top, columns on the sides, and symmetrical windows so everything you do on one side, you’ll draw the same of the other.

Because the 1st and 2nd level windows line up, I drew guidelines all the way down the front facade.

The tricky part were the rounded shutters on the 1st level’s windows. The highest point of the curve–which is the outside edge–lined up with the highest point of the rounded window. Drawing a horizontal guideline there will help keep everything even.

The railing is simple enough. The 2nd floor is just vertical spindles, the 1st floor is made of X’s.

A box in the middle is for the name of the restaurant. Little drapes flow on the bottom. Erase where needed.

Start off by brushing your paper with water where you want the paint to flow. Add more paint to the places there are shadows like under the trimming, the inside parts next to the columns, and underneath the 2nd floor windows.

Don’t add too much paint and water at once. Let it dry and you can layer up the color for a deeper appearance. Remember, wherever it is wet, the color will flow.

Use different shades of green to create the potted plants on the balconies.

Go in with relevant colored pencils to amp up the detail and deepen shadows. I also painted some blue in the windows (on dry paper) and went in with a grey colored pencil and drew a line on the left and bottom edges of each little window to create some dimension.

Finally, use a white gel pen to clean up the white parts if necessary.

Go ahead and sketch the other facade using another piece of watercolor paper. This one is also symmetrical! Erase where needed.

The corner pieces of the balcony and the railing are left blank because I’ll be drawing in the detail with a colored pencil after everything is dry.

Paint the same way you did earlier. Watercolor is all about many thin layers so take your time! Use colored pencils after it’s dry to define details.

If you’re not up for the painting, you can always print out a photo of your favorite building in New Orleans Square and use that as your background instead!

Assembly

Cut your watercolor pieces to fit inside the terrarium. You should have one facing outside and one facing inside. I tried gluing my pieces together so they’d lay flush, but it didn’t work that well. The paper was too strong! I’d suggest you try to flatten them out under something heavy before continuing.

Take a handful of Moss and stuff it on the bottom of your terrarium,

Add some smaller Vase Filler rocks and top those with larger black Pebbles.

Cut apart a couple Magnolia flowers from their stem and stick them into the pebbles.

Lastly, pop in your Miniature Table and Chairs.

You can glue the dining pieces to some pebbles if you want more stability. They can end up toppled over otherwise. But, that’s it!!

You Made It!

Amazing job, everyone! I would love to see what kind of terrariums you guys came up with. Each can be so unique especially with the variety of terrariums out there. I really liked this house shape from Michaels. It sparked the idea in the first place! New Orleans Square is my favorite land in Disneyland and I just love the atmosphere and delicious food of Cafe Orleans. I hope you enjoyed this project!

Thank you for making it all the way down here. Please follow us on Instagram and Pinterest for more projects like this and pictures from the parks! Share with your Disney DIY loving friends and family, too. We’d really appreciate it! See you all next time!

@mainstreetdiy

All images on this website were taken by and belong to Main Street D.I.Y. If you wish to share an image, please give credit where credit is due! Send the people our way!

Tropical Hideaway Light | Level 3

June 26, 2020July 29, 2020 / Alex Nadell / Leave a comment

hanging light made of burlap with dangling tassels

Welcome! This week’s project is inspired by the hanging lights found in Adventureland’s Topical Hideaway at the Disneyland Resort! It’s the newest eatery at Adventureland and they sell the best treat on earth: Dole Whip. The ambiance is also very relaxing and the area features some fun hanging lights that I wanted to recreate so I can get that Tropical Hideaway feeling at home! Here’s what you’ll need:

Supplies List:	Tools List:
10 inch Floral Hoop	Wire Cutter
Floral Wire	Scissors
Craft Wire	Hot Glue + Glue Gun
Twine	Ruler
Burlap in brown and other color(s)	Painter’s Tape
Wired Fabric Ribbon
Raffia Ribbon
3 Wooden Dowels
Shell Beads
Wooden Beads (variety)
Fairy Lights

Instructions

The Skeleton

First, take your Floral Wire. Measure and cut four 14 inch lengths.

Prepare your Floral Hoop.

Bend about 1.5″ of each of the lengths of floral wire and wrap around the floral hoop. These will be your base wires.

After bending the wire, I looped it around itself before wrapping the rest around the hoop.

Measure and cut 12 inches of the floral wire.

Shape the wire into a circle that has exactly two loops.

At the top of your base wires, measure 1.5 inches and bend it outward around the double-looped circle.

Wrap the excess and repeat with the other base wires.

At this point, you can mold the base wires into your lamp shape. To support the lamp, we’ll be using Wooden Dowels.

A little above the half-way point in your structure, measure and cut the dowels to size. We’ll be fixing them perpendicularly. The dowels don’t have to touch, but they should be close.

You can cut them however you like. I cut them by rolling the dowel in a scissor and then snapping the pieces apart.

Tape one side of a dowel to one of the base wires to keep it in place.

Use your Craft Wire to secure the other side to the base wire.

Repeat with the other side and the other dowel.

Don’t worry if the dowel slips out of your craft wire, we’ll be securing it with twine later.

Take another, smaller piece of wooden dowel and shove it in between the layers of your circle. The wire should be flexible enough for you to do this. Crimp the wire around the sides of your dowel.

To complete the structure, use the floral wire and wrap around the diameter of your lamp about 4-5 inches from the bottom, wrapping at each base wire.

Wrap another ring towards the top of the lamp, above your perpendicular dowels.

It isn’t pretty…yet!

Base: Part 1

Grab your twine and wrap tight coils around every piece of hoop and wire, Hot Gluing where necessary-like the joints. Don’t forget to wrap where your dowels meet the wire!

When you’re done, grab some twine, wrap a piece around the short dowel a few times and make a loop at the top of the lamp. This will let us hang our light. It isn’t pictured here, but you’ll see later.

Base: Part 2

Grab a roll of Burlap and drape it over one side of your structure.

Shove in one side into the small circle on the top, wrap under and glue in place.

Wrap the bottom of the piece around the floral hoop and glue in place on the inside of the lamp.

Glue to the skeleton and the burlap for a secure fit.

Do this on the opposite side with the same (or different depending on your design) piece of burlap.

For the other piece of burlap, cut a slit so that it fits around the short wooden dowel in the wire circle.

Glue the edges in place like before and repeat the process on the opposite side. Again, if you wish to use different types of burlap for each side or what have you, GO FOR IT! 🙂

Weave some burlap under the other pieces of burlap and over the base wire. This is to cover the bottom portion of our light.

Hot glue the bottom edge to the floral hoop. Leave some space near the base wire. We’re going to need that space soon.

The picture (right) shows the lamp upside down, by the way.

Decorations

Cut 8 strips of Raffia Ribbon and fold them in half over a piece of twine.

Take a another piece of twine and tie the top together to create a tassel.

Use the first piece of twine to attach the tassel to the floral hoop next to the base wire. To make the tassel swing, tie the knot with some space away from the tassel itself.

Repeat 3 more times for each base wire.

Loosely braid raffia ribbon. I used a four strand braid with one being a piece of twine.

Glue the braid to the outside of the lamp at the height of the horizontal burlap piece. This gives it a more finished, blocked out look.

Braid 4 more raffia ribbon braids. They will be the length from the top of the lamp to your 4-strand braid. Glue in place.

Leave some raffia ribbon out at the bottom of the braids to act as tassels.

Take your wired ribbon and cut 6 pieces about 3 inches long. This is my pop of color. You may want to use something different that fits your light!

Squish the top together and tie in place with twine.

Glue to the top of the lamp.

Cut a length of craft wire and string on your wooden beads and shell beads in the order you like. Loop the wire thru the last bead to secure it on each side. Mine was around 2 inches in diameter when done. The large shell beads are 1-1.5 inches long.

Wrap around the base wire where the wooden dowels meet and let it dangle. Cut off any excess wire.

Repeat for each base wire.

The Lights

Grab your Fairy Lights and make a nest of them in your lamp. If you have waterproof lights that is even better!

You Made It!

Amazing job, everyone! This hanging light can be unique for each person who makes it. Maybe you used colored burlap or different beads. The point is that you made something really cool! Hang it up and relax with your favorite tropical treat!

Thank you to everyone who made it all the way down here! Please be sure to check out our Instagram and Pinterest for more projects and photos! Share with your Disney DIY loving friends and family, too. We really appreciate it!

@mainstreetdiy

All images on this website were taken by and belong to Main Street D.I.Y. If you wish to share an image, please give credit where credit is due! Send the people our way!

“Adventure is Out There!” Diorama – Inspired by “Up” | Level 3

May 29, 2020July 29, 2020 / Alex Nadell / Leave a comment

Put on those flight goggles because we’re flying up, up, and away with this project! This diorama is inspired by Mr. Fredrickson’s house in Pixar’s “Up”. It’s a perfect decoration for a bookshelf; a place where you can find a multitude of adventures!

This DIY uses Balsa Wood. I’ve named each piece that reflects what they look like. All of these pieces are found in a pack that I’ve linked in the supplies list below. Here is what you’ll need:

Supplies List:	Appx Cost:
4 Flat Long Boards 9 x 2.75 in	$9 for the pack
2 Thick Boards 5 x 2.75 x 0.5 in
1 Rectangular Pillar 4 x 1 x 1 in
1 Flat Rectangular Piece 9 x 0.5 in
2 Thin Rectangular Pillars 5 x 1/4 x 3/16ths in
4 Small Flat Pieces 5 x 3/16ths x 1/8th in
Acrylic Paint–all the colors	$10
*Total Approximate Cost of Supplies:	$19

*Cost is approximated with coupons/sales and if you don’t already have all the supplies. You may have leftovers!
If the cost is $0, I’m assuming you already have these things.

Tools List:	Appx Cost:
Craft Glue	$2
Hobby Knife	$5
Saw	??
Paint Brushes- small detail ones and flat	$6
Pencil	$0
Colored Pencils	$5
*Total Approximate Cost of Tools:	$18

*Cost is approximated with coupons/sales and if you don’t already have all the supplies. You may have leftovers!
If the cost is $0, I’m assuming you already have these things.

Instructions

First, take two 9″ x 2.75″ Flat Long Boards and glue the long sides together–unless you have a large piece already! Let’s call this the Background Board.

Grab one 5″ x 2.75″ x 0.5“ Thick Board, glue one long edge and fix it to the background board so that they are flush. Make sure it is centered. It should not span the length of the background board. This will be the Porch.

Spread glue on the back of another thick board and attach it to the background board to make the house front, perpendicular to the porch.

The background, porch, and house front are taking shape!

Grab a 4″ x 1″ x 1” Rectangular Pillar and draw a line on the square edge from one corner to the other. Score it with a Hobby Knife and Saw thru the rest to create two triangular pillars–a.k.a. the Roof. Be sure to wear a mask as balsa wood dust is not good for you!

We want the roof to go to the edge and lay flush with the background board.

The Front Porch

Pick up two 5″ x 1/4″ x 3/16ths“ Thin Rectangular Pillars, measure, and cut them to the height needed to slide under the roof (appx 2.75″ long).

A 9″ x 0.5” Flat Rectangle piece will be needed so measure how long your front porch area is (appx 2.75″ long). It should be a little more than half the length of the porch.

Windows!

For the bay window, measure three equal lengths from your third flat long board–mine is 1.25 inches–one for the front wall and two for the diagonal walls.

Cut the long flat board to that measurement (1.25 inches) lengthwise. Slice that piece into three. These are the same height as the porch pillars (2.75″).

Draw out where you want your windows to be and use the 5″ x 3/16ths” x 1/8th“ Small Flat Pieces to create the window casings. Each wall of the bay window gets one window and the front porch also gets a window.

Finishing up the Roof

Decide how high you want your gable and cut two pieces from a flat long board. I had to make a notch in one side to accommodate the other roof.

Use a flat long board to create the center of the gable. Cut out the triangle and glue in a window just like before, but a bit smaller.

Take a piece of scrap board and create a support to attach the front of the gable to the background board.

Glue everything down!

Complete the gable with a little trimming. Use the leftovers from your flat rectangle piece and slice out diagonals on the ends and score it in the middle. Glue it down as shown in the photo.

Extend the roof to the right side of the gable by using a piece of the triangular pillar and cutting it at an angle.

Use another piece of the triangular pillar to create a wedge to connect the other side of the gable with the roof on the left side. You’ll see in the next pictures to come. Unless you’ve cut your roof to fit the gable and not vice versa like me...

The dormer is pretty small compared to the gable. Add your window before cutting.

Take a bit of a flat long board and cut away the two top edges to create a triangle. Create a support that attaches it to the background board just like the gable front.

Cut out two triangles and two squares from a flat long board to create the sides and roof for the dormer.

Glue it down!

Final Pieces

Create a door frame just like the windows but without the bottom piece.

Add a chimney piece that is cut from a rectangular flat piece.

Use wood fill to fill in any unwanted gaps.

Paint

Start painting the house!

First, get the chimney and window reflections done, To get a sheen, dab a bit of white and rub it around with your finger. A little goes a long way!

Follow up with white for the casing and purple inside for the windows.

Pale pink for the porch area, yellow-green for the bay window.

Periwinkle for the siding behind the porch pillars.

Orange-yellow for the dormer.

Pale yellow for the gable.

The roof is dark blue and the trimming is blue-grey.

Use appropriate colored color pencils to draw on the details. The fish scale pattern is only found on the gable and on the roof where it alternates with a regular siding pattern.

Start your background with a light blue. Be careful around the house!

Add a few clouds and begin your balloons with opaque circles of many colors.

Keep layering circles. The upper layers should be semi-transparent. Some balloons should taper in towards the chimney.

Add dots of white to create shine to your balloons.

For greater shine, dot more white and use your finger to spread it around on each balloon. This is a very small amount of paint and you might want to mix in some water with it.

Use a black pen to add depth and edges to some balloons. Avoid drawing solid lines.

Draw thin black dashed lines connecting the balloons to the chimney. It doesn’t have to connect each balloon, just to get the general idea.

Use white paint or white gel pen to fill in some of the gaps of the black strings so it appears like the sun is hitting the strings.

You made it!

Congrats and thank you for following along with this project! You can definitely make this project your own, make it a different size, different materials. I love this house from “Up” so much. It’s so colorful and full of adventure! I wanted to make this to put next to my books. Adventure is out there in the world, but it’s also in pages as well!

Thanks if you made it all the way down here! While I’ve got you, please like and share this if it peaked your interest. Follow us on Instagram and Pinterest and please please please share with your Disney DIY loving friends and family. We’d really appreciate it!

@mainstreetdiy

All images on this website were taken by and belong to Main Street D.I.Y. If you wish to share an image, please give credit where credit is due! Send the people our way!

Clock – Inspired by “It’s a Small World” | Level 3

May 1, 2020July 29, 2020 / Alex Nadell / Leave a comment

Ready to set sail on the Happiest Cruise? Here it is, everyone! A clock inspired by Disneyland’s very own “It’s a Small World”. It is a functioning clock with a 3/4″ clock movement. 3D features include the cheeks and eyes. Everything else is painted! Let’s go over supplies:

Supplies List:	Appx Cost:
10″ diameter 3/4″ thick Clock Face	$8
White Spray Paint/ Acrylic Paint	$10/ $3
Silver Glitter	$3
Metallic Gold Acrylic Paint	$2
Metallic Gold Paint Pen (optional)	$4
34mm Wooden Buttons	$3
Size 20 (or 1 1/4″) Pins	$3
1″ Styrofoam Balls	$3
3/4″ Clock Movement Kit	$8
**Total Approximate Cost of Supplies:	$44/ $37

*Cost is approximated with coupons/sales and if you don’t already have all the supplies. You may have leftovers!
If the cost is $0, I’m assuming you already have these things.

Tools List:	Appx Cost:
Craft Glue	$2
Wood Filler or alternative	$5
Wire Cutters	$10
Pencil	$0
Black Colored Pencil	$0
Scrap Paper	$0
Hobby Knife	$5
Ruler	$0
Flat Head Acrylic Brush	$3
Fine Liner Acrylic Brush	$3
Sanding Block	$5
**Total Approximate Cost of Tools:	$33

*Cost is approximated with coupons/sales and if you don’t already have all the supplies. You may have leftovers!
If the cost is $0, I’m assuming you already have these things.

Instructions

Prep the Pieces

Before anything, paint your Clock Face white with either Spray Paint or Acrylic Paint. Let that dry while you prepare the other elements.

Take one Styrofoam Ball and slice it in half using your Hobby Knife.

Cover your halves in Craft Glue–be fairly generous–and sprinkle your Silver Glitter overtop both. Let this dry completely before handling!

Grab an extra styrofoam ball or something to stick your size 20 Pins in and paint 18 of them gold using a paint pen or your gold paint.

Use Wood Glue or an alternative to fill in 4 of your Wooden Button holes. Let dry according to the packaging. Two should be nice and smooth so use a Sanding Block and flatten out the glue as best you can.

Paint the buttons Metallic Gold. Once dry, you can use a lighter gold or paint pen to draw 8 spokes on 2 of the buttons. These will be the eyes.

If you have determined your clock hands will have enough space, clip off 2 pin heads from your size 20 pins using Wire Cutters. Use your craft glue to set them in the center of your eyes. You now have 16 left for the cheeks.

Tip: I saved this for after installing the clock movement just to make sure I had enough clearance.

Each cheek gets 8 pins. Stick them pretty low as the clock hands need to be able to pass over them.

Glue your silver styrofoam halves onto 2 of your golden buttons.

Sketching the Face

Using Scratch Paper, cut out the shapes for the forehead, eyes, and nose. The triangle forehead is about 1/3rd of the clock face’s diameter. Mine was 2 5/8″ tall. Leave 1″ blank on each side of the clock face.

The eyes stop just before the center of the clock face. Mine measured 2 1/8″ tall. The triangle overhangs 1/2″.

Sketch out the eyes and nose. They are shaped like cups and taper towards the middle where the nose goes.

Either trace your scrap pieces of paper or use a ruler to draw onto the clock face.

For the smile, make a small mark about 1.5″ from the edge of the clock face, bottom center. Use a ruler and continue to make marks around the perimeter. Connect them together.

Place your cheeks on your clock face to determine how high you want them on the smile. Make sure they’re even! If I drew a straight line from one end of the smile to the center mark, it’d be 3.5″.

Draw the decorations in the triangle. The “jewel” piece in the center is an oval with tapered top and bottom. There are six swirls on the bottom. They swirl towards the center. Or you can to your own design instead!

Painting

Paint your clock face with the metallic gold paint using a small flat brush for the straight parts. Use a liner brush for curves!

Using a black colored pencil, lightly shade your “jewel” piece and line under the right sides of some of the swirls. Imagine the light coming from the left! It makes a shadow on the right.

Shade the little overhang part of the triangle to make it pop away from the clock face.

Putting it all Together

Get your clock movement and feed it thru the hole. The rubber washer is at the back of the clock. On the front, you have a washer and a nut. Make sure you’re centered before tightening up the nut. Hang it on the wall to check and adjust!

Glue your cheeks in place and complete the clock movement by adding the hour hand, minute hand, another nut, and second hand! See if the hands clear over your pins. Adjust if necessary.

Again, check to see if your hands clear over the eyes before gluing down. Let it all dry!

Finished! Fini! Finito! 완료된! できた!

Amazing work, everyone! I hope you enjoyed this DIY “It’s a Small World” inspired clock. I’m very happy with how mine turned out. A lot had to do with proportions and making everything as symmetrical as possible.

Thanks to everyone reading this all the way down here! Glad you could be here! Please let us know if you made this by taking a pic and tagging us on Instagram. Please share with your Disney-loving DIY friends and family. It would mean a lot to us! Also, follow us on Pinterest! Thank you!!

@mainstreetdiy

All images on this website were taken by and belong to Main Street D.I.Y. If you wish to share an image, please give credit where credit is due! Send the people our way!

Decorative Mirror-Inspired by Mulan | Level 3

March 27, 2020July 29, 2020 / Alex Nadell / Leave a comment

“When will my reflection show who I am inside” is the quintessential iconic lyric from Mulan’s “Reflection”. This is a mirror with your own personal dragon guardian inspired by Mushu to celebrate Disney’s original animated film, Mulan.

This one takes patience. I’m just sayin’ I messed up a lot trying to figure this one out and that’s okay because it turned out gorgeous in the end! Onto the supplies!

Supplies List:	Appx Cost:
10″ Octagon Shaped Mirror	$4
8″ Book/Frame Easel	$5
3/16th” Round 12″ Long Wooden Dowels	$2.50
6mm 9×12 White Foam Sheet	$0.80
8 Small Magnolia Flowers	$5
Cardinal Red Acrylic Paint-matte finish	$1
Saffron Yellow Acrylic Paint-matte finish	$1
Black Acrylic Paint-matte finish	$1
White Acrylic Paint-matte finish	$1
Gold Acrylic Paint-metallic finish	$2
*Approximate Cost of Supplies	$23.30 + tax

*Cost is approximated with coupons/sales and if you don’t already have all the supplies

Tools List:	Appx Cost:
E6000 Adhesive	$3.50
Acrylic Paint Brushes-small round and liner	$4
Linoleum Cutter or X-ACTO Knife	$10 or $5
*Approximate Cost of Tools:	$12.50 – $17.50 + tax

*Cost is approximated with coupons/sales and if you don’t already have all the supplies

Instructions:

Begin by measuring and cutting your Wooden Dowels. Four of them will need to be 10 inches long (maybe a hair longer to accommodate cutting) and you’ll need eight 4 inch long dowels for the border.

Tip: I cut the dowels with my Linoleum Cutter with the rounded blade (or you can use an X-ACTO knife) about halfway and then rolled the dowel around, scoring the outside and connecting the cuts. Then I either used pliers to break small cut pieces away or held it against the edge of a table and snap it off bigger parts. Be careful because these dowels will split!

Set aside two of the 10 inch dowels and paint the rest with the Gold Metallic Paint.

When dry, use a thin bead of E6000 to glue each of the short dowels directly onto the mirror, creating a frame. You can then glue the two 10 inch dowels on top of the four corners, parallel to each other. Do not glue these guys directly to the mirror. We’ll call these your vertical dowels.

Tip: I added four thin wooden beads as spacers on the remaining corners for the other two dowels. It’s not necessary, just less potential snagging.

With your vertical dowels glued to the corners, place a dowel you set aside earlier on top and measure where the dowels intersect. Make two marks per vertical dowel to measure the width. Make sure both of the remaining dowels have the exact same marks before cutting.

The goal is to cut the space where the horizontal dowels will sit on the vertical dowels. To do that, you’re going to slice into the wood where you marked. Saw or rock your cutting tool until you are 1/3rd-halfway thru the dowel. Then, slice perpendicular to those cuts to form a small square/rectangle. Gouge out the square from the dowel —You’re basically carving out a little arch so the vertical dowels sit snugly inside.

Paint the horizontal dowels gold and once dry, dab a bit of E6000 in the slots you made, glueing the dowels in place overtop your vertical dowels.

Awaken your Guardian

This was the most time consuming part for me. You got this!

Take your thick Foam Piece and mark where the mirror’s corners hit. Your dragon will sit over the top portion of your mirror.

Use a marker or pencil and sketch our your dragon shape. Cut out the shape using scissors and your other cutting tools.

Tip: You can copy my dragon if you want, but I had to add a leg later on because Chinese dragons have four legs and I gave mine…three. So don’t forget, they’re supposed to have four visible legs.

Time to paint! Squirt out some of your Red, Yellow, White, and Black paint onto a palette. Mix your red with a hint of the yellow and black to get a dark red color. Paint over your dragon excluding the belly, eye, teeth, and whisker.

Tip: I wanted to give my dragon a carved, wooden look so I actually tore out some bits that I painted black (in between the hind legs, the mouth, and where the tail overlaps).

To achieve the wood look, I used a round Acrylic Brush and dipped the side of the brush halfway in the red and the other half in black. That way when you dab the brush onto the dragon, it creates a feathering or leaf treatment. Keep layering these feather-like strokes between drying until you get the desired look.

Paint the teeth and white of the eye a cool grey using a small detail brush. Use black to make the pupil on the far right edge of the eye. The whisker and belly are orange-yellow. Belly detail is a light brown. Paint the edges of the foam black and use the same feathering treatment on the other side of the dragon (or paint that black too).

I made my dragon more like Mushu by painting his horns a dark blue.

I added on his fourth leg at this point.

Glue two of your flowers onto the edge. I placed mine on the left side, bottom corner.

Tip: In the movie, the flowers were from a Magnolia tree. I know that white flowers can represent ghosts and death in Chinese culture, but I didn’t have access to the right flowers. If you do, go for that accuracy!

Glue the parts of your dragon that touch the edge of your mirror.

Finish off the project with 6 flowers lining the top three edges of the mirror. Use the easel to stand your mirror up.

You made it!

Congrats if you made it this far! Good job!!

I had a lot of trial and error with this project. In the end, I’m very happy with the result. I’m no expert in Chinese culture, but I hope I did okay. If I totally botched it, just know that I had no intention of doing so. Anyway, I hope you had fun making this mirror!

I would like to thank every one of you who made it this far. Let us know if you made this Mulan inspired Mirror by tagging us on Instagram @mainstreetdiy!

@mainstreetdiy

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