Making the Woozy and the Sawhorse

These are two of Calvin's favorite characters from the original Oz series by L. Frank Baum and ever since I'd ordered the hand painted wood dolls from Fancie Fannies I'd been trying to think of a way to make these two critters come to life as well. These ideas came to me at the last minute, mostly because at that point I was forced to actually do something or give in. I made the Woozy last night (the night before the party) and the Sawhorse this morning while Calvin and his dad were out shopping for the party food. I am very pleased wtih them, and Calvin absolutely loved them.

The Woozy

He's a blue blocky character. Actually, he's described as being made entirely of squared off shapes, right down to his tail, on which he has exactly three hairs. I bought blue foam letters on clearance at Joann's and cut them to size using a kitchen knife. I joined the pieces together with toothpicks, adding a dab of hot glue to hold them. I painted on the eyes, nose, ears, and pink inside the mouth, and used a needle and thread to add his three tail hairs. When finished I gave the whole creature a good coating of Modge Podge. Voila—Woozy!

The Sawhorse

I raided the kindling pile for a few appropriately sized sticks. I used small saw to cut the body size. The first cuts for the mouth I also made with the saw, but I finished the mouth by whittling with a craft knife. The tail and legs I selected and cut to size and whittled their tips down to points. I used a drill to make holes in the body and inserted the limbs, using a dab of wood glue in each. I painted his eyes on and then coated him in a large helping of Modge Podge as well. The bridle was made with floss and the ears with felt.

Voila—Sawhorse! Shown here with Jack Pumpkinhead, painted by Fancie Fannies.