For our daughter Abigail's birthday party, we decided to make a bean bag toss shaped like Minnie Mouse to match the theme. It was a huge hit, and very easy to make! So lets get started!
First, I took measurements of our Minnie Mouse invitations for reference and set up a scale so the circle of the head would be 36".
I made cardboard templates to begin with. You can get large sheets of cardboard for free at Costco if you ask. Sometimes they're just lying in the box bins. To make the large circle which was 36" in diameter, I used 18" of string tied to a pencil. I cut it a little long, wrapped the end in tape, and then put a push pin through the tape and string at 18."
I made cardboard templates to begin with. You can get large sheets of cardboard for free at Costco if you ask. Sometimes they're just lying in the box bins. To make the large circle which was 36" in diameter, I used 18" of string tied to a pencil. I cut it a little long, wrapped the end in tape, and then put a push pin through the tape and string at 18."
Push the pushpin through the center of the cardboard, and trace a circle with the pencil. Try and keep the pencil at a uniform angle.
Next make the ear template. The ears are supposed to be a 25"x15" ellipse. Here's a great way to draw a perfect ellipse. If you do it that way, your foci will be at 20". But since Abigail's party was coming upon us quickly, I just made a 25" circle and a 15" circle, and then free handed the elliptical curve.
After I had cut out the ear template, it didn't look exactly right so I reshaped it again until I had it perfect. Well, good enough at least! I cut out two templates for the ears and chose my favorite of the two, but I got a nice preview of how it would turn out!
Trace the templates on mdf or plywood. Mdf is preferred because you won't have to sand it for a smooth paint job. Luckily I had some left over mdf from another project. Lift the pieces your cutting up with blocks underneath, and support around it as well. Just be careful none of the blocks are in the cutting zone.
Lay the pieces out and screw it together with some 3/4" screws. You can sink them a little deeper then the surface, wood putty and sand it if you want to. I was in a hurry so I screwed them together and painted over the screws.
Draw and cut out your holes. I put 1 in each ear, 2 for the eyes and 1 for a nose. I used a tupperware lid that was a perfect size for this.
To cut them, drill a hole on the inside of the circle close to the line with a spade bit preferably so it doesn't walk. I used a 1/2" spade bit. Make sure to support everything.
Throw a couple layers of paint on there! We used Lowe's Chalkboard Paint. Then we added a "flower" to keep the Luau theme of the party which was a couple pieces of tulle hot glued on.
TA DA!
Megan hand sewed some Minnie Mouse shaped bean bags to use, and the kids had a ball!
Thus far we're just leaning it up against a wall. I'm still debating whether I should build a stand for it or not. If I do, it will probably just be 2 2x4's cut at 45 degree angles on each side. Eh, NAAAAA! Looks good, works great, DONE!
Check out how the party went here!
Trace the templates on mdf or plywood. Mdf is preferred because you won't have to sand it for a smooth paint job. Luckily I had some left over mdf from another project. Lift the pieces your cutting up with blocks underneath, and support around it as well. Just be careful none of the blocks are in the cutting zone.
Lay the pieces out and screw it together with some 3/4" screws. You can sink them a little deeper then the surface, wood putty and sand it if you want to. I was in a hurry so I screwed them together and painted over the screws.
Draw and cut out your holes. I put 1 in each ear, 2 for the eyes and 1 for a nose. I used a tupperware lid that was a perfect size for this.
To cut them, drill a hole on the inside of the circle close to the line with a spade bit preferably so it doesn't walk. I used a 1/2" spade bit. Make sure to support everything.
Throw a couple layers of paint on there! We used Lowe's Chalkboard Paint. Then we added a "flower" to keep the Luau theme of the party which was a couple pieces of tulle hot glued on.
TA DA!
Megan hand sewed some Minnie Mouse shaped bean bags to use, and the kids had a ball!
Thus far we're just leaning it up against a wall. I'm still debating whether I should build a stand for it or not. If I do, it will probably just be 2 2x4's cut at 45 degree angles on each side. Eh, NAAAAA! Looks good, works great, DONE!
Check out how the party went here!
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