Dragon and Doll Beds

I've been a busy elf again this year.  I had my sixth  baby (first girl) in November, so I was already pretty darn busy.  But, I had to stick with tradition and make the kids some Christmas gifts for three very specific reasons: 1. Jesse has been begging me to finish his wooden dragon I started making for him TWO YEARS ago!  Poor kid.  HE has been very patient with my overwhelmingly busy schedule these past 2 years.  He has waited so long that he has moved on to alligators, which is his current obsession instead of dragons, so I thought I better finally get it done.  2. Ben has a large stuffed animal collection and nowhere to keep them all.  He was wanted some miniature bunk beds for probably three years now to hold them all and I was afraid that if I waited any longer, he would outgrow this desire.  And 3. Eve needed a blessing gown and I really wanted to crochet one for her.  This is like an 80 hour project.  I will put it in a separate post under the "sewing/crochet/Clothing Design" label if you want to see it.  So . . . . I finally got them all done (and just about killed myself off in the process!

This is the toy dragon I designed.  It is made of wood and articulates.  There is a joint in the middle that gives it a slithering motion and the wings are made of leather and flap when the wheels turn.  It turned out beautifully.  I didn't get many pictures as I made it, but here is what I have:

Oiling it to bring out the natural beauty of the wood before adding the wings.

Added the leather wings.  It's done!

View from above.

Wings down.

Wings up.

These are the miniature Bunk Beds I designed and built from the scrap wood I had in my garage.  I've been regretting making them from pine instead of hardwood scraps (I didn't remember I had the hardwood until I had already made them).  They can be assembled as bunk beds or as side-by-side twin beds.  Ben really seemed to like that they could be used either way.  The pegs that hold the bunk beds together also hold the finials on the posts.  Ben loves miniature furniture so I had to make them look as realistic as possible, instead of making them "kid-like".

Built but unfinished--Headboard end.

Built but unfinished--Footboard end.

Built but unfinished--Side-by-side twins.

Built but unfinished--Showing the pegs that hold the finials.

Built but unfinished--Bunkbeds (unused finials sitting on lower bunk).

Built but unfinished--Showing how pegs hold the two bunks together.

Finished Beds--side-by-side twins.

Finished Beds--headboard end.

Finished Beds--bunkbeds.

This smile made it all worth it!!!