12 Step Sheep - Tutorial

So, last week I shared about the sheep themed baby shower I helped to put on for my sweet sister-in-law. I'm back with the tutorial of the cuddly, cute sheep I made for the table centerpieces and decoration.

Here we go!

What you need: (for one sheep)

Head:
- small styrofoam ball (about 1" diameter) painted light brown. I already had a bunch painted brown from a previous project.
- two short pieces of pink pipe cleaners (about 1.5" long) to make the ears
- small piece of cotton
- two eyes
- permanent marker
- glue gun

1. Fold your pink pipe cleaners into ear shapes and stick them into the head. There is a small seam around the ball and I used that to help get the ears in roughly a straight line.
2. Use your glue gun and stick a small piece of cotton in between the ears.
3. Use your sharpie to make a mouth and to mark where the eyes go.
4. Use your glue gun to stick the eyes on.

And the head is ready to go!

For the body you need: 

- a slightly larger styrofoam ball (about 2" diameter)
- 4 pieces of brown pipe cleaner (each about 2.5-3" in length)
- a toothpick to connect the head and body
- two squares of cotton (about 4"x4" - doesn't have to be perfect - regular cotton balls would work too, just need a little more fiddling to cover the body)
- white glue (Elmers)
- paint brush to apply the glue. (you could also use your glue gun, but I found the white glue easier to work with and just as secure)

 5. Bend your pipe cleaners into legs and stick into the body. Again I used the seam of the ball to help orient the legs. Basically if you were to connect the legs you would make a square with the seam of the ball running through the middle.
6. Get your head, body and toothpick ready
7. Stick the toothpick at least halfway into the body, at about a 45 degree angle.
8. Attach head.

 9. Get your cotton and glue ready, and glue around the neck of the sheep.
10. Wrap your first square around the neck like a cape.
11. Then glue down the back of the cape.
12. Glue the second piece of cotton starting from the bottom and wrapping it around the legs and gluing upward. There's quite a bit of give to the cotton so it stretches quite easily. If you think about the square you created with the legs, the second piece of cotton gets attached like a diamond, with each corner going through one side of the square.

There you go. A sheep in 12 easy steps!

At the shower I attached the sheep to a small box to place on the tables. You could also make a really charming mobile with these. Everyone commented on how cute they were, and by the end I didn't have any to bring home with me.

Linking up with: Tutorial Tuesday, Show Me What Ya Got, TOO Cute Tuesday, Terrific Tuesdays, Handmade Tuesdays, Crafty Tuesday and Take-A-Look Tuesday