Some of you have seen the
Halloween Nugget Rockers in my gallery. That upload explains how this idea originated. This tutorial has a supply list and step-by-step photos for creating a
Christmas Nugget Rocker. The techniques are the same for both versions.
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Supplies
white cardstock, such as 80 lb Hammermill Color Copy Cover
1-1/16" x 3.5" designer paper
bird images (Fuzzy Christmas from AngelsLanding.com used here)
markers or colored pencils
2 paperclips #1 size, such as in a vinyl assortment from Amazon
detail scissors
needle-nose pliers, wire cutter
3/8" Glue Dots
Tombow Mono Multi or similar glue
optional feathers, either individual or unraveled from a feather boa
Hershey's Nugget chocolate
clear packaging tape
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Directions
1. Print two matching bird images, one facing left and the other right. Mine were printed at 90% of the original size; the body and head measure about 1-3/4" high. Color by your favorite method. A coloring diagram is in my gallery:
Copic Coloring Guide for Christmas Cardinal. Since I was making multiples of these, I colored once, scanned them, and printed them on cardstock.
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2. Cut out the images, discarding the legs. I prefer not to have any white cardstock showing near the edges, so I flip the trimmed pieces over and color along the edge with a matching marker. Use a light touch with the markers because you do not want the ink to bleed through to the front. Copic R24 and Y17 were used here.
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3. Straighten out the larger loop of each paperclip. If you unbend them in opposite directions, you'll have a right and a left leg. Cut off about 1/2". With pliers, bend the cut ends as shown.
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4. Place one bird face down on your work surface. Use four Glue Dots to attach the two paperclip legs to the wrong side. One leg should be down and the other raised. Place four more Glue Dots on top of the previous ones, which will sandwich the paperclips between the Glue Dots.
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5. Place the second bird face down on your work surface and run a thin bead of glue around all outer edges. Flip this second bird right side up and align it with the first bird, wrong sides together. Press the edges together to seal them, and also press the Glue Dots together. The back side should look the same as the front.
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6. Optional: Snip some feathers into several short pieces. Apply a small amount of glue directly on each feather's shaft and attach them to both sides of the bird's body. You can trim any feathery wisps that are too long.
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7. Apply adhesive to the wrong side of the 1-1/16" x 3-1/2" designer paper and wrap it around a Hershey's Nugget. Cut a 1/2"-wide strip of clear packaging tape. Place the wrapped nugget upside down on your work surface. The nugget's flat bottom should be facing up. Position the bird's paperclip foot on the nugget. Check that the bird stands and balances correctly, or bend the paperclip to adjust it. When positioning the bird, note that he should rock side to side rather than front to back. Tape the foot to the nugget.
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You can set your little guy rocking by tapping his raised foot with your finger.
If you try these Nugget Rockers, I hope you'll post a link to your gallery upload in this thread so that we can all check them out.
Hershey's Nugget Rocker Tutorial
