Scarecrow Building 101

I was asked to throw together a couple of scarecrows for our grown close to home display out in front of our grocery store and this is what I came up with. 

They're quite obviously deeply smitten with each other.

Here's a list of things you'll need to complete this project.

Two two by two boards about 8 ft long

about 3yards of burlap

4 x 4 sheet of two inch thick Styrofoam

straw, hey or excelsior to make hair and stuff gloves

about twenty sticks of high temp melt glue sticks and a hot glue gun

two pairs of garden gloves

2 x 2 ft long broom handles or dowels for shoulders

buttons, lace, trim and a collar or two

raffia or natural rope for a belt and tie

spray paint in leaf green to add colour to the burlap

duct tape

fake flowers

a basket

fabric paint

about six hours

 I started by cutting four 12 inch discs out of my 2 inch thick foam.

 I glued two discs together to make two 4 inch thick discs and I carved a rough face shape out of each disc.

 I covered each face in a layer of burlap gluing onto the back of the piece.

I glued each face onto the end of a 2 x 2 post. I angled mine slightly so I could make them look at each other.

I used packing tape for this but duct tape would probably be easier to handle. Tape the 2 ft long shoulder stick in place 3 or 4 inches below the head.

 Cut a 1 1/2 yard piece of burlap and fold it once long way and once short. Cut up one layer only of the folded side. this will make the bodice of the shirt.

Wrap the shirt over the shoulders keeping the opening at the front. Glue up the front seam overlapping the edges to create a button placket. Turn under the side seams and hot glue in place to secure.

I added another layer of burlap to the head and let it overlap onto the neck area. I glued all the seams to the back of the head to hide them and keep things neat.

I cut two sleeves that were 10 inches x three ft long and glued the long edges together to form a tube. After the glue set I turned the tube inside out.

I turned the end in and glued the arm to the shoulder.

I made another wider tube and spray-painted it green to make a hat. I tied one end to gather it and rolled a hem on the bottom. I added some excelsior hair and a collar and some buttons.

I painted the face using fabric paints. Big wide eyes made the start of a friendly scarecrow.

I added a mouth and cheeks and some irises. I also wadded up some burlap and made a nose and glued that on. I let the paint dry in the sun and applied the heat gun to it lightly to heat set the paint. Be careful not to scorch the burlap or heat the Styrofoam core too much.  Heated Styrofoam can release deadly gasses. Take care.

I was a little bit worried at this point.... These guys are HUGE beside my garage...... I hope they're not too big. The girl scarecrow was made the same way the boy was I just changed up the design slightly adding ruffles and a bonnet hat and some flowers. 

Here they are at their new home. They don't look too big here at all. We still have to add some gourds or fall veggies to the boys basket but other than that they look pretty happy here.

I'm gonna gush a bit..... isn't this a gorgeous looking store front? We're so lucky to have a shop this packed with options in our little community.... and I'm very lucky to be working for people who care.

Sorry for the gush, I couldn't help it. It's so beautiful and It's fall and I'm a happy camper......