How to Make a Miniature Toy Horse Stable
Toy stables provide hours of creative play for children, as well as provide storage for the model horses when not in use. This basic stable is simple enough for your children to make under supervision, although they will need a little help with the craft knife. You can make a more complicated version by gluing the stable to a baseboard and adding a separate shed for tack or feed and other accessories such as fencing or jumps made from dowelling.
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Things You'll Need
- Cardboard box
- Tape
- Pencil
- Ruler
- Craft knife
- Brown paint
- Gray paint (optional)
- Paint brush
- Thin black pen
- Dried grass, bottle tops and labels (optional)
Instructions
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Decide on the scale for your stable. As a general rule, a full-sized stable measures 10 feet by 12 feet by 9 feet tall. If you are aiming for realism, you can scale these measurements down exactly. Otherwise, choose a rectangular cardboard box roughly in proportion to the models. Decide how many stalls you need in your stable.
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Stick any loose flaps on the box down with tape to keep it rigid. Carefully cut the top off the box with a craft knife, following the line of the box and keeping the cut as even as you can. Lay the box on its back so that the missing side is now at right angles to the work surface. On the uppermost face, measure and mark several oblongs starting from the bottom line of the box. These will form the stable doors. Keep the spacing between the doors regular.
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Cut around the bottom, left-hand side and top of each door, leaving the right-hand side still attached. Score through the cardboard using a ruler on the right-hand side of the door so that it folds open more easily, taking care not to cut right through the cardboard. Cut each door in half horizontally to form a Dutch-style door. Measure and cut a piece of cardboard 1 inch larger all around than the top of the box. This will form the roof.
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Paint the box brown. Allow to dry thoroughly, then use a ruler and black pen to draw vertical lines down the sides of the box to represent planks. Paint the cardboard roof in brown paint for a wooden roof or gray paint for a tiled roof. Allow to dry thoroughly, then draw on tiles, shingles or planks. Place the roof on the box.
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Accessorize your stable. Use bundles of dried grass to make miniature hay bales and for bedding. Bottle tops can make suitable feed buckets for smaller models. Write horses' names on white labels and stick to stable doors.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Hemera Technologies/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images
