How to Make Patterns for Wooden Yard Decorations

There are so many cute yard decorations now days, but they are expensive to buy, so I decided to make my own. With some white poster board and a piece of plywood, I was ready to go!

Things You'll Need

• White Poster Board
• Pencils and Erasers
• Pictures From the Internet, Coloring Books, or Craft Magazines

Instructions

1. First step is to decide what holiday you are going to decorate for. After you have made your decision, start looking for nice pictures, such as cartoon pictures or large out-line type pictures without alot of detail. Personally, I like cute animals or kids to make my yard decorations out of. For instance, Halloween, I made a kid dressed in a pumpkin outfit, also I made big candy corn with cute smiley faces.

2. When you have chosen your design, get in a well lighted area, your poster board, pencils and erasers need to be all within reach, along with your design. I always make my decorations about 3 to 4 feet tall, and about 20 inches wide. I use 3/8 inch plywood, because it is very easy to cut out. So when I get ready to draw a pattern, I tape 2 pieces of poster board together to make the correct size for my pattern. Now you are ready to draw.

3. Look over your design well, getting all the curves and corners pictured in your head, I usually start at the top, or head, and work my way down. Don't get upset when you are erasing more than you are drawing at times, that happens to me all the time. Keep erasing and drawing it over until you get it just the way you want it. After you have drawn the pattern off, outline the edges with a large black marker, and the detail inside the design.

4. After it is completely drawn, use colored markers to make a few lines in each section of the pattern so you will know what colors to paint your wood, once it is ready. This really helps to keep it just the way you want it to look. Now cut along the outer edges, leaving some of the black marker lines to have something to go by. Trace the cut out pattern onto plywood and cut out with a jigsaw. I roll my patterns up and rubber band them so I will have them for later. You are ready to make your details, and I do this with carbon paper and a sewing tracer. I put the carbon paper down over the plywood, then put your pattern down exactly in line with wood, and use sewing pattern tracer and roll over all lines inside the pattern. When done, you will have dotted lines to go by, just start by painting all your dotted lines with a thin black line of paint. Then you can go back and fill in other colors. Good luck with your designs!