This week, Roy wanted to try his hand at making some old fashioned pipe cleaner elves. He has a couple in his collection, but had no idea how to make them, so started his usual search. His books didn’t provide any help, so he turned to the internet. That was when he stumbled across these cute little guys. They were on ebay (and unfortunately, had been sold) but were apparently made in the 1950s or 1960s. They were so cute that Roy decided to make his own versions of these instead of his original elves! So this week, Roy Creates Peanut Pixies.
Warning – clearly, this is not a nut free activity. If you are allergic to peanuts, do not try this at home!
You Will Need:
- Unshelled peanuts
- Pipe cleaners
- A sharp craft knife
- A black felt tip pen
- A coloured candle and a lighter (and an adult to supervise!)
Method:
- Start by lighting the candle so that the wax melts
- You need choose peanuts with personality. You want the ones which are big enough to make into pixies, and which are slightly funny shapes, with a pointy end to make into a cap.
- Use the craft knife to carefully bore some holes into the peanut – two at the base for his legs, and two on his sides, in the narrowest part, for his arms.
- Cut each pipe cleaner into 4 equal pieces
- Blow out the candle and dip one end of each pipe cleaner into the melted wax to cover. You also need to dip the pointy end of your peanuts into the wax. You might need to dip the peanut and the pipe cleaner a few times to get a good cover of coloured wax, letting the wax dry a little between dips. If the wax in the candle becomes too hard to dip into, light the candle again and let it resoften
- Let your pipe cleaners and peanut dry so that you won’t mark the wax when you assemble your pixie
- When the wax is dry and set, poke the unwaxed ends of the pipe cleaners into the holes you made in your peanuts earlier.
- Now, draw a face and buttons on your pixie, like Roy has done.
- Bend the pipe cleaners into the position you want them in.
- Enjoy! These little elves are a fun addition to your Christmas table, or they look great hanging on to the ribbon on a Christmas gift or a Christmas Tree!