Getting Started with These Jolly Archies
So, the other day, I was just looking at a shelf in my room, and honestly, it felt a bit empty. You know that feeling? Like it just needed a little something extra. That’s when the idea for what I started calling ‘jolly archies’ popped into my head. No clue where the name came from, it just felt right for these little, cheerful things I pictured.
My first job was figuring out what to make them from. I dug around in my old craft supplies box – you know, the one where things go to be forgotten. Luckily, I found a whole bunch of colorful pipe cleaners and some wooden craft sticks. I thought, “Yep, this should work out pretty well.” They seemed like they’d be easy enough to bend and glue together.
Alright, Time to Make Something!
I decided to start with some bright orange pipe cleaners. My big plan was pretty straightforward: bend them into an arch shape, then attach the ends to a couple of craft sticks to act as little stands. Sounded simple, didn’t it? Well, it mostly was, but with a few little hiccups.
Bending the pipe cleaners into arches? No problem at all. But getting those arches to actually stand up on their own? That was a whole different ball game. My first couple of attempts just flopped right over, looking more like sad, wilted noodles than jolly archies. I quickly realized that a single pipe cleaner wasn’t quite sturdy enough to hold a nice arch shape if I made it too wide or too tall. So, I adjusted my plan: smaller, tighter arches. That seemed to be the key.
- I started twisting two pipe cleaners together for each arch. This made them a bit thicker and way more stable.
- Then, for the bases, instead of just one craft stick for each side, I glued two sticks together, side-by-side. This gave each ‘foot’ a wider bottom, so they didn’t tip over so easily. A bit of hot glue was perfect for this. I nearly glued my fingers a couple of times, haha, always an adventure with a glue gun!
- I made a few of them in different colors – orange, green, a nice bright blue. They really started to look quite cheerful lined up.
It definitely took some fiddling around. You know, tweaking the curve here, making sure the little feet were flat there. But honestly, it was a pretty calming way to spend an hour or so. Just me, a pile of fuzzy sticks, and my trusty glue gun. My workspace ended up covered in tiny colorful fuzz and stray strands of glue, but that’s just proof of a project well done, right?
The Big Reveal (Mostly to Myself)
And then, ta-da! I had a little collection of jolly archies. They’re not going to win any design awards, that’s for sure. Some of them are a bit crooked, and a few lean a bit more than I intended, but I think that’s what gives them their ‘jolly’ character. They’ve definitely added a nice splash of color to that once-boring shelf. Every time I glance over at them, I can’t help but crack a little smile. It’s the simple things in life, isn’t it?
So, that was my little journey making these jolly archies. It just goes to show, sometimes the most straightforward, even silly, little projects can bring a good bit of fun. Now I’m kind of looking around my place wondering what else could use a bit of a jolly touch.
