Ms. Elephant's Third Grade

 So, do you remember those Teddy Bear Parade morphs from a previous post?  There, I learned how to put bodies and clothes from Teddy Bear Parade with heads of different critters from different carts-- sometimes even the super oldies-- to make a whole menagerie of fun characters.  Well, I found that Everyday Paper Dolls and Animal Kingdom also have some fantastic 'head only' animal cuts!  I used them on this project:  Ms. Elephant's Third Grade!

I started this project by making characters!  I stayed with the 2" bear body for the students (3" for the teacher).

Animals were created as follows.  Uniforms for all the students were a combination of the school girl and school boy on Teddy Bear Parade (keys 28 and 29)!  All clothing was cut (of course) the same size as the bodies.

• Elephant - 3" body from Teddy Bear Parade with a 2" head from Animal Kingdom (head feature, flipped, page 102).  Dress was the sailor dress  (key # 22) on Teddy Bear Parade.  Glasses were cut from Paisley (page 56) at 1/2".  The head was popped up 1/8".  Glasses were popped up 1/8".  The chalk in her hand is just a tiny rolled up piece of paper.

• Raccoon - 2" body  from Teddy Bear Parade with a 1-1/4" head from Animal Kingdom (flipped, head feature).  

• Rabbit -  2" body  from Teddy Bear Parade with a 2-3/4" head from Everyday Paper Dolls (page 74, 'head only' cut).  I cut one arm and sleeve so she could 'raise her hand'.  (I just snipped in at her underarm and moved the arm up as if it were on a hinge.)

• Cat - This is the very same cat that I made on my previous post.  Click here for info on making this critter!  

• Pig -  2" body  from Teddy Bear Parade with a 1-1/4" head from Animal Kingdom (flipped, head feature page 84)  This is a different pig from my last post!  I like this cut because, unlike the one I used  previously, this one is a 'head only' cut!

• Panda -  This is the very same panda that I made on my previous post.  Click here for info on making this critter!  This time, I used the glasses from the school boy costume!

• Monkey -  2" body  from Teddy Bear Parade with a 2-3/4" head from Everyday Paper Dolls (page 75, 'head only' cut).  I cut one arm and sleeve so he could 'raise his hand'.  This is a different monkey than I used before on my last post.  I like this one because he is looking to the side!

I gave all the students desks from Sentimentals, cut at 3/4" (shadow feature, page 42).  I trimmed off the inside points to make them less decorative.  The desks are popped up 1/8" off of the animals.

I decided on walls and added a floor to anchor them and to give them an environment that I could start to decorate.  The final floor was 2" wide (a change from this version).

I hand-cut a chalk board (4-1/4" x 2-7/8") and bulletin boards (3-1/2" x 2-5/8", trimmed to 2-1/4").  I made a penmanship border by cutting up a page from my daughter's tablet leftover from the last school year.  (My little girl was shocked that I knew how to do proper letters like she learned to make last year in the 2nd grade.  I guess my regular penmanship leaves something to be desired.  She actually offered to do it for me because she didn't think I could do it!)  The flag was cut at 2" from Stand and Salute (page 22).  It was popped up 1/8".

At this point, I added foam to the characters so that they would be at proper distance from the surface of the page.  1" foam for the teacher and front row; 1/2" for the back row.

I hand-cut their drawings (1" x 3/4") and reports (3/4" x 1/2").  The reports were punched with a tiny Martha Stewart hole punch to make those tiny holes.  The bulletin board edging was made with decorative scissors.  The picture of George Washington was cut at 1" from My World (page 28).

I hand-cut tiny pencils, using markers and pencil to give details.

The globe was cut at 1-1/4" from Locker Talk (page 47).  It is popped up 1/8".  The table it sets on is from Sentimentals at 1-1/2" (shadow feature).  Like the student desks, I also trimmed off the inside points here too.

The books on the cat's desk were cut from Locker Talk at 1" (page 47).  I trimmed off the bottom book.  The books are popped up 1/8".

The pennant banner at the top of the page was printed and cut from Spring Chic.  (1.3" for the red/yellow ones; 2" for the blue.)  I hand-cut to change the shape of the blue ones.  Some are glued flush to the paper; others are popped up 1/8".

The apple on the pig's desk is from the Teddy Bear Parade cartridge (key #28) at 2".  It was popped up 1/8".

After looking at the project in natural light....

...I placed it in a shadow box that allowed for my 1-1/4" projections.

I learned a lot from this project!  And what a joy to get to review older cartridges, like My World, to find treasures!  Did you know there are busts of Lewis and Clark on that one? -- and maps, and so, so much more!  I loved finding the 'head feature' on Animal Kingdom!  Lots of 'head only' cuts for more morphed animals!!  I loved making some hand-cut elements and really enjoyed adding in lots of fun details for the classroom.

I am the guest designer on the Cricut Fanatics blog today!  I have another small Teddy Bear Parade morph over there-- a back-to-school card!  Check it out:  click here!  

This card is on the Cricut Fanatics blog (see above for link).  I will be featuring a whole set of these cards with different designs later this month here on my blog!

To see many of my previous paper projects, check out My Project Gallery (or click here)!