Zebra Circus Wagon

 Happy 2016! Here's my first project of the new year.

One thing I really love about the Alpha Stamps' monthly kits is how versatile they are. This month, our stated theme was "Valentine Paper Theatres", but when I saw the square shrine and the wonderful stripey papers, all I could think of was "circus"! So, circus it is. The cardboard shrine was the perfect size to transport a zebra to the big top.

The square shrine is designed to have a taller facade on top, but for the circus wagon, I used the shrine upside down. I added extra cardboard on the two sides and the back in order to make a good base for the wheels. Here's a picture of how the back looks with the 1" of extra cardboard on the bottom. The wheels come with the pieces shown here painted black. Once they're in place, it's easy to thread the axle through them and attach the wheels. Just make sure you have them lined up properly; I first put my wagon together without gluing it to make sure that these axle holders were on straight.

I got the zebra from my local Michaels store, and then dressed her up for her circus debut. I painted her hooves glittery red with Stickles, and then gave her a ruffle made of pom pom fringe. I also used Stickles to create little red jewels on her crown. She's so fancy! I added a little 3D trim to the Cirque facade; here you can see some black and white braid and some gold star studs.

Back of the wagon, an advertisement for the act:

The rope in front was added to make this a pull toy. I punched a hole in the cardboard and threaded the cord through it. I tied a big knot and glued it to the wall of the side to keep it firmly attached. The end of the cord is glued into a small wooden finial, which I painted black and gold and then glazed. The back step was an old wooden block I happened to have, cut to size. Matchsticks make the perfect flag poles.

Huzzah! The circus is in town! For a complete list of supplies, click here.