Make a Sled for Mini Animals!
Nicholas Bear Cub awoke this morning snuggled in bed under a patchwork quilt, feeling wonderfully cozy and warm. With a yawn and a sniff, he discovered a crisp, wintry scent on the air. He jumped out of bed and scampered to the window, where fluffy white flakes were falling steadily. The first snow of the season had come to Hazel Village! Looking at the snowy path, Nicholas had an ingenious idea. He announced, “I will make a sled for my dollies!”
Read on to see how Nicholas made his sled, and learn how to make your own.
What you will need:
- thin cardboard, such as a cereal box
- a pencil
- a ruler
- scissors
- a piece of yarn
- tape
- craft glue
- paint
- a paintbrush
- PDF pattern
To get started, print the pattern from this downloadable PDF and cut out each piece. Then trace the paper pattern pieces onto your cardboard.
As you trace each paper piece, mark where the dashed (FOLD) and dotted (SEAT PLACEMENT) lines end, so you can use your ruler to transfer them onto the cardboard. 
You should have 1 SLED piece, 2 SEAT pieces, 2 RUNNERS, and 6 RISERS. Cut all the pieces out along the solid outlines. 
Next, fold all the pieces on the dashed lines. Here is our trick: place your ruler along the line and press down, then fold the cardboard over it. The ruler will act as a straightedge to keep each fold nice and neat.
Once all your pieces have been folded, it’s time to put the sled together!
To assemble the main sled piece, glue each tab to the inside. Try to make sure the corners line up nicely; you can trim the cardboard if any part is sticking up. 
Press firmly on each tab for a minute before moving on to the next one. You can also use a paper clip or a binder clip to hold a tab in place while it dries.
Next, apply glue to the tabs of one seat piece and tuck it inside the sled along the dotted lines. Repeat with the second seat.
The little strips of cardboard that are your RISER pieces will each form a rectangular block with two overlapping ends on one side. To assemble them, glue the overlapping ends together on each. 
These should be fairly even, so trim them before glueing if your blocks are looking wonky.
At this stage in the process, we went ahead and painted everything because we thought it would be easier than doing it later. In reality, painting the risers was pretty fiddly and would probably have been easier had the sled been fully assembled. Do as you see best.
Glue the six risers to the bottom of the sled at the front, middle, and back, as shown in this photo.
Apply glue to the bottom of each riser, and attach the runners. The flat ends of each runner should be aligned with the front risers.
For the handle, cut a length of yarn and tape the ends to the inside corners at the front of the sled.
If the sled of your dreams is sleek yet unadorned, you are done! We wanted to decorate ours, so we sketched a leafy design in pencil before painting over it in white.
Nicholas says he is still getting the hang of painting decorative motifs, but he likes to challenge himself when a project calls for it. If you want to try a simple design for your sled, he recommends some stripes.
He also added an acorn on the front for extra pizzazz. Once the paint dried, the sled was done!
Nicholas settled his elephant, cardinal, and skunk dollies comfortably into the sled, and set off down the snowy path, pulling it along behind him. As he passed the other animals' houses, his friends poked their heads out to shout their praises. Nicholas marched proudly past, thanking them politely as he went. This project was a success! ❄️♥️
Our new mini skunk and cardinal will be available on Tuesday, December 12th at 1PM ET with the Festive Gifts Collection. Shop our mini elephant dolly here!
Did you make this craft at home? Send us a photo or tag us on social media @hazelvillage! Questions? Email us at hello@hazelvillage.com.
You might also like: