WHAT I DID THIS WEEKEND - 24 JULY

Having explained my recent absence in the previous post & having completed this project during my absence (minus the painting) i spent the latter part of today (Saturday) editing the final stages (photographs) for this project for you all. So without anymore rambling here is the final part of the custom novelty foot stool:

As you can see i strengthened the sides & the top let joints of the actual foot stool with a few layers of news print.

You can see here too i changed the foot design as my wife B (Barbara) who i am making the foot stool for wanted the feet to be wearing slipper's not just bare feet. Read on to see just how i made the simple slipper effect below.

To begin with i simply took the foot form & left off the toes. If you look closely you can see the foot like 90% of anything i make is totally hollow. You may think this might be a problem with the weight of the foot stool & B's feet resting on these hollow feet, but the 'tube' i made the legs with sits on the floor not on top of this hollow foot form.

Next i cut out some slipper 'soles' from pizza card stock. I made the soles two layers of card stock thick but you can use a thicker card stock if you wish. I simply had none at hand during this build.

Next came the upper front portion of the slipper. To make this i cut out some serial box quality card stock in an archway type shape as shown. Look closely you will see i cut the final shape around 3cms larger than the actual foot. I did it like this as once i bend the card 'over' the front of the foot it will otherwise have been too small & would not have connected with the sole underneath all the way around the front of the slipper & foot. You may need to experiment to get the first one right but you can simply draw around the final shape once you get it right.

Next i cut all the slipper tops around a 3rd of the way into the top of the arch shape as shown here. Now the more 'slots' you cut out at this point the smoother the rounded off shape of the front of the slipper top will look. I drew only a few lines to show you so they would appear easier to see in the picture.

Starting at the 'back' of the slipper top, tack down the card with tape 'one' section at a time. Allow each section to overlap as you go shown here by the red arrows. They will overlap naturally because of the angles of the cuts & the new shape your forcing them into becoming so go slowly & gently let the card go as it wants. Try not to crease the card where it wraps around/over the top of the foot. You want this section to be a smooth bend without any creased edges in it just like a slipper has.

Now keep going all the way around from 'one side only'. Pull the card snuggly but not too tightly as you go.

ALL done, now do the same for the others too.

Now add a couple of layers of paper strips to bury all the card & tape.

To make the 'fury' edge or 'trim' on the back of the slipper top section. Simply roll a length of foil tightly as shown in the picture above. To get the right length simply use a piece of string or tape to gauge the size, measure that then cut & roll your foil to match it. Remember your going to need 4 of these.

Gently bend the foil as you go holding down one end. You may need to re-shape the foil as it makes the bend over the top of the slipper but this is no problem even with tightly rolled foil as used here.

Once you get the shape right fix it in place with some hot glue.

Now to make the fur edge i am going to use some refined wood chippings. You can of course use anything you like there are a wonder full selection of feathered or fur trims available. This method i am using will give me the same effect that my wife B likes &actually has on her current pair of slippers she wears around the house. The final choice remains yours for your own projects of course.

A coating of undiluted PVA glue first...

...Then a pinch of wood chippings pressed into place as i go around the foil.

A quick tap on the table to remove loose chippings & a quick wipe here & there- voila' a fury edged slipper just like my wife B is wearing right now lol.

Each foot (with slipper) was then attached to the tube legs with some masking tape. If you noticed i had not yet added the ankles to the feet yet? That is because i am going to place the ankles right over the point where the foot joins the tube legs. This will help to hide the point where the tube goes into the foot as well as make this point a little stronger too. Make sure too tat the tube rests on the bottom of the foot especially when using 'hollow' feet such as i have here.

To bulk out & shape the legs & knees for my design i used some foil. The foil does not need to be tightly compacted here. Just squeeze it enough to hold the crude leg & knee shape at this point. You can see i have also added the ankles too now.

A couple of layers of paper strips & voila' a finished leg.

Now to cover the foam for the cushion section. I chose a smooth finish cloth so it would not irritate B's feet or legs the blue colour matches our living room curtains & carpet which are shades of blue. I measured the foam rectangle i cut out earlier in the build then added as much again of the width of the foam to allow the material to wrap around the underside of the foam. It formed this crude cross shape you see above.

Just in case my measurements were off slightly i added these small pieces to each corner of my foam cushion. This way if the edges do not line up neatly enough the small pieces shown here will hide my mistakes a little. They also have the added benefit of making the corners a little thicker. So when the foam is removed & replaced for washing the corners will last a little longer from wear & tear as the foam rubs on the backs of the knees of the actual stool as time passes.

To fix the material to the foam i am using a spray on contact adhesive. This is the faster & easier way to add the material. It has the advantage of when washing the whole thing can be washed in one go. No fiddling around getting the material to back over the mishapped foam as time passes.

To use this type of adhesive/glue you simply spray 'both' surfaces to be glued, wait a few minutes for it to dry to a sticky (tacky) state then bring 'both surfaces together in a smooth slow controlled action. Once both surfaces meet your stuck. There is generally NO re-doing it. So get it right first time if you can. As with everything the tins come with full instructions.

One finished cushion.

All i need now is to know what colour or pattern my wife wants he slippers painted then i can fully finish this project lol.