Going on a Trip

We have a family reunion next month in Australia. I am so excited. I get to go!!!

Now for the not-so-exciting part: it is my flat self going, not the flesh and blood version.
When I heard about the reunion (which was planned in about 6 weeks; can you tell my sister helped?) I wanted to go, but of course that is not possible.

Then I got the brilliant idea of combining the reunion with my homeschool plans to study geography by making and mailing a flat stanley. So today I spent my afternoon making a Flat Elouise.

For those of you so inclined to make a similar project here is how I did it:
I cut a piece of newspaper the same size as my cardstock (I used letter sized cardstock), then folded it in half and cut out the outline of half a person. I opened and checked it and trimmed it until it looked about right.

Next I cut a newspaper section the size of half a shirt so I could make a top in two pieces so I would have a seam down the front.

I then traced the original piece onto different papers to make the skirt and shoes. After cutting them out, I attached the pieces from the bottom up -  shoes, then skirt, then top.
Next I found a picture of me and cropped my head. I then measured the size of my Flat El head and custom printed the photo to match.

After attaching the head, I used a 1" circle punch to cut pieces of circles, then layered them to create my curly hair. The above picture shows me with half my hair on.
After this I got to do the fun part - embellishing. I used ribbon to make a belt. Because it was a light coloured ribbon, I found the seam showed through, and so I doubled the ribbon over and used glue dots to attach it.
Then I used halfback pearls from my Stampin' Up pretties kit to make a necklace and for buttons down my skirt. I used the Stampin Up vintage roses to accent the waist and for a flower in my hair.


Now I am packed and ready for vacation! LOL