Ax and Shield

The girl above would like me to show ya'll her handmade ax and shield.

The ax handle is made from a branch cut from our Crepe Myrtle tree. She stripped the bark off with a knife. The blade is made of two cardboard layers with popsicle sticks between for stiffness. She spray painted the cardboard with a wrought iron color and made the markings with silver enamel paint. The blade is attached to the handle with masking tape which was painted brown and then she wrapped and glued a strip of cloth around that.

The shield is plywood. She had her daddy cut it from some scrap we had. She painted the designs. A friend asked if they mean something; they don't. She just came up with them herself. I've heard that she plans to paint it later on to look like a Viking shield. The metal piece in the middle is a boss. She made it by hammering an Irish oats can lid (no sharp edges). It's nailed on to the plywood. She holds the shield by using two sturdy straps she nailed on to the back of the shield. The straps used to be a thick woven belt.

I think she is now happy with me as I had neglected to post about these items for far too long.  She also refuses to get her own blog and depends on me to show her creations. Of course, I don't really mind a bit because I love to show the things she makes. I think she has a great imagination. Besides, she is such a helpful girl that displaying her crafts is the least I can do.