My wife brought with her the tradition of Christmas crackers during the holiday. This year she found some delightful reindeer crackers that were too adorable to recycle after we popped them. I kept one and please my wife by recycling the rest.
I thought an automaton would be a fun way to upcycle the cardboard head. I used Tracy's 3D printed cardboard clips to quickly assemble my box from cut cardboard pieces.
I used a different technique for the crank and cam that worked well.
I used a 3D printed pivot that I designed in Tinkercad for other automata. It attaches to a push pin that I trimmed the point and covered the stump in hot glue.
I measured and cut a square dowel to establish a minimum and maximum height for the reindeer's travels.
A roof line cut from a corner of a box flap helped conceal the linkage and cemented the automaton's narrative.
Cardstock snow and a window completed the design.
This project took me about three hours from start to finish. I made things up in my head as I went and transfered the ideas to cardboard, which I hand cut with a retractable snap-blade knife. I used hot glue for cardboard and wood attachments and a cold glue stick for the cardstock. I think I will pack it away for next December!
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