https://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/totoro-in-the-rain-box-frame • Posted by susie
Wanted to play on the image of Totoro standing in the rain with his wee leaf hat on, had this idea to use some elastic thread as the rain and the end result was really lovely. Instead of using a box frame, I turned a regular photo frame into a box frame as I needed to be able to manipulate the cardboard at the top and bottom of the picture as you'll see.
Wanted to play on the image of Totoro standing in the rain with his wee leaf hat on, had this idea to use some elastic thread as the rain and the end result was really lovely. Instead of using a box frame, I turned a regular photo frame into a box frame as I needed to be able to manipulate the cardboard at the top and bottom of the picture as you'll see.
Draw out your Totoro template measuring it against your frame so you get the right size. Cut out this silhouette in cardboard as your base for your figure.
Use masking tape and cardboard to pad out his snout and tummy. Use a thin grey fleece material to cover your figure. Use a mixture of fabric glue and tape to affix the material at the back, taking care to pull it taught around the details, like his ears.
Cut the details out of felt. Tummy, eyes, nose and little leaf hat (also his little grey chest markings that I almost forgot but remembered just in time!) Use fabric clue to stick these in place, I also used a little stitch on the leaf to give it a nicer shape, this just takes playing around a little.
Cut 4 strips of cardboard to the correct depth for your frame.'Sew' the elastic thread through the top and bottom strips. As you need some tension on these for the rain effect, getting the length right was trial and error for me. Remember to figure out how much space your figure takes up so you don't sew any threads where he stands.
Fix your cardboard frame in place with a hot glue gun. Glue your figure to a colour card and the frame back, I chose a dark background to make everything pop (and cause it was the only card I had that was big enough :D ) Tape the frame back in place with the strongest tape you can find and enjoy what you've created!