https://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/ski-resort-funicular-advent-calender • Posted by miss red fox
Here is everything about building an advent calendar in form of a mountain funicular in a ski resort. I can also send you a file for your Silhouette plotter via mail.
Here is everything about building an advent calendar in form of a mountain funicular in a ski resort. I can also send you a file for your Silhouette plotter via mail.
Since I didn't want to draw and cut 24 boxes per hand I plotted them with my Silhouette. I draw the box in Illustrator and provide it to you for your private use (please mail at hallo@miss-red-fox.de). The box is about 2,36 x 1,18 x 1,18 inch. I also cut some white rectangles to stick them on the ceiling of the box, so that the tickets look better on them. About the paper: I used cardstock but I now wish I had something thicker. Glue the nacelles like in the picture and stick some white washi tape around them (real funicular nacelles have two colors, too). The boxes / nacelles can be opened at one end and filled (1-2 sweets should do, not to heavy please).
Cut a piece of wire (ca. 11,4 inch) and bend it like in the pictures. I did the upper bending on my finger, not with the pliers. Jam two brass fastener around the wire ends and stick / attach them in the wholes you did with an awl in the bottom of the nacelle. The thing with the wire was quite complicated and this is why every one looks a little bit different.
Prepare the board (to be a base for your "mountain"): The MDF board (cost 4,41€ and was cut for me from a remnant piece in the store) is ca. 160 x 30 cm big (63 x 11,8 inch) and I painted it white. I cut the wooden stick in fitting pieces and painted them, too, then fixed them with screws on the board (drill first!). Thicker screws are better, you want the construction to be strong. I fixed the white painted spools (the "cable drums" are in fact two ribbon spools, which already had holes), on the sticks.
Build the mountain: For the mountain I made a construction of thicker wire first, on which I put around the wire mesh and stapled the ends and the edges on the board. On that I built the mountain out of newspaper and modgepodge, the glued a layer of grey packaging paper and in the end several layers of white paper tissue and let it dry overnight. I wrapped paper cord around the spools, it has to be very tight. The paper cord is stapled on the middle pillars.
Decorate: The whole landscape was decorated with fir trees and ski resort accessories (made of washi-tape and toothpicks flags and a finish line). My skiers (and nacelle rider) are gum bears (glue them with hot glue) who ride on washi tape skis.