Old McZaner Had a Farm

I was looking through my favorite crafting blogs earlier this week, when I came across this on Oopsey Daisy:

Holy Cow! Could you think of a cuter way to present Old McDonald? I think not. Go here (Oopsey Daisy) to check out the original post. LOVE IT!

So, armed with my 40% off coupon, the family headed out to Hobby Lobby yesterday. I bought a beautiful piece off red foam core board, popsicle sticks, velcro, and lots of farm animals. Clay and I stayed up until close to midnight last night so I could finish the project. Yes, I was that excited about it.

Here's the finished project:

I'm a little sad that there wasn't a pig. That's my favorite verse of the song. I'll be on the lookout for a little wooden pig to add to the collection.

I also love that the duck and the horse are kissing and the rooster seems fascinated by the dog's collar. Good times.

I found a really cute free clip-art farmer and attached him to the front. Clay said that he looks more like Old McDonald's son who inherited the farm.

Like I said, I bought a piece of foam core board that was red on one side. I found an image of a simple, cute barn that I used as a guide for the design of the front. I couldn't really decide how I was going to make the white lines. I started by using puff paint. I really love puff paint, but apparently I didn't have enough. As the bottle kept getting emptier, it would puff out and I ended up with a huge mess.

I got frustrated and stewed for a bit about how to make it work. I decided to flip it over and spray paint the white side. Then I cut out strips of white cardstock and Mod Podged them over the paint in the barn design. Then I added Old McDonald's son and Mod Podged him on too. I love that stuff. I was worried about using the cardstock, but I wound up liking that even more than the paint.

Just like the Oopsey Daisy barn, I added velcro at the top to attach the animals to. I also added the pocket to store the animals on the back. I like the smeared paint look on the back. Lovely.

When Zane woke up this morning, he ran right to the barn, super excited. I pulled out the first animal and started singing the song.

"Old McDonald had a farm.......and on his farm he had a turtle. With a....ummmmm....."

I could hear Clay laughing at me from the other room as I searched my brain for two things:

1. What in the world could a turtle say?

2. Why in the world would I buy a turtle as a visual-aid for a song about animal sounds? Oh my.