Anybody want a good canoe?

So I'm looking at Disney's Family Fun Craft website today and I see this how to craft for making a toy floatable canoe as a great summer project. As a little background, our daddy passed away in 2007 and he is where we Fritter Chicks got our sense of humor from. In his last hours, unable to hardly talk as his breathing was labored, he took off his oxygen mask and whispered "Anybody want a good canoe?" Well, our Uncle George told him to worry about breathing and not about a camouflage canoe but daddy was trying to get his affairs in order and give us something to laugh about. Uncle George finally said he would take it but to this day it is still sitting in the yard waiting on him to pick it up. Every time I go over to the house and see it I have to smile! The other day I knew daddy was smiling down on me because as momma and I were coming home from church there was a man on a bicycle who was pulling the biggest canoe you have ever seen. It would have qualified for an episode of You Might Be A Redneck. We laughed so hard and I heard daddy say, "See. People want good canoes." So, enjoy your life and create a memory while making this with your kids because everybody needs a good canoe!




Like the birch bark canoes built centuries ago by the Indian tribes in New England, this lightweight toy craft cuts quickly and smoothly through water.


CRAFT MATERIALS:
Cardboard
Scissors
Darning needle
String
Acrylic paints and brushes
Box of paraffin wax
Tall tin can
Metal tongs

Time needed: Afternoon or Evening
1. Fold a 6- by 12-inch piece of cardboard in half so that the long ends match up. Draw a side view of a canoe on one side of the cardboard, using the fold for the bottom of the boat.

2. With scissors, cut through both layers along the sides and top of the canoe, but not the bottom. Then, use the needle and string to sew together the curved ends.

3. For seats, cut two 3 1/2- by 1 1/2-inch strips out of cardboard scraps. Fold in the sides of each strip 1 inch from the short edges and wedge the seats inside the boat. Next, paint the canoe and let it dry thoroughly.

4. To waterproof the canoe, put the wax in the can and set the can in a saucepan filled with a couple inches of water. Heat slowly until the wax melts (parents only). Now, use a pot holder to set the can on newspaper.

5. With tongs, dip the boat, an end at a time, into the wax. (You may have to tilt the can.) When the wax hardens, place a few pebbles in the hull to prevent tipping, and the boat is ready to float in a backyard stream or bathtub.