Chipboard Fiddle Craft

Have you ever wondered about the difference between a violin and a fiddle? The short answer is that they are the same instrument, played in a different way for classical and jazz music (violin) versus country and bluegrass (fiddle). The long answer is a lot more complicated. Since the fiddle has been named the state instrument of Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and South Dakota, I thought it would be fun to design a craft based on this instrument. If you need a violin craft, just follow the same directions! 

Before I get to the tutorial, here I am holding my fiddle to give you a sense of scale. Obviously, you can make it as large or small as you want. 

Chipboard Fiddle Craft

Materials:

• fiddle image (below)
• chipboard
• binder clips
• microtip scissors
• Folk Art paint (Pure Black, Yellow Ochre, Autumn Leaves)
• brown ink pad
• black felt pen
• black ballpoint pen
• pencil
• paper piercer
• 3 mm gold brads or gold pearls
• craft glue

Steps: 

Print the image of the fiddle in the same size you want your finished project. Using scissors, separate the neck of the fiddle from the body. You now have two pattern pieces. 

Use the binder clips to attach the pattern pieces to chipboard. Carefully cut out each one, moving the binder clips as necessary. 

Cut out three more pieces from the scraps of chipboard: the bridge, the chinrest, and the tailpiece. You should have five pieces total. 

Paint the neck of the fiddle black. Extend the paint into the center of the pegbox. Rinse the brush. Mix a dash of Autumn Leaves into Yellow Ochre, stirring until it is mostly combined but not completely. Paint the body of the fiddle from top to bottom (no sideways strokes) to mimic the grain of the wood. The slight color variation will help it look more realistic. 

Paint the pegbox next, allowing some of the black to mix with the wood color. Then paint the scroll and pegs. Finally, paint the bridge, chinrest, and tailpiece. Let the paint dry completely. 

Tape the two pattern pieces back together. Use this technique to transfer the location of the F-holes to the painted chipboard, then color them in with the black felt pen. 

Use the brown inkpad to ink around the edges of all of the pieces. 

Use the ballpoint pen to emphasize the pegs and the edges of the pegbox. Draw a line across the top of the tailpiece. Then poke four holes below the line and add the brads. (Or just glue pearls in place and skip the holes. Much faster!)

Using the pattern as a guide, glue the neck, bridge, tailpiece, and chinrest in place. Draw the four strings with a pencil. 

I am really pleased with how my fiddle turned out. It was a fun challenge to try to figure out how to make it. On to the next project!