Living on a busy street has pros and cons. Need a quick dinner, fresh vegetables, cupcakes, even a paperback book – got it covered. Need a parking spot out front – now that is a bit tricky. We decided to take advantage of the foot traffic and hence the Elephant from Mabell’s Zoo has moved in.

We used a large template from the actual artwork and cut pieces out of plywood. In order to get a similar appearance, we covered the wood with crumpled paper and painted everything with various shades of blue. A final coat of polyurethane protects the finish.

The Elephant stands about 5 feet tall and we attached the head with a bolt to allow it to swing; a feature for another idea that involves social media and arduinos; coming soon.

Mabell’s Zoo is a multi-touch children’s picture book available on the App Store and Google Play.