Farmhouse Bear Craft Kit Tutorial

Hey, friends! Today we’re going to paint our Jumbo Bear craft kit and add some cute embellishments to make an adorable Farmhouse Bear! Our high quality MDF and Maple Wood laser cut craft kits are super easy to use. Today’s Jumbo Bear is cut out from our solid smooth 1/4 inch MDF and is 10.5 inches tall. It includes all the pieces you see in the first picture below. All other paints, wax, and embellishments, etc. are not included in this kit so you can choose your own favorite colors and styles to craft your own unique home decor or gift. Let’s get started!

To follow this tutorial, here are the supplies you’ll need:

Supplies:

Jumbo Bear blank craft kit (found HERE)
Acrylic paint: brown and tan (I used “Territorial Beige” and Warm Buff” “Light Mocha”)
Paint brush
Sanding block and sand paper
Dixie Belle antique wax ( You can find it HERE on my affiliate link) and blending tool
Stick Fast Glue ( You can find it HERE on my affiliate Link)
Hot glue gun and glue sticks
Sharpie fine point marker
Sharpie Paint Effect marker
Fabric strips, twine, and/or raffia for making a bow
Bow maker (You can find it HERE on my affiliate link) —Optional
Faux greenery
Small rusty bell

Step 1: Paint Your Farmhouse Bear Craft Pieces

The first thing we’re going to do is use some acrylic paint called Territorial Beige, on the large pieces of the bear. This kit has a few layers so I started with the back piece first. I didn’t bother painting the middle because nobody is going to see that part when all the layers of the bear are glued together. I just painted around the edges and everywhere it’s going to be visible. On the top layer piece of the bear, you’re going to see all of it so you’re going to want to make sure you paint that completely. I even painted the edges.

I started painting the paws the same “Territorial Beige” color but decided to change it to a light mocha color called “Warm Buff” because I wanted a lighter color on the pawls and the nose. If you’re anything like me when you’re crafting, I’ll start something and decide to change my mind midway through. That’s part of the fun of crafting isn’t it? We get to get creative and change things up and try new things!

Step 2: Sand All Farmhouse Bear Craft Pieces

Once everything is painted and dried, next grab your sanding block with sand paper. I always get questions about where I get the sanding block. You can get them at Lowe’s or Walmart. I like the little yellow ones; they’re great for doing little projects like this. Take your sanding block over top of the bear and just scuff it up to give it that rustic look that we all love so much.

Step 3: Add Antique Wax

Next, it’s time to add some antique wax. I love using my my blending tool with antique wax from Dixie Belle for this! Go around the edges of all your bear pieces in small circular motions around the edges and long motions through the middle to give your farmhouse bear a rustic look and also highlights the 3D dimensional effect. I also did take some wax through the middle a little for mine.

Step 4: Start Assembling your Farmhouse Bear

When the wax is dry (I like to speed up the process with a hair dryer), it’s time to assemble your bear! For the layers of the bear, I used a liquid glue called StickFast.

Step 5: Add Details on the Bear’s Face

Now for some details, I added the eyes with a Sharpie paint effect marker. You can find those on Amazon. They’re really nice for crafting. I used a Sharpie fine point marker for the fine engraving lines on his little paws, and I use that same marker to draw the little dots for the nose. Once I got that all filled in, I scuffed that up with my sanding paper a little to keep that rustic look.

Step 6: Make A Bow

Next we’re going to make a bow. I love using my Bow Maker for this! You can use whatever lightweight flexible material you like. I just ripped up strips of fabric that I got from Jubilee fabric. If you’re looking for really pretty fabrics, I recommend checking them out! I decided to make a cute little messy bow for this bear.

If you want to see how easy it is to use this Bow Maker, you can watch the video tutorial at the end of this post. I used a strip of the same fabric to tie onto the neck of the bear like a little collar and glued that little bow in place.

Step 7: Add Greenery & Final Details

Lastly, let’s add some final details. I got a bundle of greenery at Hobby Lobby and tore it apart for little projects like this. Using small sprigs, I tucked them under the the bow.

I thought it needed something in the center so I added little rusty bell. A button would look cute, too! Once I was happy with the placement of these last details, I hot glued everything in place.

Let me know what you think! I’d love to see your creative version of this Jumbo Bear craft kit! Feel free to share it with me on social media!