Hungry Hippo

Animalistic chopping board

If Nofretete and Cleopatra would have already run their own beauty vlogs, the pharaohs would have been incredible influencers. With a paste out of lead and lead salts they contour their expressive eyes, which also effects an antibacterial value. To prepare their mixtures they use slates in the shape of animals. Most of these slates found in Ancient Egyptian tombs are in the shape of fishes, birds and crocodiles. For our DIY tutorial, we choose one in the shape of a cute hippo – dated back to the Antiquity between 3400 and 3100 B.C.

You'll need

  • Motive of MK&G Collection Online
  • Pencil and scissors
  • Natural wooden board
  • Pad saw
  • Drilling machine and wood drill
  • Sand paper
1

Prepare a template by tracing your motive to a paper sheet or use our free printable.

2

Cut out the template and transfer the motive to the wooden board with a pencil. Now saw carefully along the outline and drill out the upper hole. Take care – safety first!

3

To create an eye for your hippo drill only a few millimeters into the board. The peak of the wood drill creates automatically a tiny pupil in the middle of the new hippo eye. Can you see it?

4

To avoid splinters of wood in your fingers it is important to sandpaper your board until it is soft and smooth.

5

If you want to seal your new cute chopping board, you can rub it in some olive oil. (Images: Friederike Fankhänel/ MKG, CC-BY 4.0 SA)

Did you know?

Pine wood (as we used for our tutorial) is easy to work on and is demonstrably an antibacterial material.

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