Stand Up Yard Animals

Stand up yard animals FARM HOME Miscellaneous 11-6-31 People slam on their brakes when they drive by Jackie Rust's yard and see cows, hogs, sheep and other animals wandering around loose. They have to get a close-up look before they realize all those wandering animals aren't going anywhere. Rust runs a booming business building "stand-up" animals out of plywood. She built the first ones for herself and had so much interest from neighbors and passersby she -decided to sell a few. Now she can hardly keep up with demand. "From a distance they look like the real thing. We can fool almost anyone until they get up close. You can have a lot of fun with them, posing them in unusual situations. We make half-size animals that you can put behind a tree or behind a building so it looks like they're peeking around the corner," says Rust. In addition to the cutouts, which stand from 3 1/2 ft. to 5 ft. tall, she has started a line of greeting cards showing pictures of the animal cutouts. She also sells smaller versions for mounting as silhouettes on the sides of buildings or on walls inside the house. Stand-up animals are fashioned from 1/2-in. exterior plywood. Nearly any kind of farm animals is available but she says cows are among the most popular. The biggest demand is for Holsteins but she can also make Jerseys and Guernseys as well as Angus cattle. A full-size cow cut-out sells for $45. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Jackie Rust, Amoozing Art, Rt. 3, Box 56F, Fontana, Wis. 53125 (ph 414 275-3938).

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