Hey everyone! Today I will show you how I (meaning “we” because my husband was certainly in on this one a few different ways) made the antler wreath that ended up on our fireplace mantel.
I found a lot of pretty antler wreaths on Pinterest.
Some of these antler pieces can get pretty pricey. Hundreds to even thousands of dollars. So we decided to make our own. Cause they are gorgeous. And cause we have antlers lying all over the yard. And the garage floor.
Something about this project of mine got my husband pretty darn excited (all these years the antlers have been decidedly not invited inside the house, you see).
Since I just needed the antler part, not the skull, Shaun then had to get to work with the saw. Of course our son is all over watching that. Dead animals. Sharp tools. Fun stuff.
After I had the antlers I needed, I worked on arranging them until I had the shape and size of wreath I wanted. This proved to be very difficult and took the longest of any of the steps. Here is version 3721.
Once I had finally made up my mind, I got out the glue gun and went to work.
Dramatic close-up of glue gun. Yes, I moved everything onto the kitchen island and then had to cover the whole thing with newspaper to protect it from the glue. And then I had to use tea towels to support the antlers so that they would stay in the position I wanted them in until the glue dried (antlers are tricky little things to work with- they like to move around…).
But at least I could watch that show about Alaskan hairdressers while I worked.
Actually, this worked against me, and I think I can blame that show a few times for burned fingers!
Once I had everything propped up properly, though, and my burning fingers under some cold water, the glue worked really well to hold them all together.
I let it dry overnight, and then Shaun nailed it up on some leftover boards from our floor. He put a few little finishing nails all around the wreath so that each antler has its own support. Because we used real antlers, it ended up being pretty heavy.
So here is our version of the antler wreath.
I can’t decide if I should paint the antlers white? Or the boards? What do you think?
I’m going to link up to Kate’s Fall Crafts Link Party on Tuesday. Can’t wait to see everyone’s fall crafts!
October 3rd, 2011 at 8:06 am
Wow! What an incredible project. It looks amazing. I’m so glad you linked up at Etcetorize!
October 4th, 2011 at 7:12 am
Thank you!
October 4th, 2011 at 10:39 pm
Oh my…my brother has got to see this…neat looking idea!!
blessings,
Linda
October 5th, 2011 at 5:17 am
Fantastic, how lucky you are to have a source of antlers because I agree that they can be very expensive to purchase. If it were my wreath I’d paint them white but leaving them natural and painting the board a color might work too to give you some contrast. Thanks for sharing.
October 5th, 2011 at 8:20 pm
Thanks. I’m going to give one or the other a try…
October 6th, 2011 at 7:17 am
Very unique and amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it. Well done.
October 7th, 2011 at 5:05 pm
Thank you!!
October 6th, 2011 at 9:30 am
I think it’s great, I have 2 hunters that can help me out with that project.
October 7th, 2011 at 5:04 pm
Thank you! It’s nice to have help in that department. And to have something you want to do with them!!
October 7th, 2011 at 1:16 pm
hee hee my husband would be in love with that
October 7th, 2011 at 5:03 pm
Mine is too!! I want to paint either the antlers or the wood white, though, and he is not so in love with that!!
Catherine
October 7th, 2011 at 6:01 pm
[...] Antler Wreath October 7, 2011 By Beckie Leave a Comment // Catherine from Stone and Rose had been scoping out all of the various antler wreaths online when she decided it was time to make [...]
October 8th, 2011 at 1:53 pm
Hi! Nice work on the antler wreath, but I really LOVE the yarn wrapped B you also have in the picture. Do you have a tutorial on how you made that by chance? Oh, and I like the painted white idea. What about starting with the wood, painting it white and distressing it. Thanks!
October 9th, 2011 at 8:13 am
I’d paint them white. Love the tutorial!
October 9th, 2011 at 8:14 am
Thanks. I’m trying to sell my husband on the idea….
November 8th, 2011 at 2:57 am
If he’s anything like mine, good luck on that one, lol!
November 8th, 2011 at 6:45 am
Thanks! I actually already did paint it. It took a loooooot of convincing, though, I tell you. I painted the antlers white and painted the wooden piece he built to hang it on the colour of the walls so it would blend in more. I just haven’t done the new post on it yet!
October 9th, 2011 at 10:55 am
This is so cool! It would look great on my screened porch!!!
December 4th, 2011 at 10:19 am
[...] using some of the antlers we had available to us, we made this [...]