Antler Art Tutorial

Have you seen art that’s masculine antlers paired with feminine flowers?  You may have seen the pretty You and Me Antler Art at weddings, but how about adding one to a  little girl’s room?

Nature has so many feminine aspects starting with Mother Nature , and then  flowers, female animals, the soft green of new leaves, and those wonderful sweet natural scents.

I am selling a few of these at local craft fairs.   If you want to make your own I have enclosed a  tutorial:

I considered adding a saying.  “Life is mud-licious”, ”Dream”, “Be outside”, “Discover!!” are some ideas you can use.  I haven’t found the perfect vinyl yet, so for now these ones are going to the craft fair as they are.

There is room between the antlers for wording, or you can put the stencil higher and place the vinyl letters below if you like.

Supplies

• For the slats- 4 lengths of wood – 3” by 1” cut into 24 inch lengths
• For the back frame -2 lengths of 2” by 1” lumber cut into 12” lengths for the back frame
• Stain of your choice
• Sand paper
• Screw/nails

Herman does all the large wood working.  I am terrified of table saws, band saws, radial arm saws and air nail guns.  I can stand nearby but I really don’t like it much; I press my lips firmly together to prevent blurting out a cautionary instruction at the wrong moment.  If any of you use the big tools, congratulations, I would love you to tell me about it.

Once the wood is cut, place the four pieces of wood face down horizontally.

Make sure the ends are even.  Herman used a spare piece of wood to align against.

 

 

 

To create the spaces between the slats, find two thin items of identical thickness.  We used two thin screwdrivers, but slivers of wood, or two butter knives will also work.

With the face side down, create a firm edge to prevent sliding.  Herman used two clamps.

Place the screw drivers against the first piece of wood,  slide the next piece into place forming the spacer. Make sure they are square and tight, and then repeat with the remaining pieces.

Once complete attach the back frame pieces four  inches from the end as shown.  Herman used an air nail gun, but you could use screws or some small nails.

 

Staining

Apply stain of your choice. I used three coats of white matte stain from Lowe’s, nothing fancy.  As it’s going on the wall I did not apply a protective coating.

Antler Stencil

To make the stencil, draw one antler.  Then trace that stencil to create a second identical antler.

Tape the stencil to the wood with painters tape, making sure it is centered.  Outline VERY lightly in pencil.

Painting

It took a few attempts until I found this process that worked for me.

Thin your paint at a 1:1 ratio.  I suggest starting with ¼ tsp paint to ¼ tsp water, you won’t need much paint.  Dip your brush in water before loading it with paint, brush off the excess.  Make sure the brush is almost dry before applying the paint. Have a wet cloth handy, the paint removes easily while still wet.

I used three coats.

First coat, cover the entire antler surface.  Work vertically with very light strokes.  Make sure to check for paint drips between the slats.

Second coat, add some texture along the curves of the antler.

Third coat, use very light strokes to smooth out any blemishes.

Once painted and dry, erase away any pencil marks that may be showing.

Flowers

You can always purchase flowers,  but I much prefer the look of the homemade ones.

Supplies

• Scrap material, or ½ meter of quilting cotton in each colour, and/or 1 meter of pink chiffon.
• Buttons, greenery, ribbon

To make the gorgeous peonies I followed this tutorial  the diy mommy .  It took some time but so worth it.  The soft look of these chiffon flowers  is so feminine and sweet.

The other flowers I made using my silhouette cameo.  I glued the flowers with greenery and ribbon backgrounds.  Design the floral arrangements anyway you like using any colours from your decor.  I will be making more for fall in oranges, greens and browns.

Let me know if you make these.

Leanna