FOUR - Reindeer Rule!!!

Fourth in a series of FIVE

Bazaar-Worthy Craft Tutorials

Reindeer Rule

I love to recycle things by painting them

and giving them new purpose.

These rulers can be almost anything!

I've made scarecrows, pumpkins,

Uncle Sam, Santa, elves, snowmen, toy soldiers,

reindeer, gingerbread men, angels, wise men ...

Then once you've got some painted

rulers on hand, they give a gift bucket some

height, or make an adorable plant poke

for a mum or a poinsettia -

I've even given them wire hangers

and stuck them into my Christmas tree

as over-sized ornaments.

You can do almost anything, I tell you!!

Well.  I wouldn't use them as a back scrubber in

the shower ... but I might use them to

scratch that itchy part I can't reach right between

my shoulder blades ...

So, you see?  They're multi-purpose.

My sister found these rulers online

when she was shopping for decorations for

a school fundraiser.

I expressed excitement when I saw

them in a shipping envelope on the floor of

her study.  She gave them to me.

I love her.

They needed a little work ...

the metal edges were loosened and bent,

so I had to remove them with pliers.

And, the backs were varnished and slick,

so I used my sanding block to rough them up and

give them a little "tooth" so the paint

would have something to adhere to.

The Basics:

wooden ruler(s), 1/2" wood button plug,
two cacti wood cutouts,
sanding block, acrylic paint:
chocolate brown, white, black, red
spray paint: textured brown
Plaid Extreme Glitter: red
stylus for dotting eyes,
appropriate sized paintbrushes
(1" wash or sponge roller for rulers,
1/2" wash for noses, liner brush for mouths)
glue gun and glue sticks,
8" length of ribbon for scarf

Getting Started:

 


Base coat the rulers with two coats
of chocolate brown acrylic paint.

 
I like to use a sponge roller to apply the
base coat when I'm painting multiples.
It makes the job go much smoother and quicker.

I thought it would be fun to give the
antlers a little texture - so
I sprayed them with Rust-oleum
textured spray paint.

Paint the button plugs red,
and add a thick coat of Extreme Glitter.

Since the brown base coat is so dark,
I needed the eyes to "pop" -
so I used a paintbrush handle to dot
the eyes with white.

Once the larger white dots have dried completely,
use a stylus to dot the centers of the
eyes with black.

Use the glue gun to attach the nose
and the cacti for the antlers;
then use the liner brush and apply the mouth
with thinned white paint.




To finish, tie the ribbon around the
reindeer's neck.


Reindeer Rule!!!


* Peace and Old Rulers *