Friday, November 4, 2011

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 *

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