Sawhorse Reindeer How-To

This sawhorse reindeer is a fairly easy Christmas' decoration to make. It's not an original idea, similar ones have been around for years, but it's my take on it. I hope it gives anyone who makes it the amazing instant creative satisfaction feeling I got once done. Ignoring the time painting, was completed in less than an hour.

Materials:
- A wooden sawhorse. I used a Burro Brand one. They are inexpensive and easy to find at most big box hardware places.
- Jigsaw
- Drill/driver
- Sander/ sandpaper
- Pencil
- Ruler/Tape Measure
- Plywood with a nice clean finish. I used 1/2" thick Poplar.
- Paint and colors of choice. I used both latex house paint for base color and craft paint for detail colors.
- 10 - 12 Small "L" brackets. 3/4" x 3/4" ones worked for me.
- Short wood screws for brackets (less than the thickness of your wood)
- Eyes. I used large buttons, but you could paint on if want.
- Exterior grade clear varnish. Anything your comfortable using would work. Spray or brush-on.
- Wood glue (OPTIONAL)  This is designed to be a temporary assembly for the holidays so you can take apart and store easily, plus use sawhorse as really intended later, but you can make a permanent prop just by adding wood glue to any of the steps below.

Step 1 - Print out the templates I drew up ( see below). I grid them out so you upscale onto plywood by drawing a larger grid on. Trace the pattern on the plywood and cut out with jigsaw. Be sure to cut out the notches in the head and on the antler carefully (these are 1/2" thick. if you use thicker or thinner plywood redraw notch that thickness). Sand all the rough edges.

Click on images to enlarge.

Step 2 - Attach head and tail to appropriate ends of your sawhorse using "L" brackets.

Step 3 - Place the antlers on by sliding it's notch onto the head notch.

Step 4 - Paint and decorate the way you want. Have fun, on my first take I added a red ornament for a nose (see below). Clear coat if needed for exterior use.

Dasher

Last Christmas, niece Devin's belief in Santa Claus was wavering. In her annual letter to him, she asked for a picture of one of his reindeer. Her parents suspected she wanted proof he exists.

Well, sure enough, on Christmas morning, Devin found a framed photo of Dasher under the tree, with a letter from old St. Nick himself that read

Dear Devin

Thank you for writing. You asked me for a picture of one of my reindeer, although they are very shy and dislike being photographed, I do have one photo of old Dasher as a young buck many years ago that I can give you.

When Dasher was still learning to fly, he would "dash" off in all directions, often landing in odd places. That's how he got his name. In this picture taken by Mrs. Claus, he landed on the workshop roof one day. It's always been one of my favorites. I hope you like it.

Merry Christmas and have a wonderful New Year.
-Santa

Mini Wreaths

I've been neglecting the blog for a little while, but no more. I hope to make up for it by overloading this Christmas week with lot's of holiday stuff. One of many favorite projects I've made working as the Family Fun "how to" videos craft stylist over the past few years was making these mini wreaths. They're great tree ornaments. What I like most about them, besides being easy and cheap, is the possibility to create so many variations of with different things and personalize for someone as a small gift. Here's the link: Make a Mini Wreath

Santa's Mailbox

Although I would be happy making Halloween props straight through December and all the way to next October, I also enjoy Christmas decorating. Above is a fun prop project I designed and made while working on the holiday episode of HGTV's Outer Spaces back in 2005.

The decorating theme was Santa's workshop, so having his mailbox at the end of the front walk was a must. It's something I might re-create for my home this year.

All the materials were from Lowe's Hardware (no relation) and Michael's Arts & Crafts. A redwood 4" x 4" fence post was cut down to about 3' high and attached to a pre-cut plywood round base so it would free stand. The mailbox was just an ordinary, inexpensive one and secured to the top of the post by two decorative ivy metal shelf brackets. The other scrolling details are glued on craft wood appliques ( Santa's initials as well).

The reindeer is one of those unpainted paper mache craft items. I cut the body in half so it would sit flat on top. It was tricky matching the curve of the mailbox so I hid the gaps/seams by covering them with some small plastic holly leaves. The tail is also a wood applique. The whole thing was primed and then, if I remember right, given numerous extra thick coats of brush-on hammered texture bronze paint, finished with a few light dusting's of gold spray paint, hitting the raised areas.

All the letters are cut pieces of colored "Fun Foam". The stamps are various scrapbooking stickers. Leaning against the post was a mail bag stuffed with similar made letters. Having some spilled out on the ground helped hide the base.


I found these photos on the HGTV website. I think I have some better ones somewhere and hope to update if I find them.

A Bumble Relic

A new addition to my "cabinet of curiosities". It continues the childhood story relic theme I started with Hook's hand from last year. The tooth is carved craft foam, coated in a thin mix of Fix-All. Finished with acrylic washes. I kept the design similar to the teeth Hermey the Elf pulled from the Bumble in the Rankin Bass holiday special but tried to give it a somewhat realistic feel with yellowish plaque and rough surface decay. I estimated what the bicuspid size would be, it's a little over 18" long, felt about right if the Bumble were real. The base is 10" in diameter.

I'm going to re-make the display base at some point when I have the materials I want. This one is just an overturned wood plate with a dowel attached. It works but what I really want to do is place it on a bed of packing straw inside an open old crate with North Pole shipping labels or expedition info stenciled on the side, etc. You know, as if just arrived at the museum or...to be hidden away along side a certain ark in a warehouse somewhere.

Now, for anyone who has no idea what this prop refers to....watch this and step back in time.