I’ve mentioned this before, but I’ll mention it again … I’m obsessed with deer!  I have to really edit myself from decorating EVERYTHING in deer decor.  “Simmer, Anne, you don’t want your house to look like Rudolph’s family reunion!” 

Anyhoo, I had this great idea for an art piece in my music room.  It’s super easy and I did it in about 1-1.5 hours, (while waiting for the moving truck to arrive). 

First, you start with two vertical canvases that will fit your space side by side.  I purchased my canvases at Michael’s because they were having a half-off sale. 

Materials:

2 vertical canvases

Paint for Antlers

Paint for Background

2 pieces of Frisket about the same size as your canvas, (frisket is basically painter’s tape and stencils in one)

Pen

Scissors

Paint Roller

1. Place one piece of frisket on top of your canvas.  Trace one of the antlers.  I had a faux antler I used as reference.  Once you are happy with your traced shape, cut it out and set it aside for later. 

2. Paint the entire top of the canvases the color you want your antlers.  I wanted mine a very light “griege,” (grey/beige).  Set your canvases in a place to dry.

3.  Once the canvases are dry, peel of the backing from the antler-stenciled frisket and place it on one of the canvases. I started from the bottom of the canvas and slowly stuck/peeled my way up.  Think, “cell phone screen protector.”  You don’t want any bubbles - especially on the edges.

4. Now that the design is stuck to one of the canvases, use the leftover antler-stenciled frisket backing paper to trace the same antler reversed.  I added a couple more branches to differentiate it from the other one.  Here’s an image of the antler-stenciled frisket backings once I cut and peeled each sticky piece to the canvas.  I will most likely save these non-sticky backing pieces for reference for future projects.

5.  With both antlers stuck to the canvas, you can now paint the entire canvas, including the sides, with your background paint.  I chose a brownish gunmetal metallic paint.  I used a roller with a lot of nap on it to create texture. 

6.  Once the paint is dry to semi-dry, you can peel off the antler stencil.  My edges were a little hairy, so I touched them up a bit. 

Here’s the finished product in my music room:

This project is fast, easy, and, of course, cheap!

CELEBRATORY WINE: La Crema Chardonnay, $10-15.  This is your typical California chardonnay with its popular oak/butter taste.  Chardonnay and deer may be in abundance, but I’m not complaining.  CHEERS!