West Elm Have you ever seen an expensive piece for your home and thought to yourself "I could make that for less"?
We all have, right? There's a secret to making sure these imitation DIY projects look right though that most people forget.
The Design If you use budget materials and go for the high-end look, you're inviting people to make an unfair and unflattering comparison. You either need to go all out at a high level and invest a lot of money into your materials and a lot of time, or you need to be smart. One way to be smart is to take your DIY piece in a whimsical direction - to make it your own, and make it clear this is an inspiration and not an imitation.
That is what I decided to do when I came across some paper mache antlers and a deer head at Michael's arts and crafts. I wanted them to be a fun piece. Sometimes fun is just the right accent for a room - never take your home too seriously!
Small, fun accent pieces are definitely the place to use trendy designs. You are not going to have a set of cardboard antlers on your wall forever!
Chevrons are everywhere now, so I thought rather than trying to paint a deer face or mount the antlers on a log slice and pretend they are real (which honestly never works), I would go completely outside the box with a bold, glossy chevron pattern.
You could use paper to decoupage your antlers but it's hard to match the lines and design perfectly, so I decided to paint the design on myself.
The Materials
- Choose paper mache antlers or an animal head (you can find these online in many different styles)
For the chevron deer head:
- White primer spray paint
- High gloss spray paint in a color that works in your room - go bold!
- Delicate surface painters tape
- Pencil or marker to draw out the design
- Exacto knife to cut away the tape to make your design
For the antlers:
- White primer spray paint
- Spray chalkboard paint for the base, or color of your choice
- Acrylic paint
- Artist's paintbrush small enough to hand paint on the chevrons
Watch the video first, these instructions are meant to help you remember the order or answer any additional question
- First, spray paint the entire surface with white primer - the cardboard absorbs paint unevenly so a couple coats of primer greatly improves your final outcome
- Cover the entire face with delicate surface painters tape
- Draw marker lines to match up your chevrons, see the yellow lines on the drawing above
- Draw your chevrons, I did not use a ruler because the surface is uneven
- Cut away every other line with an Exacto knife
- Fill back in anywhere that the tape line cuts away unevenly with small pieces of tape, see inset photo above
- Spray paint the entire head with gloss paint
- After about an hour of drying remove the painter's tape
- Touch up lines with paint and a small brush
For the antlers only:
The Outcome - Spray paint the entire piece with the white primer
- Mask off the antlers (I taped a grocery bag over them)and paint the base with chalkboard paint
- Use the acrylic paint and brush to paint bands and chevrons in the wider spaces (see below)
The Budget Watch the video if you are confused about any part of this process, or comment and I will respond!
I love these accents! They were perfect in this winter sport themed room, I even have one in my office. I like to surround myself with a sense of whimsy when I design.
$14.99 - Deer head
$5.99 - Painter's tape
$3.75 - Spray primer
TOTAL: $428.48$3.75 - Spray gloss paint
$0.00 - I had the Exacto knife and artists brush for touch ups
