Redwood Cone Reindeer Craft-Buck with antlers and fawn
Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer was a big part of my Christmas growing up. This reindeer is one craft I will be making more of, maybe a team of 8 of them? I love the buck's exaggerated antlers and I thought I was being creative to use the spruce for the buck's chest mane! LOL!
Materials:
glue gun and glue sticks
sharp scissors
one small and one larger redwood cone per deer
4 acorn caps
a collection of sticks (for legs and fawn neck)
one 2 inch soft spruce cone
3 large pine cone scales (for ears and tail)
handful of hemlock cones
plastic lid (yogurt or margarine container)
red ribbon to make bows or reins for the deer (assuming you want to make a team of them)
How to:
Start at the head and work your way down the animal, adding the smaller bits at the end. This makes it easier for you to handle the body without breaking off pieces.
Step 1
Place two pine cone scales in the cracks so they look like ears. You may need to test a couple of cracks to find the best location. Glue scales in place. For a buck, allow enough space between the ears for the antlers to be glued there.
Step 2
Next, select two twigs of similar diameter with at least one branch on each. Cut them off to be about the same length. Place the base of the twigs between the scales and glue in place. Make sure they are facing the correct direction.
Step 3
Cut the base off a spruce cone. You may need to peel away a few scales to create a stub. Cut the other end on an angle. This end will attach to the main part of the body.
Place the neck between the head and body to check how it is for length. You may need to cut off a bit more off the angle if the neck is too long. Glue first the head to the neck.
Then glue the neck to the body. (Front view.)
Step 4
Using the leftover piece of spruce cone,
place it on the front of the body below the neck to check for placement.
Glue in place.
For the fawn, use a twig instead of the spruce cone for the neck. Each end of the twig needs to be slightly angled to maximize contact with the head and body. The cut should be parallel to each other.
Step 5
Once the head, neck and body have been connected, it's time to add the legs. This is the hardest part to do, both in determining for length and for overall balance of the animal on the legs.
Choose two twigs of similar diameter for the back leg pairs and the front leg pairs.
Cut them so they are a little longer than you think they will need to be. It's better to cut them too long as you can cut extra length off. Cut the ends flat, not on an angle so more surface will come in contact with the body and feet. This maximizes the amount of glue that will contact both body and twigs.
The back legs should be thicker than the front.
Again do a test placement of the back legs. Estimate the width between the legs and check to see where you need to place them so they sit straight.
Glue them on, checking for balance and stability before the glue cools.
Repeat with the front legs. Let the glue on the first front leg harden before adding the last leg. Line up the last leg so the four are flat and square on the ground.
Hold the deer upside down and add more glue around each leg, especially on the inside of each leg where it is not visible from the sides. This will give it more strength.
Step 6
Adding the feet. Choose 2 pairs of acorn caps that are about the same size and also have flat tops. The front feet can be smaller or the same size as the back feet. They need to be flat so they will stand on the table.
Use the scissors to cut off then shave off the acorn cap stems so they are smooth with the rest of the cap.
Start with the back feet, placing and gluing each leg to the feet. Repeat with the front feet, again making sure they are balanced and the reindeer is able to stand on its own.
Hold in place until the glue has hardened. In this photo the rear legs are glued to the feet and the front legs are being balanced. In nature, reindeer have large feet that spay wide and act like snowshoes to prevent them from sinking as far in the snow.
Step 7
Place the tail on the rump of the deer. I place the tail down and curved outwards. This is a relaxed position for deer. Putting the tail up curved out is a flag signal there is danger.
Step 8 (Optional)
Making a stand.
Paint enough small hemlock cones white to make a ring around a white plastic yogurt, margarine or ice cream lid.
Place the reindeer in place. Decorate the lid some real lichens. (Reindeer actually eat Reindeer moss which is a lichen that grows on the tundra.)
Optional: Add a red bow on the deer's neck or add googlie eyes.
Here's a close up on a fawn. The reindeer can be an interesting part of a larger diorama. Have fun!
