Repurposed 2 x 4 Reindeers

This is a ultimate upcycled project.  Every single thing either came from my yard or from the construction project of our sunroom this year.  Starting with some leftover 2 x 4s, I made these adorable reindeers for the holidays.

This post contains affiliate links which help to support this blog if you were to purchase anything through these links, at no additional cost to you.

 

 

This blog post is part of the ‘Do It Over’ Designer Blog Hop.  A group of designers who take something old and/or unused and ‘do it over’ into something new. These items can be found in closets, barns, garages, yard sales, thrift stores, you name it!

 

If you are visiting from Exquisitely Unremarkable, welcome to my blog.  I hope you visit all of the talented bloggers participating this month in the ‘Do It Over’ Blog hop, starting with Pandora’s Box listed right after my blog. 

 

This project was an idea from a friend and a great way to spend time with some close friends to create a fun project.

Earlier this year, a friend of mine shared the details of a fun project she had seen either on Facebook or Pinterest of a reindeer created from a cut 2 x 4 board.  This conversation sparked the idea to remake reindeers of our own since I already had the supplies on hand, especially the 2 x 4s from the sunroom construction on my home earlier this year.

From there a day was scheduled where we would get together with other girlfriends and have a craft day to make lots of these adorable 2 x 4 reindeers.

It was a fun day of laughing and crafting and just enjoying time together.

I didn’t take any pictures that day of the projects because my focus on that day was just spending time with friends.

So for this post I recreated the entire process again to share with you these adorable 2 x 4 reindeers.

 

 

For this project you will need:

• Cut 2 x 4s about 10-11 inches long
• Wood slices
• Small twigs 
• Wood stain in color of your choice
• Acrylic craft paints
• Decorative ribbons
• Hot glue

 

Once I dug through the pile of leftover  2 x 4s from our construction project, I found that I had plenty of cut boards that were already a great size. Each are around 10-11 inches (or slightly more) in length. 

 

 

A quick sanding to remove just the rough cut edges of the boards was all it really needed.  This is a rustic project so the rough details of the boards just add to the charm of the project. 

 

 

In my craft room I have several cans of stain to use so I chose a rich Antique Walnut color for the body of the reindeer.  After applying the stain I allowed the stain to dry for at least 24 hours.

 

 

Once the stain was dry, I pulled out my acrylic craft paints and started creating the decorative little details of the face of the reindeers like the eyes and the  eyelashes.

 

 

While the layers of paint dried for the eyes, I pulled out some already baked and cured wood slices from my stash to make the red noses of the reindeer.  My husband had cut up 100s of wood slices from our own yard for our daughter’s wedding last year so I have plenty to chose from. 

Each wood slice was painted red for the nose. 

 

 

You can find similar wood slices on Amazon:

 

 

 

Also collected from my own very wooded yard, were small twigs to use for the antlers.  I attached the twigs and the wood slices to the face of the reindeer with hot glue.

 

 

 

The final touch was to add a decorative ribbon at the base of the twig antlers to help secure them in place and add some charm to the reindeer as well.

 

 

As I mentioned, this project didn’t cost me a thing because I already had the supplies on hand. You can recreate a similar project for very little money as well.

 

 

Before you go, be sure to visit the other talented bloggers participating this month in the ‘Do It Over’ Designer Blog Hop.

 

 

Modern on Monticello

Pandora’s Box

Purple Hues & Me

Southern Sunflowers 

Unique Creations by Anita

My Hubbard Home

Interior Frugalista

The Apple Street Cottage

Birdz of a Feather

Exquisitely Unremarkable

Hugs,

1 Chronicles 16:34 “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his faithful love endures forever.”