Everybody has twigs in their backyard (or nearby, at least) and if you’re like me, you probably also have an arsenal of spray paint in the garage. And a glue gun. If so, you’re ready to make some festive metallic reindeer to dress up your mantle or bookshelf this holiday season.
Faith Towers These little deer are easy to make, and cost next to nothing… unlike the Pottery Barn version, which is where I found my inspiration. These twig reindeer ornaments are an easy Christmas activity for kids and cute enough to be a gift!
Pottery Barn Tools and supplies for your DIY metallic reindeer:
- Twigs of varying sizes
- A hot glue gun
- Metallic spray paint
- A pruning tool or an old pair of heavy duty scissors
Instructions
- Begin by clipping your twigs to size. For the large reindeer, you’ll need 4 thick twigs that are about 8″ long, 1 thick twig that’s 6″ long, and 2 thick twigs that are 1″ long. Make sure to trim off any extra offshoots. Lastly you’ll need a large branch with lots of offshoots for the antlers.
- Remove any loose pieces of bark. Glue a leg to one end of the body piece. Hold it in place for about 10 seconds to let the glue dry.
- Now glue the other leg on, attaching it so the legs form approximately a 30 degree angle.
- Glue the front legs on using the same technique.
- Stand it up to see if all four legs touch the ground. If not, clip a small piece off of the longer leg to even them out.
- Next, attach the neck piece as shown in the photo above. Then add on the head piece at approximately a 70 degree angle.
- Add the antlers onto the back of the head. Try to attach it so that the weight is evenly distributed… if the antlers are leaning really far forward, the reindeer might become front heavy and topple over.
- Last, remove any strings left over from the glue gun and spray paint the whole thing. I used copper for the large reindeer, and silver for the small one but you could do any combination. All gold would be fun too. And you’re finished!
Pretty cute, right? There’s something about those long legs that gives them so much personality. It might be fun to add a red pom pom onto one of their noses so he looks like Rudolph.
I’m tempted to make a few more so I have Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and the whole reindeer gang!
More ideas
- Try using different colored paint – gold or white would be great!
- Add a ribbon collar
- Add some glitter for extra sparkle
- Use a small scrap of fabric to make a reindeer scarf
- Add a red nose to one of your little guys
- Make smaller versions of these adorable little reindeer to use as tree ornaments
Faith! How fun. I love these way more than the PB version. Any ideas to store them between seasons? Perhaps you could remelt the glue and tie up the sticks as a bundle. Or…maybe, like paper snowflakes and other such low-cost items, they’re something to make each year when you bust out Home Alone 2!
Thanks Chris! I would suggest storing them in a box with newspaper balled up around them to keep them safe. Or, yes – you could remake them and try out new colors every year!
So clever!