Thursday, December 7, 2017

12 Days of a DIY Christmas Rustic Moose



Hello!  Welcome to Day 7 of the 12 Days of a DIY Christmas series.   I am so excited to be participating again and to team up with such an amazing group of talented women!

When I was first asked to participate, a few project ideas come to mind but I finally decided on this one.  I’d come across this adorable little rustic moose on Pinterest and loved him immediately but the link didn’t lead anywhere so I decided to just recreate my own. 

I decided to take it a step further and add some mini cup hooks to his antlers to make it a sweet little advent calendar....because honesty, anytime I can add chocolate to the mix, I will! ;)  I chose to sew the little treat bags but if sewing isn’t your thing, you could pop into a local dollar or hobby store and they usually carry little bags that would also work.  Of course, he’s just as cute on his own as well. ;)
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Let’s get building!  This project is actually fairly simple and should go together quickly.
I started by sketching out a very basic outline for the pieces needed.  I’ve drawn them out on 8-1/2” x 11” paper so you can easily print them full size at home.  The antler pattern will just need to be taped together to make one continuous piece.   You can grab them as a pdf HERE or I've included the jpegs below which you should be able to click and then "save as" to your computer and then print full size.



 
I anticipated I may be making a few of these little guys, so I actually traced and cut out a template from some scrap 1/8” plywood I had in my lumber stash to make my patterns a little more stable for repeated use.  

I purchased a 6’ - 1x10 pine board, but if you’re only making one moose, you can actually squeeze it out of 3’ if you snug up the pattern pieces.  Be sure to lay the flat portion of the antlers along the edge of the board so you can use the leftover piece above it for the base (I didn’t draw a pattern for that piece). 




I cut out my main pieces with my band saw, but a jig saw or even a scroll saw would also work.  After cutting out the pattern pieces, you should be left with an approximate 4" x 18” piece that can be cut down for the base.  I chose to cut it to 14” long with my miter saw and then rip it down to 3-5/8” wide on my table saw.  

Once the pieces were cut out, I sanded them down to soften and smooth the edges.  If you have a router, you could certainly get fancy and use a round over bit along all the edges, but I’m sticking to the rustic look so just sanded it down enough to knock down any sharp edges.


I stained my pieces with Minwax English Chestnut except for the antlers which I stained with Minwax Jacobean.  I made the mistake of not using a pre-stain this time and regretted it – pine tends to absorb stain unevenly and sure enough it ended up a bit blotchy.  Oops.  


I chose to assemble it before finishing it with a clear coat.  I centered and attached the bottom edge of the body on the base piece with a little glue and then added a couple countersunk screws through the bottom. 






 I then attached the head and antlers in the same way through the back.   


For the hooks, I purchased these little ½” brass cup hooks from our local Home Depot. 



To add the hooks, I drilled a shallow pilot hole in the antlers so it was easier to start each hook before topping it all with Minwax satin Wipe-on poly.    


Once dry, I screwed in the cup hooks and painted on the eyes with some black and white craft paint and added a nose with a small red pompom.  With the addition of a bow at his neck and the little treat bags (simple tutorial below!), this project is complete!  I’m absolutely thrilled with how it turned out.










Another option is to skip the body and base and just use the head and antlers.  With a couple simple saw tooth hangers on the back, it could easily be hung on a wall to keep it within easy reach but out of the way!


If you’re interested in sewing your own little treat bags, this is what I did.   I had some leftover neutral fabric in my craft room and just wanted to use what I had, but this would be adorable using a Christmas light weight cotton fabric as well! 

Each finished bag is approx. 2-1/4” x 4”.  

For each bag, start with a piece of fabric 3” x 10”.  Fold over the short sides by 1” and sew 3/4” (ish) from the top edge. (I took this pic before actually stitching the fabric so added a digital "stitch" as a reference.




Fold the fabric in half right sides together to form the bag and sew a 3/8” seam top to bottom along ONE side. 


You’ll want to do the same on the other side as well, but before sewing it up, fold a piece of 14” ribbon in half and with the ribbon “tails” inside the bag, sandwich the folded ribbon between the two pieces of fabric with approximately a 3/4” loop outside the bag.  This loop will be used to hang the bag on the hook. 






Sew up the side seam making sure the ribbon tails are pulled out of the way.  When you turn the bag right side out, the loop should be on the inside and the ribbon tails should be on the outside. 




 I chose to also add a number to each bag using a rubber stamp set and some black ink but that’s optional.  



Fill with your treat of choice, pull the loop up through the top of the bag and close the bag by wrapping the ribbon tails around the bag and tying a bow.  Hang the bag on the hook with the loop and you're done!   



We're just over half way through the 12 Days of a DIY Christmas series.  Definitely take a peek at the gorgeous projects that have been posted so far!  Mindi from My Love 2 Create is up next!!  Looking forward to seeing her project!

Here's the list again of the talented women participating again this year.  Click the links for the free tutorial and plans from each builder!

December 1:  Her Tool Belt

December 2:  Woodshop Diaries

December 3:  Build It Craft It Love It

December 4:  The Kim Six Fix

December 5:  Anika’s DIY Life

December 6:  The Handyman’s Daughter

December 7:  The Painted Key

December 8:  My Love to Create

December 9:  Hazel & Gold Designs

December 10: The Created Home

December 11: Uncookie Cutter

December 12: Handmade with Ashley















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