Ballard Designs Atelier Antler Knockoff...and don't forget about The Shine Project Giveaway!

There are only 2 days left to enter to win a beautiful necklace from Ashley at The Shine Project! Go here to enter...

We've all seen the trendy antlers that are traveling around design catalogs and blogland...gotta admit, I love 'em...the real thing kinda creeps me out (my brother-in-law has mounted deer heads ALL OVER his basement...eeeeew...), but I really like the faux, artsy, stylized ones...

So, when I came across this Christmas ornament at a garage sale (ummmm...for 10¢...how could I say no?), I knew I wanted to do something cool with it.

I cut off the leather bands and tried to see of there was an easy way to separate the little antlers (this whole ornament was about 4" in diameter)...but they were so strongly adhered to each other I was afraid I would break them if I tried too hard...

Enter my husband with his awesome set of tools...he was able to band saw, or drill, or something them apart for me...perfectly...great job, honey...

So now I had these 4 antlers...but I still wasn't quite sure exactly what I wanted to do with them...I knew I wanted them white, so I spray painted them...then I put them away for awhile while I thought about what to do next (and by "put them away," I mean I put them on top of the huge, falling-over, pile of things to do that's currently sitting on my family room table...)

Some time went by (like a month) and then...one beautiful day...this turned up in my mailbox...the heavens opened up and the angels started singing...

Here's what I found inside...

Atelier Antlers...priced at a mere $49 each...nothankyouverymuch...

But it was just what I needed to see...this is what I was going to turn my antlers into...

I picked up a little wood plaque from Michaels, grabbed my air dry clay & fashioned a little skull cap... painted everything white...

...glued it all together and...

...not too shabby, if I do say so myself...I didn't include the leaves or coat of arms that are found in the original, because, quite frankly, I have seriously sad sculpting skills, but I still really like the outcome...

Here he is amongst the Thanksgiving art on the living room wall...we've decided to name him Francisco...I think he looks more like a Jorge, but the kids insist he's a Francisco...whatever.