make this: deer head necklace organiser

I was recently invited to check out the newly opened Kaisercraft store at Uni Hill Factory Outlet. And frankly, how could I say no; Kaisercraft is one of my fave paper-craft brands. I already own a hefty supply of their stamps, papers, rub-ons and stickers which I regularly use in various craft projects.

If you're lucky enough to be within close proximity to this Kaisercraft store, I urge you to make a visit as you won't be disappointed. Upon entering the store, I was pulled in three separate directions; where I wanted to look, where my mister was looking and where my son was looking.  All three of us had found stacks of great supplies within minutes of entering. Each person with their own clear favourites (yes, we are a creative family).

My heart was racing. I was in paper heaven.  I tell no lie when I say that we had to leave the store to have a bite to eat and a whip around the other shops before returning to keep shopping in Kaisercraft. I had to have a breather as there was so much to choose from it was so difficult to make a selection. And lucky we went for a whip around the other stores as I picked up some cute washi tape from Typo and spied a pair of nautical inspired Keds wedges (shoes for those of you unfamiliar with the brand Keds) which are now on my must-have list.

So after some welcome distraction by other stores, it was back to Kaisercraft. There was so much to choose from and it was difficult to decide what to take home with me, but I finally settled on a fantastic deer head which I'd been looking at for a while. Obviously that's not all I brought home, but more on that later.

Oh, I have to mention, if you're a bargain shopper like me then you'll be happy to know that there are also plenty of clearance bins to choose from with items starting as low as 50c.

Although I do delight in the occasional scrapbooking session, I'm also a "beyond the page" kinda gal, so my mind was wandering as to how I could make this delightful deer head a functional piece too. With the antlers as inspiration, I decided to turn this raw beauty into a necklace organiser.  And here's how I did it in 10 simple steps.

1. Lay out all your pieces so that you know how much paper you're going to need and if you can double up any of your pieces on one page.

NOTE: I covered all of the head pieces (minus the antlers) in vintage magazine pages. I painted the two antler pieces in different colours. The mount (which the head is attached to) has been covered in 12x12 paper and the edges have been painted.

2. If you have specific prints, patterns or areas of the paper you want to be visible, line them up by holding the paper over the MDF piece and hold it up near a window so you can see the shape through the paper.

3. Glue your selected paper to one side of each piece of MDF and let it completely dry before proceeding to the other side. TIP: make sure you smooth out the paper after applying glue to your MDF piece. When gluing, remember that less is more. The more glue you use, the more bubbles you'll get in your paper - especially if it's thin.

4. Run your finger over the ridge of each shape so that you get a slight crease. It will make it easier to tear the paper away from the shape. It doesn't have to be perfect; you just want to remove as much of the excess paper as possible. Do this step before gluing paper to the other side. Repeat.

5. Using some sandpaper or an emery board, file the edges of all pieces so that the excess paper is filed away leaving you with nice neat edges.  If you are confident in using a power tool you could sand or buff off the paper using a Dremel or similar small power tool which comes with multiple attachment heads.

6. I used two different colours to paint the antlers. Two coats each, letting dry in between coats.

7. For the mount, I used a single 12x12 page from the 'Class of '87' range. Using a paint brush, spread the glue over the entire surface and stick the paper down.  Smooth it down and place it under a heavy large book to ensure it dries flat. Once dry, repeat the process as you did in step 4.

8. Paint the edges of the mount so that you cover all of the visible MDF, but be careful not to paint over the paper! If you're worried about this step, then I suggest painting the edges BEFORE you glue down your paper.

9. Paint your antler pieces. I chose to paint them in two different colours.  

10. Assemble all of the pieces, making sure they are pushed in and down all the way. I did not use any glue to hold the pieces together as the added layers of paper ensure a snug fit. Add a hook to the back, hang and admire!

If you're so inclined, you could cover one side of all MDF pieces in one type of paper or paint colour and do something different on the reverse so that you can flip the pieces over for a seasonal change!

Materials I used for this project:

Kaisercraft Dimensional Deer Head

Kaisercraft Class of '87 12x12 paper in 'Science Project'

Kaisercraft Paint in 'Spearmint' and 'Lime'

Vintage magazine pages

UHU craft glue

Now it's time for a little giveaway

Since I had so much fun shopping at the Uni Hill Factory Outlet store, I wanted to share some of the love.  Thanks to the lovely folks at Kaisercraft, I've got a little pack of goodies for one lucky person to win.  To enter this competition simply leave me a comment on this post making sure to include your email address (so I can contact you if you're the winner).  I'll randomly draw a winner on Friday the 18th of January 2013 at 8pm (Australian daylight savings time) - so you have until then to enter. 

Please note entry is open to Australian residents only.

Thanks to the lovely folks at Kaisercraft for giving me a gift voucher to spend at their Uni Hill Factory Outlet store in exchange for an unbiased post.