DIY Plaster Animal Heads

I am in the throes of decorating our nursery. I know that our baby won’t care what the room looks like. Heck-as a baby-I removed the paint my father laboriously put on my nursery walls with a wet wipe.

However, since I will be spending an inordinate amount of time in this room, I wanted some pretties to look at. And, of course, I didn’t want to spend very much doing so-thus my DIY Plaster Animal Heads. If you have the patience of a cucumber and a few hours each day, you too can have very inexpensive animal heads custom made to your liking!

Here’s all that you’ll need to make your DIY Plaster Animal Heads:

Newspaper, Packing Paper
Paper Towels
Masking Tape
Cardboard
Mod Podge
Tissue Paper, Book Pages
Paintbrushes, Paint
Glitter, other accessories to decorate if desired
Plaque (I bought mine from a hobby store)
Brad Nails, Hammer
Flour, Water

Step 1:
Cut out a piece of cardboard that will be the backer to the animal head. Make sure it’s smaller than the plaque that’s been chosen.
Step 2:
Make balls out of newspaper or packing paper that will be the animal head and neck. Tape the balls together individually.
Step 3:
Tape the entire head and neck together.

Step 4:
Add a final layer of newspaper to smooth out any valleys and build up any areas that are needed for the contour of the head. Use masking tape to attach the newspaper and the cardboard backer to each head.

Step 5:
Use 4 parts water to 1 part flour to make the “plaster”. Heat up on stove and slowly whisk in flour until the consistency is a thick and soupy. Let cool.
Step 6:
Cut paper towels into 3″ x 4″ rectangles, or somewhere close to that size. I cut my select-a-size in half. Dip into the soupy plaster and squeeze off the excess.
Step 7:
Using one paper towel at a time, add a single layer of the paper towels to the head and cardboard backer.
Step 8:
Cover the entire head and cardboard backer with the plaster paper towels.

Step 9:
Let the head(s) dry completely overnight or for several hours. It was very cold out, so I placed my heads in a small bathroom and used a space heater (safely) to speed up the process. Rotate the heads and make sure the cardboard backer is completely dry as well.

Step 10:
Cut out ears for each head and use masking tape to attach to the heads.

Step 11:
Use another round of plaster and paper towels to build up eye and nose formations. Cover the entire head once more, along with the cardboard backer and the ears with another layer of paper towels.
Let the head(s) dry completely overnight.

While you’re waiting on them to dry, paint your plaques!

Step 12:
Once the head(s) are completely dry, attach to the painted plaque by gently using brad nails and a hammer. (I went the extra mile and added a little hot glue to the cardboard backer before attaching it to the plaque. I don’t think this step was necessary, but it made me feel better.)

Step 13 Alternate (1):
Here comes the fun part-decorating the heads! There are many ways to do this. Here you can see that I used mod podge and the pages of a book to cover the entire head. After cutting out a stack of small pieces from a book, I brushed a thin layer of mod podge on the back side. I placed the piece on the head and brushed another thin layer over the top. I repeated this process until the whole head was covered.

I had five heads, so I covered two with book pages.

Step 13 Alternate (2):
Here, I used the same mod podge process, but utilized fun tissue paper instead. I covered the three remaining heads with tissue paper.

Step 14:
Now, it’s time to paint! Get creative and crazy. Add glitter, rhinestones, mirror pieces, wires for whiskers, feathers, or whatever you have on hand. (Let dry completely between coats of paint).

Here are my finished heads. This one I call Frank the Zebra.

This is Lightening McQueenFox.

This is Goldy the Elephant.

This is George. Just George.

And this is Twinkles the Bunny.

I figured that I saved about $700 making these myself. Not bad for a few days’ work. If you made an animal head, what would it be?

Gold Clay Deer Antlers

I have no desire to stand out in the freezing cold, toting a rifle and not talking for hours in order to ‘hunt’ deer.
But, I really wanted a pair of deer antlers for my office.
I don’t know why. I don’t wear plaid or own a gun rack. (But, to be fair, I did make a coat rack from deer hooves…)
If you aren’t into the whole ‘antler’ thing, you can use this same tutorial and make what you do fancy such as a cute bird, a turtle, or you child’s hand impression.
Get crazy. Get creative.

Circumventing the whole ‘fun’ hunting experience, I decided to make my own deer antlers from clay that you can bake in the oven.
I believe Bambi is happy with my decision, which makes me happy.

What you’ll need to make your own set of antlers, or anything else you fancy:
Oven Bake Clay
Picture Frame
Gold (or your preference) spray paint
Scissors & ruler
Fabric (I used faux black fur with a short nap)
Scrap Plywood
Hot Glue Gun
Staple gun & staples
(2)Screws
Drill with a drill bit the same size as your screws
Jig Saw

Trace the inside of your frame onto your scrap plywood.
My fancy ‘frame’ is actually a light cover that I picked up at Habitat for Humanity for $1. Boo yeah.

Using your jig saw with a wood blade, cut out your traced image.
Before covering your piece of plywood with your fabric, make sure that it fits into your frame first. Cut or sand off any necessary edges.

Find the center of your piece of plywood and measure an equal distance from the center to the right and left if you are doing antlers.
If not, you are on your own to decide where you would like your creation to screw into the plywood.

Pre-drill holes into your plywood that will receive your screws.

Cut out enough fabric that will wrap around the edges of your plywood. Use your staple gun to attach the fabric to your plywood.
Hammer those staples down if they get ornery and try to stick up.

Cut away the excess material from your piece of plywood. Cut out a second piece of fabric that will cover the back of the plywood, attaching it with a hot glue gun.
I recommend before you cover your plywood completely with fabric, flip over your plywood to the front and stick a couple of nails through the fabric, into the pre-drilled holes.

Time to make your fun creation from the oven bake clay!
I used a knife, a chopstick and my little mittens to shape out some cute antlers.
Again, get crazy and get creative. It’s my mantra today.

Stick your screws into the bottom or the backside of you creation. Make sure the clay is completely surrounding the screw and there is no play.
Bake your creation according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Spray your creation with your choice of spray paint with several light coats to avoid drips.

Gently hand tighten your creation into the plywood. I got a little crazy and broke the screws free from my antlers as I was tightening them in.
But, I fixed it with super glue. It held the screws in much better and it didn’t bat an eye at my apparently enormous muscles….

I love the antlers, but I could also see a cute, gold bird in the center of this frame too. Or an apple. Or a butterfly.
And I do have some leftover clay and a glass of red wine…hm….