Craft It Monday with Marla Kress!

Hello SCT readers!  I’m happy to be here on “Craft it Monday” to share what I think is  a fun décor piece for your home.  Faux taxidermy seems to be everywhere.  These artistic statements are showing up in all types of forms: cardboard, wire, felt and even fabric.  Today I’m going to share with you a piece that I made out of BasicGrey patterned paper and a frame that I already had on hand.

First you will need a template to cut the pieces for this project.  If you run a search for faux paper taxidermy you will have many free options to use.  You can also purchase a pre-made cutting file if you have a cutting machine – Silhouette makes a 3D deer head for example.  So whatever you choose, you’ll need to cut out the pieces for your project.  If you have a cutting machine, it’ll be a quick process.  If you don’t, you can print out the templates, trace them onto your paper and cut them out by hand with scissors or a craft knife.  Both options work equally well. 

So here is step one of my process:

All pieces have been cut and now it’s time to assemble.  Most of the templates that I’ve seen have you work from the base plate up so that you can layer the pieces larger to smaller.  All slits are typically marked as well so really it’s like building a puzzle. 

I recommend using double-sided paper for this project.  Not only does it make the project look good from both sides, it’s handy for when you change your mind (like I did with the blue nose piece).  You’ll see in the later photos I turned it around.

Keep building the head portion and then you’ll add the details, in this case it was the head/ear pieces and the antlers. 

You’ll see that I changed my mind…again…while building this piece.  The blue base plate will disappear as I determined it was too small and I preferred something solid and larger in size. 

Next I took the frame, which luckily was already painted, and added a patterned paper to the center.  I was going to add fabric, or burlap, but this paper looks like fabric and was easier to work with (and I’m a little lazy).  

Lastly I added the larger sized base plate and attached it all together.  My daughter already claimed this piece for her room and my son wants a rabbit.  A rabbit!  Does faux taxidermy even include rabbits?  

So again, another shot of the finished piece.

You can get as detailed as you want with these adding jewels, faux pearls, twine…and have a whole collection of paper friends. 

Thanks so much for stopping by this Craft It Monday!  I hope you have a great day!

~  Marla Kress