Free Christmas Crafts

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Birch Branch Reindeer

Copyright 2005-2008 by Sandy Lake All Rights Reserved

The base of these cute little reindeer figures is two birch branches, but you could use branches from other trees as well. They look nice standing near the fireplace, on the mantel, or outside on the porch.

Birch Branch Reindeer

Supplies:

birch, maple or other tree branches, cut to the size that you want your reindeer models to be

twigs for antlers

4 pieces of dowel, or straight sticks for the legs

small amounts of black and white craft paint, or google eyes

red bead or marble

small gold jingle bell and small scrap of yarn to hang it

cotton ball for tail

hand saw

drill or awl

craft glue

Reindeer Ornament:

Instructions:

You will need to use the hand saw to cut two pieces from birch branches, one for the body of the reindeer, and one smaller branch for the head.

Cut four pieces of dowel to an equal length to use as legs. Use the drill or awl to bore a small hole, angled into the birch branch at the entry point of each of the four legs. You will want the front legs to be directly opposite each other and the same for the back legs. Insert the dowels for a test fit and adjust the length of the legs if required. Once you are satisfied in the position of the legs, take out the dowel, apply a small amount of craft glue to one end and insert it back into the drilled leg hole again. Let dry.

Use a similar process to attach a dowel to the head as a neck, then to attach the dowel neck to the body. Look at the photo to give you an idea of the neck position. Do the same to insert and glue on small twigs or sticks as antlers.

Paint two eyes on either side of the head, or glue on google eyes.

Glue a red bead or marble to the nose area.

Glue on a white cotton ball as the tail.

Finally, thread a gold jingle bell with colored yarn and hang it from the neck, over the front of the body area. If the bell won't stay put, use a little glue to position it securely.

Optional:

If desired, you could make small ears from a scrap of leather, craft foam or felt and glue these on near the antlers.