Animal Figurine Jewelry Rack

From CRAFT

From CRAFT

This project first appeared on the pages of CRAFT or on Craftzine.

Bring the safari home.

  • Author: Meg Allan Cole
  • Time required: 2-3 hours
  • Difficulty: Moderate
  • Add Note x

Using cute little animal figurines, we are going to decapitate them and turn them into many mini-busts creating an awesome animal rack. For a more detailed tutorial, check out the accompanying video.

As a huge animal nut, I have a ton of animals all over my home. A tiger planter, a collection of deer figurines, bird sculptures flying across my wall. I can't get enough! When I found these little animal figurines, I wanted to make something out of them. Inspired by Anthropologie and Brooklyn artist Steph Mantis, an animal rack is the perfect thing to create.

Tools
Tools (continued)
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Add Note Edit Step 1 — Animal Figurine Jewelry Rack  ¶ 

  • Gather your materials and layout the animals in the order you want them.

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Add Note Edit Step 2  ¶ 

  • Using your utility knife, cut the front portion of each animal off. Lay them flat on your cutting mat, and make sure the angle of the cut is correct and adjust accordingly.

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Add Note Edit Step 3  ¶ 

  • Drill a straight line about 1/2" deep into the center of each animal head. Cut 3/4" dowel bits and insert into the drill hole of each animal. Use your scrap animal pieces to practice drilling before you go for the actual animal heads.

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Add Note Edit Step 4  ¶ 

  • Measure and mark where you want your animals to go on your board, and drill holes in your marks about 1/2" deep. Stain or paint your board the color or shade you want and allow to dry. I used Honey Pine gloss PolyShade by Minwax, which is a stain and polyurethane in one.

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Add Note Edit Step 5  ¶ 

  • Insert your animal heads or butts into the drill holes and mix and match as you please.

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Add Note Edit Step 6  ¶ 

  • Remove animals from the 2nd and 4th holes and use those holes to hang your rack. Be sure to use a leveler, and trim down any dowel that may stick out too far to make the animals flush to the board.

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Add Note Edit Step 7  ¶ 

  • Insert wisdom here.

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Add Note Edit Step 8  ¶ 

  • Hang jewelry from the your animals heads, or leave as is for a sweet new piece for your wall.

It is best not to use gloves when working with a utility knife so you can hold onto it without slippage. Just be careful when using your knife, and be sure to wear protective goggles when using your saw.

Photography by Becky Stern.

For more information, check out the Woodworking category page.

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