Create: Rudolph the Reindeer

Each year I like to create something new to my existing box of Christmas decorations. Previous creations have been Christmas stockings and Gingerbread Men tree decorations, but this year I just had to share my unexpected Reindeer creation with you. Isn't he cute!

My new creation on show.

I love Chrissy decorations which have a clean stylish aesthetic and when I stumbled upon this wooden reindeer in a $2 shop and I just had to have it. It was a little pricey at $16.95 but as I had just earned $90 for market research yapping for 2 hours about nappies I decided it was a no brainer and so along with a few other items I took it home and stashed it away in my study until I had time to look at it away from prying eyes.

My wooden reinder from $2 shop.

Imagine my disappointment when I assembled the reindeer (it slots together in 3 spots) the designer had failed to consider the leg placement and the weight of the antlers. Therefore any sudden movement or bump means the decoration collapses onto itself. Making it essentially useless in my household with 2 kids and 2 cats.

Not to be discouraged I thought maybe if the legs had been cut on an angle this problem wouldn't occur, yes after all these years my design school training had not gone to waste.

To prove my theory I copied the reindeer onto an empty shoe box and got cutting. See pictures below.

Copying the reindeer onto shoebox

Originally I thought this would be a great idea to make as an alternative to a Christmas card. You could colour in one side and write a message on the other and pop into an envelope to your loved ones to assemble. A great activity for the kids when they are older.

Cardboard reindeer in action.

I still might make the cardboard cards, but I decided to take it a step further and create a version made from felt. And christened him Rudolph!

The Reindeer in pieces.

I used exactly the same pattern as the cardboard creation but did a few things differently. Firstly I ironed some thin facing onto the felt before cutting out the pieces. I then found some white wool in my box of treasures and started to blanket stitch the four pieces individually, stuffing it with polyester filling as I went. To secure the pieces and avoid it collapsing I decided the most practical solution would be to use a small pearl bead and loop to act like a 'hook and eye'. This would keep its clean look and still allow the reindeer to be stored flat when packed away with the Christmas decorations.

A closer look at the bead and loop.

If you would like the cardboard template you can get the scanned images of the reindeer here, Page 1 and Page 2. I'm now going to make it in a slightly smaller version by scaling the design to around 60%. I'll post any new creations in the next few days.

 What Christmas decorations are you making? Post a link to your creations.
-- Hannah