European Skull Mounts

Here's my latest project, one that I wanted to do for years but couldn't come by a European mounted deer skull. I live in a family of hunters, so you'd think this wouldn't be such a big deal, but the process to get the clean skull is an arduous one, and you won't find skulls or antlers lying around in the woods because varmints will eat them completely in a year's time. Then my son mentioned that he had one lying in a shed (one that he had boiled and stripped himself) that I could have! Long story short, my husband almost immediately came up with a second one, an embarrassment of riches for sure.

I could have taken photos of my progress over a couple of months (yes, it's labor intensive), but sticking mosaics and crystals onto a surface is pretty straight forward stuff. The hard part is narrowing down the bazillion choices of what materials to use and then having the patience to stick with it. A little tip that I happened on by trial and error for handling the crystals, is to take a small piece of beeswax and use it as a tool to pick them up and set onto the glued surface. It works perfectly, unlike the "tools" you can buy for the same job. I tackled the first skull (from my husband) and gold leafed the antlers, then began gluing shiny shell fragments I already had to it and then grouted it with white grout. Those antlers look spectacular and shine even better since I brushed a sealant onto them.

The second one, I silver leafed the antlers and then started with what I imagined to be a goodly amount of genuine Swarovski crystals. They're nice crystals, a tad pricey, and shine like no other, but lemme tell you, they don't go very far, even the larger ones. I reordered a ton of crystals in multiple sizes, three times! So needless to say, this skull is an expensive wall decoration, but I was committed and wasn't about to go cheap and use any other crystals. The silver antlers have been sealed, too, and look as if they're made of sterling silver.

I didn't want a lot of embellishments on them. I put a big dragonfly broach and a few pieces of turquoise on the golden buck; a sparkly, vintage choker necklace I picked up years ago at a yard sale made a nice addition to the silver buck. I'm really happy with the results; they're both more beautiful than the pictures show. The shell mosaiced one has tribal look to it, and the crystal skull is nothing short of fantastic, but it's the hardest one to photograph.

I plan to hang them over the mantle, and I ordered 2 hooks made just for mounting deer skulls. Hubby had a board of aged barn wood that he cut into two pieces, and I faux aged them a little more with streaks of acrylic paint that I mixed (antique white + black). Finishing a project is always a little sad, like finishing a good book, but I'll find my next art victims soon. This icy winter weather is perfect for sitting indoors and creating. Thanks for stopping by. Regards, Cat

Spring has Sprung!

The calendar won't admit it, but spring is definitely in the air. I always plan to get lots done during winter, like watercolors, collage, and digital art, but somehow time just grinds by with little to show for it, and though I have more time on my hands, I do fewer blog posts, and finally we make it back to spring. Spring renews me; I don't think I'd like living where they don't have defined seasons.




We've already been busy outdoors. Remember Harry? The beautiful wisteria that covered the arbor and bloomed profusely in spring and shaded us in summer? I planted him 7 years ago, a spindly little brown sprig that just growed like Topsy and tried to take over the world, despite weekly trimmings all summer long. Well, we cut his life short, for several reasons, one being that he was trying to undermine the house, and while I loved Harry, I love my home more. Also, the blooms are poisonous to dogs, and you know I love Marley far better than any plant. We spent all Sunday afternoon cutting down Harry with a chain-saw and loppers and dragging him off into the woods; jobs like that, I realize I'm not as young as I used to be. We've ordered some knitted shade cloth to stretch over the top instead. I'll show you when we get it, though it won't be as nearly as pretty.
Rest in Peace, Harry.

My fruit trees are budding and flowers are peeking out, not many blooms but soon. The pansies and decorative cabbages stayed pretty all winter, and now I need to till them up and replace them with herbs, big plans for herbs this year. I planted elephant ear bulbs, hoping to get some gi-normous leaves for playing with hypertufa. No residents in the bluebird box yet.


We went to the Arkansas Flower and Garden Show, and one of the ideas I borrowed was a pretty little table and chair set for our screened-in deck, a nice place to sit and drink morning coffee. I mentioned it to Jim, and the same day he was building the table. I have one bent wood chair that I'm going to use, and I'm looking around for another one, unmatched, hopefully a ladder back with woven cane bottom. And then it dawned on me, most anything can be made to look more special with some cut glass mosaics stuck on it, so some parts of the chairs will be mosaiced. I've already sanded the chair and had no qualms about making it my next victim. It's the world's most uncomfortable chair. Now you may say, and rightly so, that sticking bits of glass to the seat won't improve on its comfort quotient, but if I get it nice and smooth, it can't hurt much, either.

Marley has spent a lot of time on his little stool at the window, watching cars and walkers come down the hill. When he sees a red truck, he always thinks it's Jim and goes racing to the kitchen door, yipping and crying as if it's been a year since he saw him.


So, these are my latest projects. I'm just so much happier when I've got projects in the works, especially when I can do them outdoors! I'll share my progress as it comes along.
Thanks for stopping by!
Love,
Cat & Marley