Cardboard Mounted Buck

In this instructable I will be showing you how to create a cardboard mounted buck. In the beginning you might question whether or not it will turn out well, but when you start to put the finishing touches on it all comes together. You can hang it on a wall even or stand it up on a table.

Supplies:

- A heavy duty cardboard box (highly recommend a heavy duty Home Depot box)

- A ruler

- Scissors

- X-ACTO knife/band saw

- Hot glue gun/hot glue sticks

- Pencils and Erasers

- Paper to right down measurements

-Blue Scotch Tape

You should use a box to keep the base of the project symmetrical. When you cut your box lay it flat so that you still have the two layers of cardboard that it as when it was originally folded. I highly recommend a heavy duty box.

Make the outline of your deer just as it would appear on a wall mounted, stopping at the beginning of the first two legs. Your deer, and it's size is completely up to you. Remember the bigger you make the more supplies you'll need.

When you've got your deer drawn to your liking, you have to cut it out. Before you start cutting make sure your box is positioned so that when you cut you'll be cutting another side as well. Meaning in step one I stated to have the box so that it was flat as it had been before. When you cut you should be cutting out two copies of what you drew. I have access to a band saw so it was easier, but an x-acto knife also works for straight nice cuts. (USE BAND SAW OR X-ACTO KNIFE WITH ADULT SUPERVISION.)

First, you have to measure lines of either 1 1/3 inches or 1 1/2 inches from the nose to all the way to the end. These will be the places you will slide these pieces in. See step six for how the lines play a part in this project. I started by measuring from the top of the head to where the jaw of the deer is, this told me for my deer the top length of how wide the deer's head would be is 7 inches. By doing this your getting it around proportionate of what the deer would actually almost be. I would start with the top of the head, just where the antlers of the deer will go later, and then work my way down to the nose of the deer. When you make these drawings (soon to be the deer's snout/face), it is easier to draw them when you decrease the longest length by one and continue. So if your deer outline's top length was 7 inches like mine your next one would be six. Also when making these you have to worry about where you will cut to later be able to insert into your deer. (Check final mounted buck if you need clarification.) You will need to leave a 1 inch gap between the two outlines of your deer, where you will insert the pieces. Make the lines you draw be where you will later insert them, also make sure they're as wide as the card boards width. Use the blank cardboard sides for the outside.

Cut with either a band saw, x-acto knife, or anything else which can be used to cut straight lines. Again please use these with adult supervision. Try to make the cuts as accurate as possible.

Cut a little more into each line drawn as you continue for where the bigger pieces will go.

Start sliding your pieces into the slits you cut. Depending on if you didn't cut enough into your lines you drew on your deer or the pieces you created you might have to cut them again to make it a better fit.

By using your biggest piece trace it a little bigger, instead of decreasing by 1 inch, increase by 1 inch. (The longest part of the width.) Once you have your new bigger piece cut it out and then continue by using that to trace 1 inch longer in width.

After you've completed putting all the pieces in your off to the next step, the antlers.

Make sure you have two similar pieces of card board, better yet the same. Use blue scotch tape to keep two pieces of the same size card board together. Make sure that both the logo sides are in the middle, and both the blank sides are on the outside, so that the color of the deer stays the same color through out. Sketch the antlers, and ears so that there is a little bit of space to later be able to used to glue to the deer head. See Step 11 for reference.

Once you have the antlers cut out you slowly, and carefully take the tape off of the antlers and ears keeping the pair together. By flipping the antler underneath the other you should have identical antlers and ears. The smaller pieces are optional, (I didn't use them, but that doesn't mean you don't.)

Glue the antlers on the most top piece and right behind that piece the ears with a hot glue gun. If you want to add the extra pieces shown on step 11 you can. As you can see I did not. This is the final step to the cardboard mounted buck.