![pallet-and-wood-deer-silhouette.jpg Pallet and wood deer silhouette](http://lh4.ggpht.com/-WuHgs7XqpNE/VIFdIEm2vhI/AAAAAAABLcw/g6skbVVqFt0/pallet-and-wood-deer-silhouette.jpg?imgmax=800)
Now that my first Christmas mantel is complete, I am moving on to the other side of the fireplace. Since I just updated it with stacked stone, I wanted a really rustic look (similar to last year) and so I knew I was going to make another one of my (infamous) pallet signs.
Assembly was exactly like the previous versions, and once again I stained the wood dark brown so the design would show up well.
![How-to-make-pallet-wood-art.jpg How to make pallet wood art](http://lh4.ggpht.com/-cn3K6QmXtxw/VIFdMIp6OlI/AAAAAAABLc4/WMEVNCzaFdk/How-to-make-pallet-wood-art.jpg?imgmax=800)
So far I’ve only stenciled and painted the previous designs so this time I wanted to do something more dimensional. I had a couple bags of wood slice vase filler left over from my dollar store wood slice pumpkin project and I thought they would be easy to work with.
![](http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Ii2jnqQJIKY/VCD3PDfGS4I/AAAAAAABEtM/ysOhS8KG5lg/wooden-pumpkin.png?imgmax=800)
To go with the rustic/woodsy theme I decided to use a stag head silhouette. They seem to be everywhere and so I thought I would jump onto that bandwagon. I just googled “Deer Head Silhouette” and then printed one out that was approximately 3 feet x 4 feet tall.:
![deer-head-on-reclaimed-lumber.jpg Deer head on reclaimed lumber](http://lh3.ggpht.com/-T2i_WBzNGkM/VIFdOFRJD8I/AAAAAAABLdA/udLKkVTjH9k/deer-head-on-reclaimed-lumber.jpg?imgmax=800)
Then I used a pencil to trace the design by pressing heavily on the line. The pencil leaves a dent in the soft wood that is very easy to see:
![tracing-onto-reclaimed-wood.jpg Tracing onto reclaimed wood](http://lh4.ggpht.com/-v5nSsp640xs/VIFdQFB6eSI/AAAAAAABLdI/h0_O1HGZM7s/tracing-onto-reclaimed-wood.jpg?imgmax=800)
And then it was just a matter of gluing on the slices:
![gluing-on-wood-slices.jpg Gluing on wood slices](http://lh3.ggpht.com/-37pjBONNjws/VIFdUExV6QI/AAAAAAABLdY/0fXVJOAP7Ms/gluing-on-wood-slices.jpg?imgmax=800)
One by one..
![gluing-wood-slice-art.jpg Gluing wood slice art](http://lh5.ggpht.com/-7-TixLpOFXo/VIFdSSvm6RI/AAAAAAABLdQ/LGu1EN888Zk/gluing-wood-slice-art.jpg?imgmax=800)
..by one.
![deer-head-out-of-wood-slices.jpg Deer head out of wood slices](http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Ow-CU_hjyZ8/VIFdWDwl1CI/AAAAAAABLdg/yTTVcU0KNwc/deer-head-out-of-wood-slices.jpg?imgmax=800)
The entire process took me a little under 6 hours. But when I was done, I was SOOO happy with the result:
![completed-deer-head.jpg Completed deer head](http://lh4.ggpht.com/-bR1nfmmeQmg/VIFdYIr-JXI/AAAAAAABLdo/AwPbiCiXrj8/completed-deer-head.jpg?imgmax=800)
I didn’t add anything else. (See? Easiest tutorial ever!) I propped the sign up on my mantel (the full reveal is coming up this weekend) and that was it.
![deer-head-wood-slice-art.jpg Deer head wood slice art](http://lh6.ggpht.com/-gzzUnhiibpY/VIFdkcHnpLI/AAAAAAABLeY/xriuzNGjgQE/deer-head-wood-slice-art.jpg?imgmax=800)
When I was conceptualizing the project I was actually worried you wouldn’t be able to tell what the silhouette shape was. I thought you would be too distracted by the texture/shape of the slices:
![wood-slice-deer-head.jpg Wood slice deer head](http://lh4.ggpht.com/-YScDzQ4v7fI/VIFdeZp5RWI/AAAAAAABLeA/w-ieWH7BJ0E/wood-slice-deer-head.jpg?imgmax=800)
But I don’t think that is the case at all. It is abundantly clear that it is a deer’s head.
![wooden-circle-deer-head.jpg Wooden circle deer head](http://lh3.ggpht.com/-5osgGKGYepc/VIFdiYcYApI/AAAAAAABLeQ/JCTmmkWPA-w/wooden-circle-deer-head.jpg?imgmax=800)
![deer-head-pallet-wood-art.jpg Deer head pallet wood art](http://lh3.ggpht.com/-pGnKOUlqPv4/VIFdcOLpHlI/AAAAAAABLd4/x1dmnC0iQQU/deer-head-pallet-wood-art.jpg?imgmax=800)
This has definitely become one of my most favorite projects I’ve done. I will be sad when the holidays are over and I have to take it down. I may need to go with a ‘hunting lodge’ theme living room, so I can leave it up all year round!
![deer-silhouette-wood-slice-art.jpg Deer silhouette wood slice art](http://lh3.ggpht.com/-LRzZE-xb-7c/VIFdaBVhxQI/AAAAAAABLdw/hmxs0Qqvw2E/deer-silhouette-wood-slice-art.jpg?imgmax=800)