DIY Faux Taxidermy
Updated: Feb 3, 2021
When I first started planning Lincoln's room, I thought a faux taxidermy would be cute when I was planning out the wall above the dresser. I knew this shelf from Pottery Barn Kids was happening as well as some DIY art (which I'll be sharing soon), but all of the faux taxidermy I had found was easily over $100, at least the ones that I liked... so I kind of tabled the idea and didn't order anything. Cut to me browsing Goodwill last weekend looking for just a few last odds and ends to finish up his room...I wasn't really looking for anything in-particular, but when I saw this wooden plaque I immediately remembered my original idea of doing a faux taxidermy.
It was only 99 cents so I thought if I could find a big stuffed animal in a neutral color I may try to build something...
He was $5. Jackpot!
The next day I immediately got to work on creating my faux stuffed animal taxidermy head. I also knew that I was going to have to keep this project super under wraps because I could not let my kinds find out I had plans to decapitate a stuffed bear! Their stuffed animals are their babies! The first thing I did was paint my plaque white, I didn't even bother painting the back since that part wasn't going to be visible when it was hung on the wall. I used a leftover tester pot I had lying around Behr's Palais White.
Once that was done it was time to decapitate this poor guy. I cut his bow off first since I had no need for that (although how cute would this be in a little girl's room with a thick satin or silk bow added?) and then I cut the head off...
This ended up feeling much more violent that I had expected (I'm SORRY bear!!), but the kids didn't see a thing and I disposed of the body so they would never know the cute bear head hanging in Lincoln's room was ever anything but just a head!
When I cut the head I tried to leave several inches of body too (you'll find out why in a minute). Once that was done it was time to make a little support for the back of his head. I wanted the bear to face forward (not down), so I cut a slit in the fur up the back of his head and cut a piece of scrap wood into a rounded rectangle a little smaller than his head.
From here I tucked the wood inside and attached the fur to the wood. I would have done this with a staple gun, but mine seems to have decided to crap out on me and I didn't feel like running out to get a new one right that second so I used a hammer and some small nails to attach the fur to the wood scrap.
This took longer than it should have, a staple gun would have tackled this in 30 seconds and my hammer and nails method probably took 10 minutes, but it (eventually) got the job done. Once the wood was secure inside the back of his head it was time to attach him to my plaque, which was now dry.
At this point it was as simple as screwing the plaque to the wood support for the bear's head. I just needed to make sure the screws I was using were long enough to hit both pieces of wood.
I wish my plaque had been slightly larger, but I positioned my bear's head towards the top of the plaque so you could see the plaque sticking out from the bottom. It did take a couple of tries to get the positioning just right. The last step was adding a hanger, I just used this super simple gold one from a hanging kit I had laying around. And then it was up on the wall!
Suuuuper easy DIY and for a price tag of $5 I'd say this is the way to go instead of buying something! He looks so cute up on the wall as part of the collage- I'm so glad this last minute project came together!
Sources: dresser (DIY Tutorial) | branch shelf | blue wall color Farrow and Ball De Nimes | beige wall color Benjamin Moore Balboa Mist
Let me know if you try this project- tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Tik Tok, I would love to see!
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