DIY Painted Antlers

I've been seeing LOTS of antler home decor ideas around Pinterest lately. I've even seen some painted antlers for sale on Etsy - for lots of moolah $$. Recently, I added about six large antlers to a basket in my living room for decor, and I love the way it looks. But I decided to glam them up a little - so I painted them! This project was completely FREE - I had leftover paint from other projects - and super easy. Here's how to paint antlers:

You will need: a trash bag (if you're concerned about paint splatter getting on anything around your work area), painter's tape (or any kind of sticky tape, except duct tape), paint (if using paint other than spray paint, you will also need a brush to paint with), and, of course, antlers. 

I am lucky to have a family and boyfriend who hunt, so I had access to lots of antlers. I washed the antlers with soapy water, and let them dry outside for a day before painting. When ready to paint, gather all your materials and setup a work area, like I did below.

I used Krylon Brushed Metallic spray paint in Caramel Latte and some Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Florence and Aubusson Blue. The color options are limitless here - choose whatever goes with your other decor.

Once you have your work area prepped, it's time to use the painter's tape. The possibilities are limitless, here again, as to what you could create. Chevron patterns, abstract markings, etc. I've even seen some antlers painted with glitter paint (or dipped in glitter after painting). I chose to paint rings around the tines on all of them, as well as the bases on a couple of them.

After applying the tape, simply paint the antlers. The spray paint dried in minutes, and the other paint took about 30 minutes to fully dry. Once dry, remove the painter's tape and you're DONE! Easy-peasy. I also painted one antler completely with the spray paint. I may end up painting another one completely with that turquoise Florence chalk paint - my living room has lots of accents in that color, and I love how the solid metallic antler turned out. 

I returned the antlers to the basket I had them in, and love the result! Subtle, but eye-catching. :-) I also love that this project was FREE, and only took about 30 minutes of my time!

Do you have any antlers in your home decor? Or ever painted any yourself?
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