Colorful Salvage Wood Reindeer Art

I think most of us agree that salvage wood projects are amazing. The thousands of up cycled and palette wood projects on Pinterest only prove that turning something old into a new treasure is very beloved design style right now.
I the farmhouse chic look, especially at Christmastime is so unique that you just can’t really go wrong. I found some wood that was in great shape from a broken toy wagon, but actually looked too good. It needed some distressing. Using a multi-color paint and stain finish, inspired by this post at Beyond the Picket Fence, as well as a bit of freehand painting, I created this beautiful Christmas reindeer triptych for my home.

The multi-color look is actually pretty easy to achieve. I used two different colors (you could use more if you wanted, I would just keep them in the same color family), and simply dry brushed them over the wood. At first I thought it was too vibrant, but realized that once I added a dark stain it would knock down the color a bit. 

Once I covered the wood sparsely with paint, I used a rag to cover the entire piece with a darker wood stain. When that was dry, I sanded it in random areas. I used nothing special, just a regular piece of sand paper I had on hand. Doing this gave the wood the perfect distressed and colorful look I wanted.

I let the wood dry overnight, then came back in and free handed my reindeer with white paint. If you’re not comfortable with a free hand design, you can always use carbon paper and trace and image that you find inspiring. 
I found my original inspiration for the largest deer from this Pin on Pinterest (sorry, I can’t seem to trace the original source, although I wish I could because I want to own this deer). 

When the deer were dry, I repeated the stain and sanding process to make them match the rest of the board. I actually went really light with the stain over the white deer, because I wanted them to still pop.

That’s it. I added hanger to the back, and they were ready to go. I didn’t seal them with anything, because I figure over the years the wear on them will only add to their character. 

Follow Molly Wag @Just A Little Creativity’s board Christmas on Pinterest.