Scandinavian Wood Standing Deer
We’re quite fawnd of these deer
This might be my favorite project of the month! Krista designed these wood deer decorations and they are just so darling. Although they look delicate, they are made out of two layers of veneer with chipboard between for added strength.
This is a beginner friendly project and a perfect winter-time craft that is easy to assemble. It is also easy to take apart and store when you’re ready to take down your Christmas decorations.
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These wood deer decorations would look cute in a winter scene styled on a mantel, table, or shelf. We especially like them in front of our frosted paper honeycomb trees! You can even add some white wool balls to complete your winter display.
If you don’t use these decorations in your own home, we also think they would make such beautiful Christmas gifts. Due to the type of material, we recommend using a Cricut Maker with a deep cut blade and StrongGrip mat.
How to Make Wood Deer Decorations
- Gather the craft tools and materials you need for this project.
- Prep the wood veneer by placing it with the wood grain going vertical onto a StrongGrip cutting mat. Tape down the edges with masking tape. Following Cricut’s instructions, cut out the wood pieces using the Cricut Wood Veneer setting and a Deep Cut Blade. The machine will make multiple passes on the material, but check that it cut all the way through the wood when it is done (without removing the mat from the machine). If not, run it through the material again, checking after each pass. Use a detail knife to go over any areas that might still be attached. Remove each piece, being careful not to bend them because they can easily crack along the grain.
- Cut out two of each part. You will need one sheet of veneer to make both deer; the SVG file is already prepped to fit.
- Sand down any rough edges to smooth using a fine grit sandpaper. A nail file works perfect for getting around all the curves and into the small corners
Full tutorial available for members to download to the right.
Explore More
Love these little wood deer decorations? Make sure to also check out our papercut winter deer artwork — another great cutting machine project! We also have this amazing paper deer head that you can add to your Christmas decor. Or you can browse all of our Christmas crafts for more ideas.
For more craft inspiration, join us on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and YouTube. If you craft any of our projects, share them with the hashtag #MadeWithLia so we can spot them!
Tools
- Cricut Maker (recommended) with Deep Cut Blade and StrongGrip Mat
- Detail Knife
- Fine Grit Sandpaper
Materials
- 12″x12″ Walnut Wood Veneer
- 12″x12″ Brown ChipboardÂ
- Aleene’s Turbo Tacky Glue
- Masking Tape
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Discussion
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14 Comments
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Angel
January 8, 2024 at 11:12am
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Lia
January 8, 2024 at 2:25pm
@Angel
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Alena
November 19, 2022 at 6:44am
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Lia
November 19, 2022 at 7:35am
@Alena
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Debbie
December 12, 2021 at 1:06pm
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Lia
December 13, 2021 at 10:13am
@Debbie
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Kerstin
December 17, 2020 at 11:20pm
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Lia
December 18, 2020 at 7:36am
@Kerstin
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Lynn
December 17, 2020 at 6:52am
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Lia
December 17, 2020 at 8:25am
@Lynn
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Pam
December 1, 2020 at 4:24pm
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Lia
December 2, 2020 at 8:50am
@Pam
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Denise
December 1, 2020 at 2:14pm
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Lia
December 1, 2020 at 2:38pm
@Denise
Leave a CommentI just got a glowforge never used it. How do I make the deer?
We made a deer template specific for the glowforge wood. You should be able to find it in their library.
Would this pattern work with basswood and the knife blade?
Yes, just make sure the slits for the legs match the width of the wood.
Hi Lia & Team, I’m trying to download the SGV file and am getting a message that the image is too large and reduce in size for my new Maker. I can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong when uploading the image (new user). 😞
I also cut this file on my Cameo 3 and it imported into Studio the correct size. Thanks for any help!
This is an issue with the Cricut software right now as it is importing all SVG files at a different size than we designed them. They will eventually correct, but for a workaround, you can just resize the file when you import it onto your board. You can measure the PDF to get the exact size for the deer or even make them smaller or larger as you wish. We do have a few videos on Craft Academy for using the Cricut with our projects that might be helpful to you: https://liagriffith.com/craft-academy/
For those without cutting machine: card board (240g to 300g/m2) works well. Colored by water color pencils (blend browns and greys ), the moifs inside can either carefully by punched by mini punchs or colored by color pencils.
Buck and doe are very nice and perfect with my actual pillows and table deco (fabric print of bucks, squirrels, autumn leaves, twigs) in copper Color, brown and different greys on white background , table mats in brown melange, fabric napkins in grey-brown Vichy checker.
Great suggestions, Kerstin!
Loved making these deer. Made these to give as gifts to friends that are crafter too. I did find that the Walnut veneer chipped while cutting and further chipped when removing from the mat. I also cut some from the Maple veneer and did not have any issues. I used a new blade so I don’t know how your Walnut deer came out so clean. Great project! Lia Griffith is always my go to for unique crafting projects, thanks so much.
The walnut veneer does seem to be more delicate than the others! A trick for removal– flip the mat over so the veneer is on the table, then peel the mat away (vs. peeling the veneer off the mat). We do that with paper, as well to prevent curling.
Will the Silhouette Cameo 4 cut these?
Hi Pam– we haven’t tried cutting veneer on the Cameo, but it should work! I would guess the knife blade is your best bet.
Dear Lia Griffith Team, what is the recommended thickness of the chipboard? I could not find it in the product description. Also, do you cut it with the deep point blade too? Many thanks, Denise
Hi Denise! You won’t need the deep cut blade if you use the same chipboard we did, but we did use it since it was already loaded in the machine for the wood veneer 🙂 The chipboard we used measures about 1/32″ thick (so just under 1mm).
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