This next project is something I’d been wanting to do for a very long time but was scared to tackle. It is a European mounted skull from a 2017 whitetail hunt with an original design carved into the bone.
Girly or Rustic? Why Not Both!
Growing up, my dad didn’t do much hunting, but some of my relatives did. So, I had seen several mounted whitetail buck heads hanging on living room walls. That particular style of home decor didn’t really mean much to me until I became the wife of a hunter. Then it wasn’t long before I took up the pastime myself, alongside my husband…and Wham-Bam! Here I am. I have deer heads on my walls.
For years our living room displayed my husband’s single shoulder mount and a few European mounts. Then I finally had a trophy of my own, and like any self-respecting crafter, I really wanted it to stand out. I had seen examples of hunters dipping their skulls in paint film to achieve colorfully coated European mounts. Pinterest showed me skulls decorated with flowers and beads, which were cute but not my style. And I won’t get into my husband’s opinion on “frilly” deer mounts.
Figuring It Out
I spent a couple years searching for something I could do to my own trophy skulls to make them feel unique and represent my personality. The examples that caught my eye were the skulls that had elaborate designs carved into them. So, I decided this would be the route I would take. Because…why not? Was I a carver? Nope! Had I ever carved anything? Nope! Could I learn to carve? No idea!
But I knew I was going to find a way to do it.
I was a touch paranoid about ruining my irreplaceable trophies, so I certainly didn’t jump right into it. I spent hours online researching how to carve and decided that a Dremel was the way to go. Want to guess what I asked my husband to get me for Christmas?
Making It Happen
Dremel in hand, with the Flex Shaft attachment, I started my project.
I decided, since I am a bit of a genealogy nut, that I would include a little Celtic symbolism.
I settled on the Scottish Luckenbooth, an integrated double hart, historically used in romantic jewelry design. Graph paper is what I used to work out my design. The finished layout included the Luckenbooth with a crown on its top and a Celtic braided ribbon underneath. I sketched my design onto my deer skull by tracing over fabric sewing pattern transfer paper (similar to old-fashioned carbon paper). In a few places I had to go over the lines with a pencil.
skull bone
Once the design was on the skull, I used my Dremel/Flex Shaft tool to outline the full exterior of the image. It was a complete learning experience, so I alternated between different types of bits constantly throughout the process. Mostly, I used a cone-type bit and an inverted cone bit. I worked that outline at an angle cutting material away to make the design appear to be standing out. It was a bit rough and bumpy at this stage, but I could come back and smooth it out later.
My next step was to open up and drill completely through the bone at any points where there would be holes in the design. A tiny drill bit was used to do this.
Now I had to carve an outline around all the intricate little bits and pieces in the interior portion of the design. This is the part I was dreading, but it actually turned out to be slightly therapeutic. Any points that needed to stand out (or be raised above the rest) were treated like the outer outline but on a slightly less aggressive scale. So, the dips and rises, especially throughout the Celtic ribbon and in the crown, needed to be physically separated from the overall skull surface. This was accomplished basically by grinding away bone material next to outlines. This entire process took several hours which were spread out over a course of a couple weeks. If one were relentlessly dedicated and didn’t have other things to do, a few days might have sufficed.
TIP: It can be tricky grinding away just enough surface matter to make the edges “pop.” It is easy to cut all the way through the bone leaving holes where you don’t want them. So, be patient, gentle, and mindful of the details in your design.
A Smooth Finish
I was able to breathe more easily once every part of the design was outlined and separated, where needed. At this point, it was really just a process of smoothing any spots that appeared a little rough to give it a smooth finish.
A quick overall light sanding with a fine grit sandpaper removed any remaining “carbon” or smeared pencil markings.
My finished skull looked great, to me. However, the design wasn’t quite as noticeable as I had imagined it would be, so in true crafter’s fashion, I made a really strong cup of coffee to be used as a “dye.” I used a small paintbrush to apply the coffee dye into the outline and crevices of the design. This gave the carving an aged appearance.
I have to say that I am very pleased with my trophy. It might be a bit “much” for some hunters, but it truly represents me. It perfectly combines my need for making things with my love of hunting, genealogy and all things Scottish and Irish.
Materials I used:
Dremel rotary tool
Dremel Flex Shaft attachment
Dremel engraving, sanding, grinding, and cutting bits
Carbon paper or sewing pattern transfer paper
Fine grit sandpaper
Coffee