Cork and Twig Reindeer Ornaments

For a Perfectly Rustic Christmas

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A few bits of rusty tie wire, a bead or two, and a wine cork...what can you make out of these?

Cork and Twig Reindeer Christmas Ornaments

How about this oh-so-cute Christmas ornament to hang on the tree, or just make a herd of them for your mantel or a shelf.

They are quick to make and they will amaze you with their realistic deer-like form. With only a few bits of tie wire, a wine cork, some wooden beads and a bit of twig, they are surprisingly deer-like.

You can pose them to look even more like a herd of deer, some with their heads bent to display their antlers, some aloof, others browsing.

Every herd of deer needs at least one with a red nose...

The supplies are simple; a bit of tie wire, some wooden beads, a few twigs for the antlers and the cork. I used new ones which you can find in any wine making supply store.

The rest of the materials were from the dollar store where they have a good selection of beads, and the hardware store for the wire, or purchase them from the supplies gallery below.

The beads are threaded with tie wire which is bendable

Predrill the holes in the cork for the wire. I thought I could just push the wire in, but all it did was bend.

I've used a tiny drill bit for this, just large enough for the wire.

I also used Mod Podge to glue them in so they don't spin around.

The head is one round bead for the nose, with the wire threaded back and into the spool bead for the head. Make sure it's short enough to be hidden inside the bead.

Then a skinny bead is threaded on for the neck, and bent into the typical deer like pose. The end of the wire is inserted into the hole in the cork.

Prepare to be building a whole herd of these deer

For the legs, cut two pieces of wire and bend them in the middle to form 'hocks' which will face backwards.

The front ones are straight and a bit shorter.

Don't worry if they're too long because you can cut them off with your side cutters, or just bend them a little more or less so they all reach the ground.

Tiny twigs are glued into the hole in the 'head' bead for antlers. Keep in mind that girl deer don't have any antlers so leave some without.

The best twigs I found for the antlers were Amelanchier twigs from a witches broom, which is caused by a bacterial infection in the tree - sounds gross, I know, but it makes the branches form a really tight small growth pattern.

The smaller the branches, the more realistic the antlers.