Cute Animal Coat Rack

My cousin's wife was pregnant and she wanted a safari themed baby bedding set done. While my sister and mom were busy cutting felt and fabrics to do the bedding set, we realized we needed a coat rack to complete the set. I thought Martha Stewart's coat rack was cute and thought to do a copycat version of it.

6.5" x 16" x3/4" - wooden plank

4 - large 'S' hooks

2- hanging hardware

Acrylic paint

Transfer paper

Template

Martha Stewart gives out free animal rear templates. If you want these animals, you can freely download them at the link here:. It's easier if you could get the stencil cut. I did not use these templates as the animals did not suit our theme. If you prefer my drawings, I have uploaded my hand drawings for you to download.

I bent the regular 'S' hooks by screwing them into a plank and gently tapping and bending them into the shape of a tail. Have plenty to spare as you most probably will break some!

The top screw is in the original form. The bottom 4 are adjusted. Not much of a difference really, so if you prefer, you can skip adjusting it. I sometimes can get a bit neurotic when it comes to details :-)

You need to prepare your board.

First sand your wood plank and drill 2 large holes, not all the way through. Now nail your hanging hooks.

Now paint the plank the background you prefer. I painted it-off white, sort of beige. Let it dry.

Place your templates on the plank and tape them. Use a transfer carbon to transfer the pattern.

Draw the pattern very lightly.

You can paint it what ever color or however you like! I painted to suit the animals on the bedding set.

Here is how I went about it -

Paint the lion orange. Shade the outline in a darker color. Likewise, paint the mane brown, mixed with a touch of orange. Outline the head shape with brown.

The elephant was painted all blue with the outline done in a darker blue. I drew the elephant's hair with a thin black marker in the later steps.

Paint the giraffe all yellow and the zebra all white first.

Now give the giraffe details by painting its hair a mix of orange and brown. Give the body some brown spots. For the mouth and ear, use an orange paint.

Paint the zebra's hair and give the zebra its zig zag black stripes. I never thought of it then, but I think if I had used a ruler and marker pen, it would have been easier!

As it was a jungle theme, I painted some vines and leaves. It is all all painted now minus the tails. I gave the background some touch ups because I had gone out of the line a bit. Let your board dry.

While you are painting the animals keep the hooks close by. Paint each tail the relevant animal color.

Now drill the rear of the animals and screw in the hooks. All done! isn't it cute?

Here is a peek into the bedding. Now you know why I painted my elephant blue! :-)

My cousin's wife was quite happy to receive her baby bedding set. She is due in a couple of weeks. I can't wait to see a picture of the the new addition to the family :-)

Thanks for reading through and please, I would love your vote for the craft contest! The prize would be most appreciated :-) Thank you!