Tis the season, as they say, and with this easy project you will add just the right amount of haunt to your Halloween decor, in a snap. To create your own Ram’s Horn Display Shelf, only a few items and a few minutes of your time are needed. This project is seriously that easy… if you love the look of taxidermy or horns, then this could easily be a project you create any time of year, it really isn’t specific to Halloween!
The rest of this spooky holiday display is fairly straightforward, but I will list the sources and materials used here for easy reference just a bit further down, so stay tuned after the tutorial for a full breakdown.
MATERIALS // Shelf
/ 1×6 at 6 feet. I used a dog eared cedar fence board like this because they are really inexpensive!
/ 2 – 1 1/2″ Right Angle Brackets
/ 1 1/4″ Screws and Wall Anchors for Drywall
/ #6 3/8″ Screws if using a fence board and #6 1/2″ Screws if using a regular 1×6 board.
/ Finishing Supplies if you plan to paint or stain your shelf. I left mine natural.
INSTRUCTIONS //
/ Cut your board down to size. Something around or under 3 feet in length is best. Sand according to your intended finish. If you plan to leave natural, sand rough edges and you will obviously need to sand quite a bit more if you plan to stain or paint your shelf. Attach your right angle brackets approximately 4 to 6 inches in from the outside edges of your board (the longer your board, the further in you will place your brackets). The hardware will attach to the bottom your board and hang downward. Mark your holes on the wall where you plan to fasten your shelf (since you attached the brackets to the board already, this will be a snap) and then put your wall anchors in place according to the instructions on the package. Set the screw holes on your bracket hardware over the top of your wall anchors (which should be fairly flush to the wall once in place) and using the screws provided with your anchors, fasten your shelf in place.
/ You are going to place a 2 1/2″ drywall screw just to the outside of each of your brackets and fairly close to the bottom of your board. You will not screw this in very far. It should protrude from your wall about 2 1/4″ give or take.
/ Cut your horns apart (they likely have a clear cord that would sit around your head if you were using these properly – but we are not – so cut the cord my friends, or at least unsecure it. Holding your horns at the approximate location of your long screws, determine the angle you want them to sit and make a light mark on the top in this place to note the direction for our next step. Using an extra screw, create a small hole in the flat part of the horn that is fairly near the top edge, just below where you made your mark. You are going to use this hole to help you slide the horn over the top of your screw. It will rest on the screw and sit under your board, appearing as though it is the bracket for your shelf. ** You can use a bit of mounting tape or duck tape to stick your horn in place over your brackets so they will hide the hardware and also so they are not loose. You want them to sit nice and tight, right up against your board.
That is it, you are finished! Place something light weight to display on your shelf!
To mount my antler inside the frame, I simply used removable mounting putty on each point where it touches the wall. This baby is pretty secure over here, but if you expect small children to be in the vicinity (especially below a sharp pointy antler), perhaps you should secure using nylon finishing line and wrap around the hardware used to hang your frame.
DECOR SOURCES // Halloween Cat / Halloween Crow / Golden Horns
VINTAGE + OTHER ITEMS // Frame is Vintage / Table – Zinc Garden Table from Crate & Barrel – Similar Table Here and Exact Table For Sale By Owner Here / Stacking Candelabra – PotteryBarn – Similar Found Here and Here / Antlers found on eBay – Similar Here and Here / Gold + White Antler Wall Sculpture – Target Threshold Brand – this would work beautifully as well.
