Well, this was initially going to be a christmas present, but I ended up having to leave the state for a couple of months, so I had to leave her with something to remember me by while I was gone.
The top is a small caribou shed I found, it was partially broken, but I used a dremel and a lot of sanding to make it shapely and appealing again.
The heart is carved of cottonwood, I did the original rough shape with a chainsaw, and then used a chisel to finish the shape. I did the shaping while the wood was still green, as cottonwood is and extremely weak wood when dry, even when its green you have to be really carefull. After the first round of rough sanding, I baked it at 350 for about four-five hours, till there was no more moisture coming out of the wood. You have to watch out for cracking with cottonwoods..... I finished the sanding on the heart, and then used clear varathane on both the wood and the caribou shed to finish it off. The wood took more coats of course because it absorbs the varathane.
I finished it off with leather lacing, which is held in the back of the heart with wire brads so the lacing wouldn't slip. The lacing on the antler is just tied, as being around the points holds it in place. I used copper wiring on the back of the antler to pin it on the wall, I didn't want it to hang down, or have anything visible besides the antler, heart, and leather.
