A more handsome trophy could be purchased for a few bucks at a yard sale, but this proud testimony to your sense of home decor can be yours FREE with just the slight bloodying of your knuckles. Your spouse may protest, but she’d complain louder if you put up a real trophy head! Actually, unless you use a really old skate, you might achieve a trophy with no animal content whatsoever, barring carelessness with your own body parts.
You’ll need a skate, the blade ends of four sticks, two ping-pong balls, a mounting board, and plenty of black stick tape. Carefully slice down the back seam of the skate, and pull each side outwards to form the moose’s ears. Tape these up to give them a good ear shape. For the antlers, cut the sticks so that the shafts are the same length, no more than 8" long. Cut the ends of the first two sticks at a slight angle so they fit together in a V. Find a scrap piece of stick. Holding the two antlers at the desired angle, pre-drill holes through them and the piece of scrap to make the brace that will hold the antlers in place.
Using a sharp utility knife, and cutting away from yourself, cut a hole the same size as the stick, about 3/4" x 1 1/8", out of each side of the heel. They should be the same height above the sole and the same distance from the heel support because you’ll insert one stick into each to form the first tier of antlers. The cuts are tough to make, so take your time.
Insert the first two antlers through the holes in the skate and screw the rack together using the brace you’ve already made. Add the next tier of antlers by screwing these to the mounted ones. Attach them from the back with screws no longer than the combined thickness of the sticks. Theoretically, you could make a really big rack, but I stopped at a modest four-pointer.
For eyeballs, draw dots on the ping pong balls to give your beast the look you like. Slip pointy sheet rock screws no longer than the diameter of the ball through the top eyelets on the skate, and thread the ping pong balls right on to them. To keep the eyes close together, wrap a rubber band around the screws behind the eyes. Wrap black hockey tape from the heel support to the nearest blade brace. This will sort of look like the beast’s neck.
Finding a suitable mounting board is up to you. I asked a qualified woodworker to cut one out for me. To make attaching the trophy to the plaque easier, he also ripped a groove the same width as the skate blade down the centre of the plaque on his table saw.
The collective whimsy of this project weighs a lot. Hold the skate to the board with a couple of mounting brackets, fastening them from the back of the plaque to maintain the trophy’s elegance. Add a hanging bracket, mount it on the wall — better yet, mount several in a row — and give the neighbours something to talk about.