Western General Store

I love rusty stars and bells and decided to make my own star garland. I cut eight 4" stars out of 1/4" plywood on the scroll saw, but if you're not a wood worker find wood or metal star cut outs at the craft store. You could use any kind of cut outs like hearts, angels or crosses. I drilled two little holes in each star and spray painted them with 'Autumn Brown' textured spray paint. Joann's had 60% off this carton of rusty bells so it was around $6 and I might have used half of them. I cut the brown 24 gauge wire a little over 5' long. Then just start threading the stars and bells onto the wire. The bells have little ties on them and they could be cut off but I left them on there just in case I needed them. I slid one end of the wire through one hole in a star, then the other hole and repeat to secure it. I slid on a bell to the middle of the star and threaded the other end of the wire through the other hole....

Here are some ways to use our Lariat Baskets for Western Style Holiday Décor. Place Autumn branches, pine cones and twig balls in a basket and add a jute bow for Fall or Thanksgiving décor. For a rustic Christmas add pine branches, berry branches, pine cones, twig balls and an antler to a lariat basket. Instead of a burlap bow on the outside, I made a big bow tied with wire and placed it inside the basket. Add pine cones and greenery or fruit, nuts and snacks for a great gift basket. Make a Lucky Christmas Basket by adding one of our horseshoes. You could add a Cross Nail to a basket. Paint it, rust it or leave it natural. I'm sure you can come up with many ideas of your own. Try it!

When I was sketching the plan for a spur brace I also came up with the idea of using horseshoes for a brace. This shelf is about 18" long out of cedar that has been burned with a torch and finished with clear sealer. I screwed the shelf to the bottom board then I screwed Small Horseshoes which had been spray painted a textured brown to the ends to form the braces. I added Coat Hooks and a new  Horse Hook  we have on the website. Here's a close up of the end of the shelf.

I had some weathered pallet boards and decided to make a rustic cross. I cut them the length I wanted and my assistant/husband cut a dado on the table saw. The dimensions of the cross became 16 1/2" wide x 19" tall. I glued the boards together and attached copper upholstery nails. These photos are to show you the different crosses you could use with the pallet wood cross. You can drill a hole through the cast iron cross and screw it to the wood. You could probably use epoxy to attach this small cross. You could also paint the wood or the cast iron crosses to give it the effect you wanted. Here are the cast iron crosses shown in this project: Cross with Star and Horseshoe Cross with Horseshoes and Star Cross D58-080 Cross D58-090 Send us photos of your projects along with instructions and we will post them right here on the blog. Also we welcome your questions, suggestions or comments.

I found 2 scrap pieces of 1/2" birch plywood in the shop to make a wooden towel holder. On the scroll saw I cut slots to fit the pieces together. Here are the finished pieces. I traced the inside of the Small Horseshoes and cut the holes. I recut the top a little fancier, stained the pieces, nailed the horseshoes on with carpet tacks, and added the Pewter Star Tacks . Here are the pieces fitted together. A Western style towel holder for your décor. This photo shot is in the kitchen but this would more likely reside in the bathroom.