Western General Store

  It's hard to get into the Fall spirit in Texas when the weather is hot and dry and the leaves on the trees are turning brown and falling off instead of turning beautiful colors. I wanted to make a Fall lariat wreath and add a bright red boot, and about the time I was creating it, I think I ushered in the season, because the nights stared turning cooler! I chose a lime green used lariat for this project. I wrapped the lariat on one side with green wire so I would have a place to stick foliage. I stuck in Fall foliage. Don't go any further and you have a nice simple Fall wreath. I experimented by attaching a Halloween bow, but decided to leave it off. I cut out a boot shape from plywood and spray painted it red. I drilled a hole in the middle and attached a 2 3/8" concho I had on hand. I attached the boot to the lariat with a hot glue gun. It's easy to make a wreath with a lariat. Let your imagination and creativity propel you to success!

This Western Garland is a new item. What fun you can have with this! It’s made of metal or tin with coiled wire and painted brown. It is 8 foot long with a loop on each end to attach anywhere you want. You can spray paint the whole thing a different color or multi colors. You could paint each piece a different color. It would be great for birthday parties or any holiday or just decoration on the mantel year round. You could even cut the wire, pull each piece out, attach a wire loop where the holes were, paint your choice of color and use for western ornaments! You could also weave it into some pine garland or into a wreath. You have a choice of Texas, Steer, Boot or Horse or buy all four so you have a big variety. I’m sure there are many more ways to use this garland. Have fun!

This idea just hit me one day to make a pallet wood boot. I wanted it large so the size of this boot is 18" tall x 14" wide. As usual I just dove in without thinking about how to make a template. I laid out the boards and with a ruler started drawing lines to make the cuts to shape the boot. I changed my mind on some of the lines so I had pencil marks that couldn't be erased. Oh well, so I made the cuts on a scroll saw and laid the pieces on a 1/4" piece of plywood, traced around it and cut out the plywood. So I had my template. One should make an extra template out of card board or plywood so you have it for future use. I laid the template on another set of pallet wood boards and traced around it and made the cuts. I glued the pieces to the plywood template with Titebond III Ultimate Wood Glue, clamped them and let dry overnight. Now the fun begins! Here are a few ideas on how to decorate this boot. Paint on a message and add ...