Western General Store

I've always wanted to make a wood tray with slanted sides. The internet didn't have much to offer, but I gave a tray I had to a friend and he figured the angles, cut sample pieces and wrote down instructions. Much better than the internet! Sample Pieces Template Tray This project can get tricky and you need to think about what you're doing every step of the way. Decide what size tray you want. How long and tall will the sides be, etc. The tray for this project is 12 3/4" wide x 18 3/8" long at the top of the handles. A side piece measures 2 3/4" x 17 7/8" x 1/2". The end piece measures 2 3/4" x 12 3/4" x 1/2". If you measure the slant the side is 3" and the end is 4". You can make it out of ply wood or any solid wood. I chose mahogany for this project. Turn blade on table saw to 17 degrees and rip one side, flip board and move saw guide to the desired thickness and rip. The top and bottom are parallel to ...

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!

July 4th is around the corner! Time to make a patriotic wreath. I found all this burlap ribbon on sale last year and have been saving it just for this. There are lots of videos on making burlap wreaths and bows so you can do it! I used a wood cut out horse from a previous post and painted it like a US flag. I would hot glue it or hang it with wire. Have fun!

I thought this might be fun for kids. Draw and cut out a horse head from plywood. Paint it any color and glue bling from the craft store. They could have fun coming up with their own design.

I know, quirky! It's rustic meets industrial. I had a drawer panel left over from when we built our kitchen years ago and thought about adding hooks and making a coat rack and it evolved into this. The drawer panel was already stained and ready to go into a kitchen but I partially sanded it to make it look rustic. Then I slathered on some turquoise paint and added rustic  cross tacks to the corners. I had this horse head that I drew and cut from plywood and I spray painted it chrome. It looks like sheet metal! I wanted a 3D effect so I put the base of the horse against the panel and glued a wooden wedge behind it. Have fun transforming old drawer panels!