Western General Store

Here's two ways to use horse bits in your décor. If you have some old bits laying around in your tack room this is a fun thing to do. I wrapped a D-ring snaffle around a flameless pillar candle and tied leather lacing to hold it together. I was looking at an old curb bit I had and stood it on it's side and of course, it's a candle holder! But this one wasn't too steady so I built a stand out of mahogany and drilled holes for the candles and a hole in the bit to screw it to the wood. Here's a different version of the leather wrapping. You could use twine, ribbon or anything you've got. I think it would be pretty to add greenery for the holidays. Use it for a center piece for parties, holidays or weddings.

I showed these western metal cut outs to a friend of mine and he thought they would make a great wind chime. This is his design and he put it together. I just suggested a few things like adding a cut out at the top. He drilled a hole in each cut out. From a hook he attached three chains and attached the chains to an XL Horseshoe with cotter pins. He attached different lengths of chains and the cut outs to the XL Horseshoe with cotter pins. We hung a chain from the top hook and added a cut out just above the horseshoe. He drilled a hole in the bottom of this cut out and hung a chain through the middle of the horseshoe and added a cut out at the bottom. It's about 33" in height. This wind chime could be hung in your home also. It makes pleasant sounding clangs. You could paint the cut outs, let them rust or spray them with vinegar to quickly get that rusty effect as shown here. Then seal them with a clear polyurethane spray. Here's a picture of the...

I was going through the wood shop and found two boat tillers in the trash, discarded because of minor imperfections. I decided it needed to be a jewelry rack. I cut them to 28 1/2" and drilled holes for Tiny Horseshoes . You could buy wood this size at your local lumber store. I drilled mounting holes 16" apart. I spray painted the wood a metallic bronze and the horseshoes a metallic gold, and mounted ten horseshoes. You can hang necklaces, bracelets, belts, belt buckles or scarves. I painted another one in a rainbow of colors. Caribbean style for a beach shack or a kids room!

When I saw this wall paper border I knew I wanted to make a tray. As we were arranging the sides I thought it might be different to have over lapping corners. So we glued it together one side at a time and used the brad gun for more security. Then we clamped it and let it dry overnight. We drilled holes for rope handles. I did several samples of crackle finish and chose the red with a light tan base coat. Here's the tray with a crackle finish. After it dried I applied the wall paper border with Mod Podge. I used the brayer to smooth it out. When I put a coat of Mod Podge over the top of the picture, the crackle paint started coming off and it made a big mess. So, I had to sand all of that down, put painters tape on the picture and re crackled it. Then I used a spray varnish to seal it. I inserted the rope handles and tied in knots. If I did this again I would apply the picture first, then tape it and apply the crackle finish around i...

I took a barnwood frame apart and put the pieces together to make a Texas Flag with a Medium Star Nail . Here are the pieces cut to fit together. Here's how it turned out. I mixed acrylic paint with water to thin it since I wanted a lot of the barnwood showing through. I used a fan brush to lightly brush the paint on. I had white and blue on my brush and painted the star. I epoxied the pieces together. You could drill a hole for the star nail or just cut off the nail and apply with glue or epoxy. You could set it on a table or counter or put a hanger on the back and hang it on the wall.

Here's another way to use the star nails in a project. We had 4x4 cedar lumber in which I cut into graduated sizes. I drilled a hole in the top for a candle. I drilled holes a little smaller than the nails and used a cloth and hammer to attach them to the wood. Pictured is a medium, small and tiny star nail. The wood and stars were left unfinished. But you could paint them any color or seal them with a polyurethane spray. Over time the stars might rust if you don't seal them. But they would be more rustic! These  star candle holders  can be purchased on the website.

Paint your Tiny Horseshoes and glue on leather, jute, or ribbon. Super glue works well on the leather but not the jute. For jute use hot glue or any multipurpose glue. Tie in a square knot. I thought these would be cute for a horse themed baby shower. Give them as party favors or use for decoration. These horseshoe hangers are fun to make for kids and adults. Here's my attempt at Southwest style. Wedding Horseshoes for favors or decoration. Glue on some bling. I took this string from a gift bag. Gold Horseshoe with plain jute twine. Native American style horseshoe in which I tied on leather and beads. You could give any of these as gifts and write a message on the back with a permanent marker. You could say 'Good Luck!' for one who starts a new job.