Western General Store

I have always wanted to make a horseshoe wreath, but since I'm not a welder, I created a new way to make it. I used #6 x 3/4" pan head machine screws and nuts. I did enlarge a few holes on the drill press so the screws would fit. These are large cast iron horseshoes. You could use steel horseshoes as well. Getting the right screw is crucial and these fit perfectly. I was so exited, I immediately wrapped red bandanas through the horseshoes. I sprayed the horseshoes silver metallic and wove a pink bandana through the horseshoes, a blue one next to it and tied it in the back. You've got to love this cowboy version! I sprayed one of our  Western Cutouts silver and attached it with wire. I wrapped blue and red bandanas and tied them in the front. Star Horseshoe Wreath with a star burlap ribbon, Mini Star Nails painted red and a painted Star in Circle Cutout hung by wire. Texas Horseshoe Wreath with Texas in Circle C...

I would like to show you the many different uses for our Clavos. Clavos are decorative nails that can be used to accentuate furniture, rustic wood doors, wooden gates, picture frames, chests, countertop edge, wooden crosses, shelf edges and other crafts. You will need to drill a pilot hole and use a rubber mallet, except for some softer woods. If you have any questions about using clavos, comment below or use the 'Contact Us' form. Here is an example of a wooden cross adorned with black clavos in 2 sizes. I made another wooden chest out of 1x4 pine boards and added 30 silver clavos and medium star nail. Barn wood picture frame with copper clavos. Black clavos on cabinet doors give a nice accent. Here are a few other uses for clavos I found on the web like these rustic sliding doors. source Buffet - source Clavos look nice on this leather covered chair. source I'm sure you can think of many other uses for versatile clavos. ...

I wanted to build a storage chest for our bathroom so I drew a plan in my design program. It would sit by the toilet and hold extra toilet paper with magazines or books on top. I had rough cedar lap and gap siding left over from house repairs and I cut a board of the 3/4" thick siding into 10" pieces to form the sides of the chest. The board was cupped so we ripped them down the v groove on the table saw. I glued and nailed the pieces together to form the 4 sides. I glued and nailed the sides to a solid mahogany base of 12" x 7 1/2" and glued and nailed the corners. I cut pieces from scraps and glued them into the gaps at the bottom. At this stage it looks like a planter. Overall it is 13 1/2" x 9" x 10" tall. I glued and nailed pieces together on 1/4" plywood to form the lid. Notice I stained the cut corners on the chest which matches the rest of the wood. I glued cedar trim on the lid and cla...

Spring is just around the corner so time to bring out the colors of spring. It's easy to make a Spring Hat Wreath. I had this sun hat and found a flower garland at the craft store to wrap around it. I wired on a burlap bow and a twine hanger for the top. Make a horseshoe candle holder by screwing Small Horseshoes onto a block of wood, paint it the colors of spring and add silk or real flowers. Use as centerpieces for weddings or parties. It will hold a 3" pillar candle or... A votive. To make a rustic spring planter I gathered scraps from my weathered pallet wood projects. I glued and nailed the upright pieces to a pallet wood base. I used the rest of the flower garland and tied twine around the  planter. Or you could add daisies and a distressed Cross Nail . Here is another color scheme with a Mini Star Nail . These ideas should give you inspiration to create for Springtime.

Hearts are the theme today to spread some love around the world! I made these two lariat hearts by simply using a 44" piece of lariat, pulling it into the shape of a heart and wrapping with red leather lace, leaving enough excess for a tassel. I could stop right there. You can hang these anywhere and I thought they looked great! But I wanted to make more hearts! So, I made a heart from pallet boards. I cut a heart shape from plywood, placed the boards together, traced the heart shape on the boards and cut them on the scroll saw, then glued them to the plywood. Actually, I used liquid nails which I don't recommend because it takes too long to dry. This heart is 8" wide x 7" tall. Then I cut 2 small hearts from the scraps. They are 3 1/2" wide x 3" tall. I attached a green lariat to the large heart with a brad nail gun and tied the lariat hearts together with red bows. I glued on the small hearts and added a red bandana. When I throw...