Western General Store

This window picture frame, which I bought at a craft store many years ago, was behind my stove in the old kitchen, but I thought I'd repurpose it. I'm sure you can still find these type of frames, or you could make your own. Another idea is to find antique windows from old houses. Print out your favorite picture or have it printed by a print service. This photo is of my two mares who were sisters. November is about the family getting together and celebrating what we are thankful for. You could print out several family photos and place one in each pane. I found a board that was already finished and was the perfect size for the shelf. It is 31" x 3 1/2" x 3/4". The window Frame is 30 1/2" x 23" tall. I drew and cut out these shelf braces on the scroll saw and gave them the same finish as the shelf, which is dark brown Briwax. I thought about painting the whole thing one color and distressing it to look old, but I like the contrast....

Here are a few things I put together for Western Fall Décor Ideas! These Wood slices were cut from a downed tree on our property. They were in the shed drying out for a couple of years. You can sand and seal and use them for a variety of things. I didn't sand these since I will be using them for another project. Wood Slice Centerpiece - I made a center piece with fall foliage in a horse pitcher, a ceramic Halloween pumpkin and fall leaves and gourds all placed on the wood slices. Lariat Wreath - Take a lariat and zip tie it at the top, wire on a bow and insert fall foliage. Easy! Horseshoe Wreath - I took a 16" grapevine wreath and cut the top off with a saw to make a horseshoe shape. I tied the ends at the top with brown wire just to keep it from coming apart, but it held its shape very well without it. I stuck in foliage and wired on a bow. I drew and cut out the plywood galloping horse on a scroll saw. I painted it and used a paint pen to write the...

Fall Activities are coming up and what better way to show off your style than to wear a hat band that you made yourself. Here are 6 different styles that are easy to make. I used a palm leaf hat to model the hat bands. Just wet it in the sink, form it into any style you want, and let dry. If you make a mistake, rewet it and fix it. I attached a Rhinestone Star Pin to a grosgrain ribbon for this style. You can also add pins to the hat. I wove a 5/8" x 46" black grosgrain ribbon through eight 1 1/2" slotted conchos. Tie the ribbon in a square knot in the back and let the ends dangle. Or you can tie it in a bow. I cut a 1" x 23 1/2" strip of veg tan leather, painted it black and attached 2 types of rivets. I cut an extra piece for a keeper in the back. I stapled the ends together and glued the keeper on the band using Titebond. I got a little off on the staples but it worked. Here's how it looks in the back. ...

When I saw a picture of horseshoes and hooks welded together for a coat rack, the idea came to me that I could screw our Small Coat Hooks into Large Horseshoes to make Horseshoe Hooks. I placed a Small Coat Hook on the bottom of a Large Horseshoe and made marks for drilling the holes. Clamp your horseshoe on the drill press. Use a 9/64" bit and drill holes for the hooks and enlarge two top holes in each horseshoe. I drilled 4 horseshoes. I had a piece of pecan left over from my kitchen bar and even though it's cracked I screwed the horseshoes and hooks into it. Dry wall screws (#6x1") are perfect for this project. I drilled pilot holes and nailed in Small Star Nails . If you want to decorate the horseshoes you can choose from small tacks, nails or conchos that we have on the website. You can paint the horseshoes, hooks and wood in the colors of choice or leave as is. I wanted to go one step further and add a ba...

Since a friend showed me a bamboo Lazy Susan she picked up at a garage sale, I've been wanting to make one. The Lazy Susan has many uses and are great for holiday gatherings. First, I looked around for a bearing kit and found the Lazy Susan Slimline here . It has easy to follow instructions. I wanted it thin for a low profile and this is 7/64" thick and 12 5/8" wide. I chose pecan left over from my kitchen bar for the top piece. Scraps of mahogany were used for the bottom piece. Plane down the pieces to the desired thickness. These are planed to 9/16" thick. Glue the pieces together and clamp. Let dry overnight. Draw the desired size circle on both pieces and cut out on a band saw. The top piece is 16 1/2" wide and the bottom piece is 13 1/4" wide. On the bottom side of the bottom piece drill a 9/16" wide hole 1/8" deep using a Forstner bit. This was done on the drill press. Drill a 5/16...