Western General Store

I walked into my husband's shop and found this discarded maple highchair tray on the work bench, destination: trash. In the past he had made a few highchairs, and this was a remnant of that. I grabbed it up, knowing I could use it for the blog. I decided to make a tray with tooled leather or pyrography and Steer Drawer Pulls . After the tray was sanded, I drilled holes for the Steer Pulls and installed them, then removed them to do all the finishing. The screws were counter sunk on the bottom with a 3/8 Forstner bit. This was done before the wood finish. Close up view of the Steer Pull sprayed with metallic silver. I carved this checkbook design which was taken from a book written by a friend of mine. The plan was to repeat this design across the tray, but that seemed boring to me. After much thought, I decided on a star in rope in the center. You can't get more western than that! I made a paper template for the inside of the tray, transferred it t...

I hope everyone is healthy and safe in this time of the corona virus. For Easter I used this down time to craft two Dogwood items, my first leather carved belt and a leather carved Cross. I used our Horseshoe Buckle on the belt. I'm sure everyone knows of the legend of how the Dogwood Tree is related to the Cross of Christ. We are surrounded by wild Dogwoods here in East Texas and I have taken many photos. This month's project is more of a "show and tell" rather than a tutorial. Enjoy! Keeper added. I had a wooden cross in this shape, traced and cut the leather, carved and painted it and glued to the wood.

A few years ago I bought a couple of old corbels from Old Texas Wood in Dallas. We cut them up into pieces to hold up the bar in our kitchen. I had these two left over and they were thick enough for this project. I drew a half circle and cut it on the band saw. My idea was to glue tooled leather to the front of this round piece and screw hooks to the leather. I drew the tooling design and traced in the hook bases. I tooled the leather and put on a finish to accenuate the cuts.   I went to the "Wood Store" in my husband's wood shop and found this cypress piece. It was thick like the round piece, so it was perfect for the look I wanted, and it was the perfect size! I screwed in Z clip hardware and sprayed a clear sealer on all the wood. After I glued the leather to the round piece and let dry, I glued the round piece to the cypress and let it dry. The extra clamped board was a guide for gluing the round piece. ...

I've always wanted to make a Horseshoe Towel Bar, but I wasn't sure how to design it. I finally came up with this design. I bought a 1 x 6 x 6' long board and cut 2 pieces 30" long. I found a 1" dowel in the shop which was 30". I sanded all surfaces and glued and clamped the pieces together. I used screws to secure it. I wanted to glue leather to the top and on the front edge of the shelf, so I put blue tape on these sections and spray painted the shelf unit and the dowel. This is the paint I used in metallic oil rubbed bronze. Horseshoes will be screwed to the ends of the shelf to hold the dowel. Tiny conchos with screw adapters will hold the dowel in place. The other conchos will be screwed into the top leather strip. I cut a strip of leather 1 1/2" wide and punched slotted holes for the slotted conchos. I tied the conchos to the leather and glued the leather strip onto the wood. Leather is glued. Pilot...

I saw metal hammered copper candle holders in a catalogue and thought, " I can do that, with wood!" I used one of my Candle Holder Blanks and found a meat tenderizer and, well you know, good way to take your frustrations out on an object. I painted it with metallic copper acrylic paint. You could use a brighter copper color or spray paint, but this is what I had on hand. You could also use another color. Next, add upholstery nails or tacks and a 2 1/4" concho. I used a screw adapter to screw the concho into the wood. You may need to drill a little hole so the concho will fit flat against the wood. You can add a votive candle. I showed to some friends who stopped by and they were amazed at how real it looked. Or you can add a flameless candle, which I prefer. So, since the holidays are over you can save this project for the next holiday season. It would also make a great gift! Happy 2020!

Here's a way to make a quick and easy wreath or decor gift using an XL Horseshoe. These greenery pieces came from garland I had cut for another project. I put 2 pieces of red leather lace in the top holes. Wrap the pieces of garland around the horseshoe. You can decorate it any way you desire. I added a painted Mini Star Nail and ribbon. The Christmas Horseshoe will make any room bright and festive. Here's hoping you and yours have a Merry Christmas!