[DIY] Horse Shoe Necklace Holder

I've been having a bit of a change around in my room which involved getting rid of two sets of drawers as they weren't majorly needed. However, I had been storing my necklaces in one of the drawers so needed somewhere to put them. I had looked into buying a necklace stand but couldn't find one I really liked and then I saw the below on pinterest so decided to have a go at making my own. However, I soon realised that after putting up a new shelf, the project would mean that my necklaces would hang too low so decided to alter it and came with the above. It was my Dad's idea to have the photo's put in as the hooks would likely scratch my wall so we put some wood behind and added the photo's to make it look better. 

Unfortunately I didn't take step by step photos, but here are some vague instructions on how I made it!

Step 1: 

I already had two horse shoes dotted around painted so I just used these. However, if you don't then you can either ask your farrier or I found mine outside field gates all rusty! They were then sanded down and painted (you can paint them any colour you like). I also cleaned the nail holes out a bit (though dad had to drill them later on for the hooks) and poked through some ribbon to hang them up with. 

Step 2:

I measured round the horse shoes on a piece of plywood to create a square background and Dad then used a saw to cut them out. I also printed out two of my favourite photos onto photo paper and placed on the wood before putting the horse shoe on top to get an idea of where to centre the photo and cut off the excess. I then drew round the shoe on the photo and on the wood. Dad trimmed the wood ( I attempted but only did half of one before my hand cramped) and I trimmed the photo down. 

Step 3:

I then sanded round the edge of the wood before gluing on the photo using good old art attack glue (pva glue) that we still have kicking around and held them together to stick properly. Dad drilled the nail holes a bit more and then we used brass hooks to screw into the holes and attach the shoe to the wood. 

Et Voila! You now have a lovely horse shoe photo necklace holder or key holder or any other holder you may want to use it for! It was actually a vaguely easy DIY project, but my DIY/DT skills are awful (it was one subject I did awful in at school) so Dad took over some parts! However, I love the end result and it means that my necklaces are nicely on show and easy to get hold of :)

Thanks for reading,
Laura xx

DIY Ideas with Stirrup Irons

The majority of us will all have some old equestrian items of tack knocking around in a shed/tack room/garden that we know we should sort out but never get round to. Therefore, I've decided to feature a couple of DIY ideas starting with ways you can recycle old stirrup irons that might be hanging around waiting for a new lease of life! 

(All the images came from Pinterest)

This idea is what actually started my idea for the post! There's a house in my local town which has a stirrup iron as a door knocker, and whilst this one isn't quite a DIY that we'd all do, the one I've seen looks simple to make! I think it adds that touch of equestrian without being too over the top. You could just grab an old stirrup iron, polish it up a bit and then hang with an old stirrup leather, cut a bit shorter. I'm trying to persuade Dad to let me make one for out front door and would definitely have one when I get my own place!

I think this would look great on the edge of a mantle piece or on a floating shelf to hold together some classic equestrian books. You could maybe attach a bit of plywood to the bottom and paint in a metallic colour or something to use as a base if preferred. 

I really like this idea and I'm planning on scavenging round my yard at the weekend to find an old horse shoe to recreate this using one of my favourite photo's of pea that's currently sitting on the corner of my bookcase in a broken photo frame. It looks so simple to recreate and the rustic stirrup iron makes it look quite authentic. Keep your eyes peeled for a possible post if I get round to making this! 

This idea would be great if you have a guest bathroom or a second toilet. It looks so much better than a normal towel rack (well in my opinion anyway!) and, again, adds that bit of personalisation with the equestrian theme. (The towel's a good extra too!). 

If anyone manages this as a DIY project then I applaud you! I suppose it shouldn't technically be featured but I just love these! They are so quirky yet so simple! I would definitely think of purchasing these (or researching just how hard they are to make!). 

Do you fancy giving any of these a try? Let me know!

Thanks for reading,

Laura xx

Rosette & Sash Display Ideas

Hello!

For this post, I thought I would feature a few ideas that I have come across (mainly on Pinterest) to display rosettes and also for sashes. For many riders, rosettes important memoirs from competing or participating in certain events. For me, there are certain rosettes on my wall which I can look at and remember when I won them and I am sure this may be the same for many others.

The way I display mine for Pea is that I have a small wall with string up to hold the rosettes and then a large photo frame underneath with various different pictures of Pea and I in. This could be developed for others, if you have a larger space, by making it more of a feature wall with individual frames and/or a painting/portrait of your horse/s. I am keen to get a drawing done of Pea to match one that I had done of my old pony so I might end up changing my display wall to a larger one in the future. 

Image source: Pinterest

Another idea which I have seen on Pinterest, is large photo boxes/frames filled with your rosettes. These especially look good in large tack rooms, so would be perfect if you own your own yard! Another alternative would be to hang the frame over your bed or sofa as a bit of a statement! The assortment of colours looks really great and you can display them however you like - either mix them up or organise them by colour! Another possibility, which is a bit of a DIY, is that you could make a coffee table using an old window/large photo box and fill the middle with the rosettes/sashes. Or, if you have a few sashes and are a keen DIY person, you could potentially make a coffee table using just sashes by stapling them round either wood or a fabric coffee table.

Image source: Pinterest

A further idea is to fill vases/jars with your rosettes. These look surprisingly good and means that you can put them anywhere! Or you could hang them on shelves to make the front of the shelf look less plain! (The shelf idea came from the wonderful Becky at kickingon!)

Finally, this last idea is if you fancy turning your sashes into cushions or bed throws and do not want to do it yourself. There are some companies out there, such as Ribbonsettes (UK) which convert your sashes into either cushions or bed throws and so are a nice touch to the home to proudly display your sashes as these can be slightly harder to display!

I hope this has given you a few ideas for how to display your rosettes! Let me know if there are any other ideas you do/have come across which I haven't featured!

Thanks for reading,

Laura xx

DIY Stable Toys for less than £5!

Hello!

As it has reached that time of year when many of us bring our horses in at night, I've decided to do a post on some quick and simple 'toys' to help keep your horses happy whilst confined to their 4 walls! There are various stable toys available on the market, however these can be expensive - especially if your horse doesn't get on with them! 

#1: A Swede
These are really good as they take a while for horses to get through and can also be hung or left to roll around on the ground (however, be aware that if you are going to hang them, it takes a lot of effort to make a hole in!). 

#2: Carrots & Apples
These can be hidden in haynets, in the bedding, in water buckets - anywhere that involves your horse having to do a bit of digging and investigating in order for them to get the reward! Putting them in water buckets also encourages them to drink, so perfect if your horse is a bit reluctant or you want to see if they are getting water. 

#3: A Football
This can be a hit or miss one as some horses may like it, whilst others may not! They can act as a 'Jolly Ball' or you could also make a DIY 'Distraction Aid'  by placing the ball in a carrot net and then adding the carrots round the edge and using some string/baling twine to hang it up! 

#4: Licks
This is a slight cheat but you can get some licks for less than £5 such as a salt lick or 'Uncle Jimmy's Licky Thing' and then as a means of making it cheaper, instead of forking out for a lick holder, just use some string/baling twine, through the middle and hang where you desire :)

There are also other ideas which I found such as traffic cones, old plastic containers with holes put in and used as a treat trickle feeder or stuffing a paper bag with hay/carrots/various other edible items!

Let me know if you've ever tried any DIY stable toys! Or even ones you've bought! Pea has a likit snak-a-ball but he never worked out how to use it properly!

Thanks for reading,
Laura xx

Equestrian Themed Halloween

Hello!

It feels like I should say 'long time no speak' as it feels like ages since I last blogged! Seeing as it is Halloween on Friday, I decided to do an equestrian themed halloween post, however this has proven slightly more difficult than what I anticipated! However, here are some ideas to have an equine themed halloween, from the subtle to the full blown!


Orange and black are colours predominately associated with Halloween, so for a bit of subtlety, why not kit your horse out in an orange saddle pad and bandages?

I also found these on Pinterest, which I think can be bought from Etsy, though the saddlecloth is probably quite an easy DIY! For the hooves, you could probably also use orange over-reach boots and use a permanent marker to draw on a face! That way, they can also be re-usable and you don't run the risk of your horse walking round with orange hooves for a while! 

If you're more into pumpkin carving, how about these? I've found on Pinterest that there's lots of stencils to make a horse themed pumpkin, and I think the first one is probably the one that's slightly easier (or at least the stencil makes it look this way)! Kudos to anyone who manages the third one! It looks so good but it must take hours! Or, for an alternative version that might last longer, I love the last one made using horse shoes! Such a good idea and it just looks amazing! 

Last, but not least, if you're up for going all out this Halloween and want some good fancy dress ideas then here are three of my favourites! Two involve a black horse, but if you have a grey then the first picture of Cruella de Vil and a rather large 'puppy' is a good variation! However, the last is definitely my favourite! Think it would freak me out though if I saw it at night! 

I hope you liked this post! I think I am definitely tempted to try a horse themed pumpkin! Let me know if you're planning on incorporating your love for horses to your Halloween plans! 

Thanks for reading,

Laura xx

(All images came from Pinterest)