Horse Inspired DIY Crafts

So for Kellie's trip I was put in charge of the cheese platter to bring with us for our wine tour. Willie and I made 3 of these gorgeous huge chalkboard cheese boards last year when I was on maternity leave (these crafts kept me sane and gave me a break from new mom duties). The inspiration for these horse inspired cheese boards came around when Willie found the horseshoes at the thrift store. I mean how cool are they?!?

 

Here is what you need:



• Large piece of thick wood (11" wide, 1.5" thick, cut to make 36"long)
• Horseshoes (we found these large game version ones from the thirft store, but for a smaller version, regular horse shoes would work great too)
• Option - Spray paint (used the gray hammered color)
• Drill with metal drill bits
• Large Screws
• Paint or Stain for the wood
• Chalkboard paint for the middle in order to write on

How to assemble:

1. Make the holes in your horse shoes by using a drill with metal drill bits.
2. Measure and line up the horse shoes to your piece of wood and pre-drill your screw holes into the wood.
3. If desired, spray paint your horse shoes and set aside to dry.
4. Stain or paint the piece of wood. I just used a very dark wood stain for this, but the others I painted in grey and they turned out beautiful.
5. Using painters tape (I used the 1.5" thick version) use the outside edges of the wood as your guide to line the tape up.
6. Paint the inside area of the tape with chalkboard paint.
7. Remove the tape after 10 minutes of drying, this will prevent it sticking but let the paint settle a little.
8. If you want a border between your stain/paint and the chalkboard paint (like the gold trim you see on this version) use painters tape again lining up with the top of the chalkboard paint line you created and then from the edge of the board down so you create a thin line.
9. Let set and completely dry overnight.
10. Finally, screw on the horse shoes and your DONE!

Oh I haven't mentioned this amazing wine bottle we created as well using gold paint and gold sparkle spray paint. Isn't this horse embellishment darling?!? The MOH's mother had it for a sewing project and we just could not use it for something, so I think this was the perfect gift for Kellie.

At the end of the trip we all signed it and gave well wishes to Kellie!! Great memory of a wonderful trip!