making those horses

it's been forever since the great cowboy party, and I've been intending to give credit for those fun hobby horses I made. anyway, time moves quickly and it's near mid-march . . . but never too late to share secrets!

DIY HOBBY HORSES
adapted from light blue grey
a gorgeous blog with darn good tutorials for grown ups & kids
(one point of note: her horses are immaculate. mine are, well . . . functional)

here's a photo of the stuff I used.

oh, and socks . . . and stuffing. I forgot to put those in the picture. you can get these ingredients by shopping craft store, hardware store, target, paper source, or some combination thereof.

I'd take the trouble to write down all sorts of fancy directions, but Hetty's are so much better, you should just go there and take her advice.

I will, however, share some cheats that I used to make the task of creating 20 of these critters a little less daunting.

to make it cheaper: skip leather and go with jute--you can get a 50yd bundle for a fraction of the cost.
to make it quieter: skip the bells and let the kids make their own loud noises.
to make it faster: skip the sewing and make use of a glue gun. seriously will take you 1/2 the time.

have fun, and happy riding!

kellyallison photography is a chicago area photo studio, specializing in modern family portraits, and narrative portraiture of children, babies and newborns.