How to Make a Cork Horse Ornament

One of the things you can do to personalize your Christmas is make your own Christmas tree ornaments. An unusual and environmentally-friendly option is to make a Christmas horse ornament out of leftover wine corks. This little horse is sure to garner your Christmas tree extra-special attention during any holiday party and it is a great way to use up wine corks from all those bottles of wine you got last holiday season. This particular Christmas craft is also growing in popularity.http://www.overchristmas.com/christmas-wines.php

Making the cork horse ornament is not incredibly complex, and does not involve any extreme creativity. It is even something you can have your kids help with, though you will want to limit participation to older children due to the presence of a hot glue gun and a razor blade. Once you make your first cork horse ornament, you might find you like the process so much that you start making them as gifts for friends and family. To get started, read on to find out how to make a cork horse ornament.

In order to make a cork horse ornament, you will need to have the following supplies handy. If you don't have these items readily available, you can hit up your local crafts store, or simply borrow from a crafty friend or relative.

1. 7 wine corks
2. Gold or red string to hang ornament
3. Red yarn to make the mane and tail
4. Small piece of red plaid material
5. 2 small black poms-poms
6. Razor blade or sharp knife
7. Glue gun

The colors for the yarn, the pom-poms and the material are all completely up to you. The colors mentioned above are only suggestions, and ones that have traditionally worked well in this craft project.http://www.imagitek.com/xmas/crafts/cork.html

After you have all of your supplies gathered, you can actually make your cork horse ornament.

1. Plug in the glue gun to allow it to heat up.
2. Designate one cork to be the body.
3. Take another cork and cut one of the ends off so that instead of having a straight edge, the edge is diagonal.
4. Spread hot glue on this diagonal edge. Press one of the straight edges of the body cork against the glue-covered diagonal and allow it to dry.
5. Now spread glue on the other, uncut, edge.
6. Take another cork and hold horizontally.
7. Press one end down onto the glue covered cork.
8. You have now formed the neck, head and body.
9. Take your remaining four corks and cut the ends diagonally in the same way you did the neck cork.
10. One at a time, spread hot glue on the cut ends, then press onto the body cork.
11. Attach two at the front and two at the back, with one of each pair on either side of the cork. This forms the horse's legs.
12. To create the horse's tail, take several short pieces of red yarn. Knot them together at the top.
13. Spread some glue on the end of the body cork and press the yarn into the glue.
14. Now take the string you selected to use to hang the ornament, loop it and tie it into a knot.
15. Glue the thread, knotted end down, to the body cork, just behind where the head cork connects to the body cork.
16. To make the cork horse's mane, take your yarn and wrap it around four of your fingers approximately 15 times.
17. Take the yarn off your fingers and tie it in half.
18. Glue the mane to the back of the head cork. Once the glue dries, spread the yarn out so that the it looks more like a horse's mane.
19. Cut a small rectangle from the fabric you chose earlier. Make the width slightly less than the width between the cork horse's legs. Cut triangles into each end.
20. Glue the fabric onto the body cork to form a saddle.
21. As the final step, glue the pom-poms onto the head cork as eyes.
22. Hang on your tree and admire!http://forums.dealofday.com/frugal-living/104783-instructions-christmas-ornaments.html

Now that you know how to make a cork horse ornament, you can try your hand at other Christmas crafts. Some possibilities include:

1. Making your own Christmas cards
2. Pine cone ornaments
   1. Spray paint a pine cone and roll it in glitter while wet.
3. Make a variety of other Christmas tree ornaments, including:
   1. Quilted stars
   2. Clothespin snowflakes
   3. Mini Christmas stockings
   4. Ornaments made out of dough - these can be in a variety of shapes and colors and with a number of different decorations.

These are only suggestions. There are any number of craft projects you can do to celebrate the holidays, both with your children or on your own. All you need to bring to the table is a little creativity and the willingness to learn as you go.