We made these adorable Folk Art inspired Cork Horses to go along with our State Studies Kentucky week. The horses have now moved into the girls’ farm play center and have adjusted nicely. 😉
Materials:
- 2 wine corks
- tooth picks
- craft glue or hot glue gun
- scrap yarn and felt
- craft knife and cutting board
- scissors
- stapler
- optional: craft paint & paint brush
The first step is for parents only… the rest the kids can pretty much do on their own. Use a sharp craft knife to cut off about 1/4 – 1/3 off the end of one cork to be used for your horse’s head. If your cork tappers, cut off the fatter end and the tapper will make a nice nose for your horse. Then cut the piece you just removed into 4 pieces to use as hooves.
Stick a tooth pick into each hoof to make legs. Make sure they can stand up.
Push the other end of each leg tooth pick into the bottom of the body cork (the one you haven’t cut). Make adjustments if your horse wants to tip over. All the hooves should be facing the same direction. If you want you can use a bead of glue to help keep the legs and hooves secure.
For the neck you will need to break a tooth pick in half. Place it in the head on a slight angle. We put the blunt end of the broken toothpick into the head and the pointy end into the horse body. You may need to use your craft knife to make a hole for the tooth pick since you now have a blunt end. You will want to use glue on the neck to hold it in place.
Add the head to your horses body. Make adjustments if it wants to tip over.
Once you have the basic body in place you can go ahead and paint your horse. I chose a basic brown for my horse but my girls added some more fanciful colors to their horses.
When the paint has completed dried you can now add the main and tail. For the tail I used a couple of strands of homespun alpaca yarn. I cut about 3″ strips and then bent a staple into a V shape. I used the bent staple to attach my tail to the corn body. You could just staple it to the body if that is easier for you.
You can now un-raveled some of the yarn plies to fluff up the horse’s tail.
Next, add a bead of glue down the back of the head and neck. We used both craft glue on one horse and the hot glue gun on the other two for this step and I would recommend the hot glue gun if you have it, just don’t do the whole neck at once. Craft glue will work but you will have to wait quite awhile before moving onto the next step.
Lay small strips of yarn across the glue. When the glue dries add a second bead of glue down the middle and fold the yarn together to make it stick up along the back of the horse’s neck. Trim the mane to desired length.
Cut out two small triangles from scrap felt. Glue to the top of your horse’s head for ears.
When your horse has completely dried, he can now move into your stables.
Super cute. My kids and I will give this a try.
I’ve seen a few craft projects lately that used glue guns. At what age do you think children are old enough to use them, both with supervision and without?
Hmm… My 9 year old could probably use it with supervision but I still tend to do it for her. I think my 11 year old could handle it on his own but I can’t say that he has ever tried. You can get burnt and you have to be careful about where you set it down but it is not hard to use. I would say somewhere around 8-10 with supervision and be prepared for minor burns. A bowl of cold water nearby or having an ice cube on hand can help with quick cooling.
Thanks so much. Kinda what I was thinking. I have a very crafty 8 year old but not sure she would be attentive enough not to hurt herself or burn down the house. Thanks for quick reply, Michelle. Much appreciated!
These little horses are adorable, but if you want to sit down and have a smooth craft process these additonal items added to the materials list will keep you from jumping up and down to get them: safety scissors, small containers for paint and water, old towels or paper towels, brushes, staples or a stapler and newspaper ro protect your work surface. A more comprehensive materials list makes it easier for everyone especially if your taking your project away from your supply area.
🙂 NP I made some updates.
I tend to assume basic supplies like scissors focusing more on the specific stuff that you may need to purchase (and that you will cover your surface if you deem it necessary – we usually don’t). We also suggest that everyone should read through… or at least scroll through all directions first. I just plum forgot the stapler. 😉
Thanks Michelle. For a beginning craft person a more complete list is a big help and for a lazy experienced crafter like myself (who just jumps right in without looking) it helps too. I’m going to be a grandmother soon and your site provides the type of projects I will want to share with my grandbaby in the future. Thank you so much.