DIY Vintage Toy Horse Ornaments

Welcome to my first Christmas project of the season! Are you ready to get into the Christmas spirit? Today I'm sharing how you can add a touch of personalization to your holiday decor with these DIY vintage-inspired toy horse ornaments.

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The cherry on top is that I'm teaming up with a group of talented bloggers who are also sharing ornaments that they've made as well! You're sure to walk away with quite a few one-of-kind ideas on how to dress up your Christmas tree this holiday season, so make sure to check them all out at the end of this post.

The inspiration for my ornament project started when I spied these little wooden toy horses at Michaels. Last year we purchased a beautiful, small rose gold tree for our 2 year old's bedroom. Ever since then I've been on a mission to find sweet, vintage ornaments that are child-safe. Last season I didn't have much luck, every antique ornament I found that I liked was extremally fragile and guaranteed to have a short life-span in her room! Haha. So as soon as I laid eyes on the toy horses, I knew they would be a perect fit for her tree.

Supplies Needed

Wooden Toy Horses (I found mine at Michaels, similar rocking ones here)

Mini Gold Bottle Brush Trees

Gold Cord Tinsel String

Ribbon

White Paint

Craft Smart Rose Gold Paint

Craft Smart Pearl Paint

Scissors

Small Paint Brushes

Hot Glue Gun

Don't mind my crazy reflection in the ornaments! Good thing I wasn't picking my nose😉

To make my vintage-inspired ornaments, the first thing I did was to paint the horses' bodies. It's not pictured but since the Craft Smart Pearl color paint is translucent, I had to use a white paint for the base first and then applied the Pearl color after it dried. It gives a nice, pretty shimmery finish. The wheels each got a coat of the Rose Gold paint (Holy Batman! This color is soooo gorgeous in person!) After all my paint dried, I simply cut and tied the gold tinsel cords around the horses' necks (Geez, that sounds so morbid but I promise no REAL animals were harmed in the making of this.) Then I attached some pretty mint green ribbon over that. It help add a touch of sweetness but also covered up the unflattering knots from the gold cords. Lastly, I hot glued the base of the bottle brush trees to the back of the horses.

I'm so pleased with how they tuned out! They really give off that vintage-like vibe I was aiming for. And the best part? My little one can't shatter them into a million pieces!

The same day I was putting up her tree I happen to stumble upon some rose gold cookie cutters at Goodwill. I threaded some leftover ribbon through them and hung them along side the vintage toy horse ornaments. I love that both style of ornaments give off a nostalgic, childhood Christmas feel; cookies and toys!