Clothespin Horse

Last week, I shared a standing horse craft, perfect for tweens and teens who are horse lovers or who live in one of the 17 states that have named a horse as one of their state symbols. Today I'm sharing a much easier version, better suited for younger fans of equines who need a simpler project. Affiliate links below. 

Clothespin Horse

Materials:

• lightweight chipboard
• scissors
• 2 clothespins
• Folk Art paint
• Sharpie

Steps: 

Use a pencil to draw a rough outline of a horse's head (including ears), body, and tail on the chipboard. Make sure the size of your drawing is proportionate with the clothespins, since they will be the legs. Cut outside of your lines to get a rough shape. Put the clothespins in place. 

Now it's time to make modifications. I trimmed down the nose and belly of my horse. I also removed the mane. 

When you are satisfied, paint the chipboard and the clothespins. I chose brown, but obviously horses come in other colors. 

When the paint is completely dry, add an eye, nostril, and ear definition using the Sharpie. Draw in the mane. I opted the snip slits into the tail to make it more hair-like, then colored it.  

Attach the clothespins and the horse is done!

You can use this same technique to make a bunch of different 4-legged animals. Give it a try!

Handprint Monarch Butterfly

I'm a huge fan of handprint (and footprint) crafts. If you ever see me staring at my hand while twirling it slowly around, I'm probably thinking about a potential handprint craft. Today's is a monarch butterfly. Affiliate links below.

Handprint Monarch Butterfly

Materials: 

• Folk Art paint
• clothespin
• blue construction paper or cardstock
• black pipe cleaner
• craft glue

Steps:

Paint a clothespin black, then set it aside to dry. 

Dip one hand into orange paint, then use the paintbrush to add black lines on top of the orange paint. Work quickly so that it doesn't dry. 

Press your hand onto the blue paper. Pay attention to which hand you are stamping - the right hand goes on the left and the left hand goes on the right. Repeat the process with the second hand, leaving a small gap between the two handprints.

Use the tip of the paintbrush handle to add tiny white dots along the edges of the handprints. Let the paint dry completely. 

Wrap a length of pipe cleaner around the clothespin and then bend the ends gently to make antennae. Glue the clothespin to the center of the paper between the two handprints. 

The monarch butterfly is the official state insect of Alabama, Idaho, Illinois, Minnesota, Texas, Vermont, and West Virginia, but no matter where you live it's a great craft to make.

Sparkly Valentine Heart Note Holder

Marbled Model Magic hearts + clothespins + a jumbo craft stick + glittery paint = a sparkly Valentine note holder for February! Affiliate links below.

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Sparkly Valentine Heart Note Holder

Materials:

• 'Gigantic' craft stick
• clothespins
• Folk Art acrylic paint - Licorice 
• Extreme Glitter - Black
• centering ruler
• Model Magic hearts
• Supertite glue
• black cord

Steps: 

Paint the craft stick and the clothespins black. When they are dry, add a coat of Extreme Glitter for sparkle. When that is dry, use Supertite glue to attach one heart to each clothespin. 

Use the centering ruler to determine where to put your clothespins so they are evenly spaced. I used three because there are three of us in the family, but you can add more or fewer so that each family member has their own. 

Lift one clothespin at a time, add glue, and carefully replace it. Let the glue dry completely. 

Glue a length of cord to the back to act as a holder. The centering ruler is helpful for this, too. Honestly, I use my centering ruler all the time. It's so handy.

If hearts aren't your thing, you can easily switch them out for any other shapes. You can use different shapes, or different colors, for different people. There are so many possibilities.