I find myself trying to recreate some of the adventures and activities that I loved as a child for my own children. I grew up on a horse farm. Now I live in the city. I love my house and my neighborhood, but I long to create some of the joys of farm life for my own kids. One thing I really loved, before I was allowed to ride a horse on my own, was my Wonder Horse. (My parents strategically placed the Wonder Horse here to make it look like it left something behind. Nice.)
You have seen them, plastic horses you could sit and "ride." I looked on eBay and they go for anywhere from $30 to $100, plus shipping. A little steep for an old plastic toy.
Then one day, while poking around the local flea market, I found one! A Wonder Horse!!! It didn't have the metal frame. It was pretty rough looking, faded paint and scuffs from years of being ridden. The name alone made the $2 I paid for it a steal! I wasn't sure what I would do with it but I had what I coveted, the Wonder Horse!
THE Princess asked me a few days later, after I had washed the Wonder Horse, if it was from a merry-go-round and that got me thinking! The next week I scoured the flea market for a simple but working floor lamp. I found an old brass one without a shade for $1, it was perfect!!
I went home and told my husband, RM, what I was envisioning. He promptly mounted the Wonder Horse on the lamp to make it look like a carousel horse, made sure that the wiring was working and safe, ran some sandpaper over it and handed it over to me.
I ran to the WalMarts and got an 88 cent can of latex spray paint in off white, taped off the metal lamp workings and cord, and went to work. I custom painted the Wonder Horse in colors that THE Princess loved and gave it clear coat. I was stumped about what to do for a shade, they were more expensive, even at the WalMarts, than I had paid for everything else. A couple weeks later my problem solved itself. I found flowery shades at Big Lots for $2 each. Sweet.
Now THE Princess enjoys her own Wonder Horse, albeit in a different way.
And I'm not calling our Wonder Horse old, it's 'retro' people. I'm always trying to be on the cutting edge of style!
Now, any ideas about how I can recreate this????
6 comments:
If you think the pile of wonder behind your little horsie is bad (parents just HAVE to insert their warped humor into our childhood memories, don't they?), you should see the action series of photos my mother dubbed "Looks like it. Tastes Like It. It IS!" Three photos in which I, as a baby, am putting something questionable in my mouth. Lovely.
Don't you just LOVE parents. Now that I am one, I do occasionally find humor in the things my child does. You know, it's like a family tradition now.
Love this idea! This post would be a perfect one to link up to "Twice the Fun Tuesday" at my site havingfunathomeblog.blogspot.com.
Twice the Fun is a weekly mr. linky about creative recycling that will start next Tuesday (Oct 14.) It would be great to see your post there!
Impressive work! I definitely had one of those.
So cute, every princess should be so lucky!
I have a poll up on my blog about my BIGGEST decor dilemma. Come on over and vote, I need all the help I can get!
http://imnomartha.blogspot.com/2009/08/first-poll-ever-to-paint-or-not-to.html
I saw a wonder horse turned into a carosel horse with a metal base on it at the flea market and bought it for 25.00. And now I went back and bought 2 more horses for 12.oo and 15.00. Now my husband says I need to sell them!!!! and paint at Walmart doesnt cost 88 cents anymore! :(
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