Sweet Nicole of Gardenmama has started a blog for Kelly, a young mother who has been stricken with cancer. She has invited her readers to send in ornaments to decorate the Wellness Tree. I sent in this little running horse made of raffia.
For directions on how to make a horse, click on the title of this post. The link will take you to a tutorial on how to make a horse out of daylily fronds. You can use any dry natural material. Raffia is available at craft stores, but you can gather dry grasses, too. Raffia is very supple and can be used right away. Wild dry materials may need to be soaked in water to be made pliable. Don't use green materials, they shrink as they dry, and your horse will fall apart. In the daylily tutorial I used daylily fronds to fasten the horse together. For this ornament I used red thread for a festive touch.
Nicole asked us to send some words of encouragement with our ornaments.
I wrote, "I made this little running horse to delight your baby and bring you good wishes...fast!"
Kelly wrote, "Oh, Beth--how could you have known?! My son, Ari, is in love with horses. We live in Kentucky and we've taken him to the horse park and race track (to watch the jockeys riding in the morning) because he just loves them. He will be so delighted."
Wow!
