rocking horse | Restyled Junk

This little rocking horse was first pictured in my post on the Sorority Craft Show last month.

I decided with Christmas coming on strong, I would show how it was transformed from junk into the polka dotted pony. This pony sold quickly at that same show. I’m hoping some small child will be captivated by it on Christmas morning.

My kids are no longer little, but I still can’t pass up a wooden rocking horse at a yard sale. They can usually be restyled quite quickly, and they sell really well at craft sales. This rocking horse was quickly transformed into a pearled polka dot pony in just a few hours. It needed a few minor repairs, but nothing a little tender loving care couldn’t fix.

Things You Will Need:

Wooden rocking horse
Optional tools for repairs
Acrylic latex paint for the body
Paintbrush
Card stock
Cricut Expression, or penny and small scissors
Stencil brush
Acrylic latex paint for the polka dots
White, metallic, pearl paint
Water

Step 1
Make any repairs needed on your horse. My horse had a broken hand grip, loose head and a large chip on one of the rockers. It had also been previously painted with a dimensional paint. The handle grip was originally quite long. I simply cut it down, repositioned it and glued it in place using wood glue. I think the new length is perfect. The head was held on by screws. I removed the screws and added wood glue between the connecting points. The screws were then reattached. Once dry, the head didn’t budge. The chip was filled with wood putty and sanded. Once painted, I couldn’t see the fix at all. Lastly, I used a palm sander to remove all the raised paint details of the horse’s previous life. I also sanded off the eyes and a child’s name so that they wouldn’t shadow through the new paint job.

Step 2
Choose your paint color for the pony’s new body. I used a lime green wall paint that I picked up at a yard sale. The paint was a little bright, but I planned on toning it down before I was through. Two coats were plenty to achieve complete coverage. Depending on what paint you use, you may need more or less.

Step 3
Make a 3/4-inch circle stencil using card stock. I cut my stencil using my Cricut Expression, but you could trace a penny on card stock and cut out the center.

Step 4
Randomly stencil polka dots on the horse head, seat and outside edges of the rocker using the stencil and a contrasting acrylic paint. I used brown acrylic paint for my polka dots. Allow the paint to dry.

Step 5
Thin white, metallic, pearl paint with water. Paint the entire surface of the pony. This will lighten your base coat and polka dots, seal your surface, and provide a dreamy pearl finish to your pony.

Most any wooden rocking horse will work with this paint project. For that matter, any old wooden toy or previously loved wooden furnishing could be restyled in the same way. Note: If your horse has reins or a cloth mane and tail, you will want to remove them. You may find that your horse doesn’t need them after all. If you don’t plan on reattaching them, fill the tack or screw holes with wood putty before painting.

Saturdays are usually my junking days, but last Saturday I couldn’t bring myself to do it. My barn is already stuffed with my accumulation of yard sale, thrift store and auction finds. Yes, I do things with my junk treasures, but in reality, I bring home more junk treasures than I can keep up with. Older stuff gets pushed to the back of the barn and forgotten. So…

…last Saturday I decided to shop my barn. These are the pieces I pulled out. They were filthy, so I got the hose out to knock off the thick layer of dust. Once that was accomplished, I was able to get down to really cleaning them and sanding them. At one time I had four of the chairs. The other three have long since been restyled and sold. It was time this baby got a makeover. My shop doesn’t have too many little kid things right now, so I thought the rocking horse would be a good addition. I picked up the sewing table several years ago at a church sale. It doesn’t have a sewing machine in it, but I thought it would make a great end table. The little table…or maybe it’s a desk…was a discard from my brother from eons ago.

I was on a roll, so I didn’t take pics during any of the transformations. What ya see is what ya get. Sorry about that. There wasn’t a lot to see anyway. Thankfully everything was pretty straight forward with no drama.

The finished rocking horse. A couple coats of pink chalk paint and some sanding to distress. I was thinking about dry brushing on some white, but my very tall, redneck son said he liked it with just the pink. (giggles) Now it’s ready for a little cowgirl to giddy up.

The table (desk?) and chair were done in the same color. Not sure if you can tell in the photos, but they were both painted a pale green.

They would look good alone…

or go well together as a set.

I added a pearl finish and stamped pearl white roses on them. I tried to take a pic of the roses, but they are very faint. Can you see them?

Is this pic better?

Lastly, the sewing table. I really, really, really want to keep it, but I have no room. It was painted eggshell and distressed with sanding. Oh, I also removed the curved thing that enclosed the sewing machine from underneath. It wouldn’t stay up and I didn’t want to mess with it.

All in all, I’m pretty happy with my frugal shopping. I may have to do it again this weekend. Eventually I should get close enough to an old stereo cabinet I have been wanting to restyle. It’s about halfway back in the barn so it may be awhile still, but I’m getting there. It was the one my parents had when I was a kid. It was pretty bad when I brought it home, and it had a pack rat living in it. Who knows what’s living in it now.