How To Make A Recycled Book Page Dala Horse

How to make a decorative Swedish Dala horse with an American twist using recycled materials.

My husband is part of the first generation of his family that was born in the United States. Over the years we have found a happy blend of family traditions when it comes to decorating for Christmas. In a previous post I discussed traditional Swedish Christmas ornaments and showed you how to make a Swedish Advent Star. Today I would like to share with you how I made another decorative Swedish item with book pages and other recycled materials for Christmas or anytime of the year: the Dalahast or Dala horse.
1.1. I first traced and cut two Dala horses from heavy cardboard. There's lots of freebie patterns online for tracing or you can snag a free printable off my site.





2. I cut open empty toilet tissue tubes, I marked 1 inch wide sections and 1/4 inch wide sections. I then cut on the marked lines to make strips and secured each strip closed in a ring again with hot glue.





3 I glued 1" loops inside the body on one side of the Dala cutout. I glue the 1/4" loops in each of the legs on both sides.





4. I glued the two sides together with the loops sides facing inward. The 1" wide loops should touch both sides of the horse when put together but the 1/4" loops will not. This separation is made so you can create four separate legs. This completed my base form.
Note: you can glue strips of flexible cardboard (like from a cereal box or poster board) around the open edges (between the the two sides) and around the inside of the legs to help reinforce and close the frame, if desired.





5. I wrapped several layers of old wrapping paper strips dipped in paste around the form, making sure to wrap the four legs separately (below the belly). Once all was dry I rubbed the bottom of the hooves with sandpaper to even out any places the feet were not flush to the surface when standing on a table. For more information on this process including a paste recipe, please see the original project post on my site.





6. I cut strips from an old book that was ready for recycle. I glued the strips to the horse using Mod Podge and added a couple coats on top for sealing. Once the Mod Podge dried I wrapped a piece of twine around its neck and tied it into a bow and it was all finished.
For more information on Dala horses and to see other great projects be sure to check out my blog. Hope you enjoyed and happy crafting! :)







Original article and pictures take http://www.hometalk.com/11129358/the-makings-of-an-american-dalah-st site