please can I have your opinions on my little craft attempt...

trickivicki

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Hi Guys,

As I'm sure you all know there is bugger all on telly last night!!! So I found my old craft box and one of my old horses shoes and created this little 'thing'-

horseshoe.jpg


Now my (ever enterprising) Dad thinks that with a little more refinement/ practise I could sell these as a little memoir/ personalised wedding gift- you get the jist.

I'm not sure whether its the sort of the thing that people would be interested though? And if so, at what kind of price.

Finally, if people think it is a nice/ novel idea I would like a few practise runs of doing things to spec'/ more colours/ diff' designs etc so could do a few of you guys shoes if you posted them over?

V x

(if you think I'm crackers.... do say!)
 
That's very nice and I think people would buy them. If it was in some fancy craft shop thing I reckon they would charge about £30 for such a thing - say it was a National Trust shop or something - maybe more. What about red ones for valentine's day? ones with red ribbon and white fur for christmas? yellow ones with flowers/chicks on for easter (with some chocs attached)?
 
Grand, the show ones sound like a good idea, but also it seems you would have used a lot of ribbon to do the one you did, how costly would that work out to be, what about sewing a sleeve out of velvet that the shoe would slip in to and you could on order embroider the horses name on the sleeve and still attach a few flowers or bells and go with the red for valentines etc.
 
£30 quid.... The National Trust are theives :) I was thinking maybe £10, £15 for a really complicated one?

I like the idea of themed ones at different times of year but was thinking of just doing ones to order so as not to have to hold any (none of the horses at my yard have shoes, so getting hold of them would be a problem!!).

I love the wedding anniversary one very shabby chic and trendy!!!

Any budding volunteers yet?

Dad thinks that having a thin wooden bar across the middle with something written on would be good and give a more secure way to hang them if necessary?
 
I think its a fantastic idea personally.
I'd probably pay 18/20 pounds MAX. Ideally 15/16 pounds I'd say.
Have a scout around and look at ribbon prices etc. See what the cheapest you could make one for is, and add a bit onto that for profit.
If it was 20 pounds and 10% to charity I'd be especially inclined though!
:D
 
it might be something worth properly considering then after a few more practise runs.

I love the idea of a charity spin on it BUT I wont be looking to make hundreds so not sure how viable an idea this would be?
 
I love the idea of a charity spin on it BUT I wont be looking to make hundreds so not sure how viable an idea this would be?
Hmm, the majority of people buying these would probably do so as the person theyre buying for is 'horsey.' So a horse charity would be good? 2in1 gift and donation on behalf of the reciever!

I don't think it'd matter, say you sold 10 in a month and the 10% was £20, you'd just have to ring the charity at the end of said month and do it via your debit card? :D
 
starry eyes- if you are brave enough to post me a shoe (one that you don't mind not going back if it all goes Pete Tong!!!) and a colour theme, I'd be more than happy to rustle you up a practise run!!!

I just have no access to horse shoes to practise on lol it is absurd.

The charity idea is definitely something I would consider- maybe a fixed amount of the price though and some kind of token type gift tag attached saying that your gift has also fed a needy pony for a day (but in a much nicer kind of way)
 
I would buy one to go on the dashboard of my car, that is why i would prefer one with my horses name on it.

I think the sending of the shoe in the first place might be your delay - but then would the purchaser feel the need to have their horses shoe, because you could go down to your local racehorse trainers yard and pick them up for free.
 
I'm sorry. I wouldn't buy one. I think craft fashion has moved on considerably and there is so much shabby chic out there! For twenty quid or so I would want something more.....
 
I've painted a few shoes silver and hand decorated them with glitter and stuff for wedding gifts and they have always gone down really well. I think you have a good idea there especially as you can do any colours requested. Good luck and go for it! Even if you only sell a few you will be quids in :)
 
I've done some for friends, but slightly differently ... the latest one was for the wedding of an eventer who was marrying a chicken farmer :D I painted the shoe a gold/bronze colour, mounted it on felt, bought a hen and a cockerel from the toy shop (nice ones), put a pink bow on the hen and a blue one on the cockerel, and stuck them to the heels of the shoe. So instead of a hanging ornament it sits on a shelf. They [said!] were very pleased with it :D I can't find a photo for some reason, though I'm sure I took some.
 
I dont like it, its a bit busy for me :o I have seen some nice ones where the ribbon was threaded through the nail holes which looked pretty, and would be cheaper on the ribbon too. There are quite a few horseshoe decorators on the internet, might be an idea to have a look at more styles and what kind of prices they reach.

You could have some kind of wire across the middle to hang it from, rather than wood, or make the ribbon ends part of the 'hanger'.

I remember my mother having a horseshoe she had kept from her wedding, years ago :)
 
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