America

I mentioned we have a family reunion this weekend, which includes an auction of donated items to help earn money for future reunions.  I had a couple pieces of wood leftover from some scraps I picked up at Home Depot.  I gave them a coat of Americana Buttermilk.

I ordered some vinyl from Utah Vinyl and added that to my board.

Added the inlay.

Then sanded the edges and added a little stain.

I love how they turned out.  They are pretty similar to this one I made, but just bigger.

Have a great 4th of July weekend!!

Just A Girl

A Little Crafting

Yesterday, I pulled out a project to work on for our upcoming family reunion.  My niece who is in town visiting wanted to get in on the action too and create her own work of art.  So we dug through my supplies and found a piece of wood, some wooden stars of various shapes, and paint.  Look how crafty she is.

She did an excellent job creating this fantastic flag all on her own!!  You can tell we're in a patriotic mood around here.  She is going to have this adorable flag auctioned off at our family reunion to help earn money for future reunions. Best thing is - we used items I had on hand making it a free project - love that. 

Summer Frame Update

Well the company has arrived, thus the lack of posting this past week.  I was able to squeeze in a couple super simple projects this weekend.  But we'll be busy hanging out with the cousins for the next two weeks. 

I have this white Dollar Tree frame that I like to update for various seasons and holidays.  I made a St. Patrick's one.

I made one for Spring.

So now that Spring is over, it was time to make something a little more summery.  I loved the pinwheel garland I hung on the mantel.  I thought I would be fun to make a mini pinwheel.  So I started off with some cardstock, stickers, a small pinwheel I made, and the frame.

I used a little double-sided tape to put the paper together, added the stickers and attached the pinwheel. 

Now it was ready to display.

I love simple projects.

Quatrefoil Tray

Last year I came across a sweet tray at the thrift store and snagged it up for only $2.00.  You can read more about it here, but I sprayed painted it black. 

I decided it was time for an update.  I saw a great idea here of how I could spruce up my tray a little.  I used a free quatrefoil pattern that you can find here.  I printed it out on my printer and then cut out the image like this.

I spray painted my tray with Krylon's semi-gloss white.

Then using a pencil I traced the image on the tray.  This was a little time consuming, but not as bad as I thought - maybe 20 minutes.

Then I used some Baby Blue Americana craft paint and a small brush and free handed filling in the spaces.  I did two coats of the blue.  Sanded down the edges and a light sanding on the surface and it was done.

Don't look too close or you'll see all the imperfections in my painting ability, but I thought it turned out pretty cute.  It will be great to use outdoors and for carting food back and forth from the kitchen to the picnic table.

I just love it! And the best part - it was free - I already had all the supplies on hand.  Just a little face lift to my $2.00 tray.  What do you think?  Not too shabby eh?

Linking up to these parties:






I heart Naptime

A Glimpse Inside



Thrifty Decor Chick

Treats

A couple weeks ago I came home to find there was a package for me in the mail - sweet I love packages.  I forgot I had ordered some cute vinyl sayings that were offered on GroupDealz one day.  I got all of this for only $12.00, free shipping too.

Just think of all the things you could make.  I already put one to good use.  I usually have a glass jar that sits on my counter with candy in it.  So I thought the Treats label would be perfect.

I added the vinyl and a few red, white and blue tootsie rolls that I picked up from Dollar Tree.

Super simple to put together and looks fun too.  Now to come up with some other fun projects.

Red, White and Blue Mantel

I've been cleaning my blinds today - you know how much dust can collect on those 2 inch blinds - that's right about 2 inches.  I won't bother to show you a picture of the pile of cloths I used or show you how black they were - but you get the idea.  I'm sure no one will even notice that I cleaned them.

I think blinds are one of those things that people don't really notice when they're clean - but man if they're covered with an inch or two of dust you know they're thinking - man that girl needs to clean those blinds.  Especially when the sunlight hits them perfectly and you can see all the dust.

Well anyway, enough about the dust on my blinds - they're clean now and they won't be cleaned again for about another 6 months or longer.  I also busted out my cool window cleaner tool and cleaned the windows that has the screen on them - you know the side I'm talking about.  It's the side I dread the most since I either have to take out the screen or take out the window.  Now those are done too and I can see outside again.  Hallelujah!!!

So now on to the mantel.  I've shown you bits and pieces of it.  Like the big ol' flag, my pinwheel garland and the greenery.   But let me show you the cute printable I found here and my Uncle Sam that I bought many years ago.

On the other side is a rustic angel and two star lanterns that just need some votives still.  Now we're all decked out and ready for the 4th of July.

Happy Red, White and Blue!!

A Little Mantel Greenery

As I was going through my Americana decor rubbermaid container, I came across these cute little red, white and blue baskets. 

I wondered if my greenery that I picked up at Michael's earlier this year would fit inside them.

And sure enough - they fit perfectly. 

I love how they look on my mantel.

Pinwheel Garland

I have been wanting to make a pinwheel garland.  I figured a red, white and blue one would be perfect for my mantel.  I first saw the idea here.  But here's a little tutorial just in case you want to make your own.  I used 3 pieces of 12x12 scrapbook paper that I cut down to 6 x 6 squares.

 
Then just free hand cut from the corner to the center on all four corners - but not all the way through, like this.

With a small hole punch, punch one hole on each triangle and one in the center, like this.

With a brad, fold over the corners and put it through your brad.

Then it should look like this.

Then just make a whole bunch.

I punched a hole in two of the sides to run some twine through.

String them all together.

And hang it from your mantel.  Super cute and perfect for summer.

I love how it turned out.  The possibilities are endless.








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