Happy Memorial Day

 In honor of the day and, in deference to the heat, I am staying inside again and was looking for another red, white and blue idea. I'm not sure why but this popped out at me from my Pinterest scroll. I wish I could give credit to someone but it was just the picture with no link so I'm not sure who it originated from.

In any case, it caught my eye and I've had some wood things out in the garage that I've been thinking I could use in a craft some way and then I remembered that when we took down the bunk beds in the "dormitory" there were some extra ball finials that I saved in case I ever put the bed back together. Now that I have gotten rid of the top part of the bunk it will no longer be going back together and, I remembered exactly where I put those finials. And, to my surprise, there were four other wooden ball things in that box. I obviously stained them and used them for something but right at this moment, I couldn't tell you what. Lol I also pulled out a few other odd wood pieces that I had and started playing. I loved the first way I put things together but then I realized that once I had added the dowel and medallion, the thing would be so tall it would probably only fit in very few places so I did a rework and like what I came up with...although it now doesn't use that initial wood piece I've been wanting to use up!

I needed my Dremel to start a small hole in the ball and then the big guns where I went up two more times to get to the size hole I needed for the dowel. The wood on that thing was very hard and the bit shifted a bit so the hole isn't exactly centered but I can live with it. I think once I hang all of the ribbons you probably won't even see any of it. I did take a nick out of the ball as I was cutting off the large dowel it had attached to it so I had to get out my wood fill and do a bit more damage control but I think in the end it will all look primitive and I am fine with that.

I used wood glue to glue it all together.

And then I got to painting. Again, I'm not concerned that the paints don't meet up perfectly because next I will give it a quick spray of sealer and then go over it all with antique wax.

I'm going to stop here for the day because tomorrow will involve some fabric coffee staining and a bit of sewing before I can move on. I'll be back.

So here we are on Tuesday morning. I'm ready to start the medallion and, after going back and forth, I decided to make it the size of a thin wood circle that I have in my stash and to use the circle as a base so the fabric doesn't just flop around.

I ripped a piece of fabric the width of the radius of the circle and then did a simple running stitch along the bottom before pulling it into a circle. Over the years, I sewed a lot for my three girls, my first four grand daughters ( and actually costumes for all seven) and lots and lots of doll clothes and, gathering and making ruffles was always one of my least favorite things to do. My machine had a ruffling tool that I NEVER quite caught onto so it was always like this and by hand...and, if I remember correctly, I would often be just about done when the thread would break! But, I digress. Lol This wasn't too bad because it didn't involve much fabric.

I used some hot glue around the middle opening and then just a dot or two here and there for the outer area.

I decided to just do two layers and went with a 4th print I had left over from actually making a 4th of July outfit that I had made for grand daughter #1's doll that I made and dressed for every holiday. Sooo, that means that fabric is about 26 years old!!! Since the fabric is a bit "polished" with a sparkly hint, I went with the watered down antique wax stain instead of just a coffee stain. I didn't think the coffee would penetrate the fabric as well and this seemed to work just fine.

Then, I did the next circle just a bit smaller but the same way.

 I then hot glued the dowel to the back of the circle and covered the "seam" with a piece of stained muslin.

While that was setting, I painted a small star blue for the middle of the medallion and stamped the word on another piece of stained muslin.

Then came the embellishing-I used pieces of silk ribbon, stained striped ribbon and a small red star that I drilled a small hole into. Then the things that needed it were hit with some distressing ink and the star and "freedom" were safety pinned on using some small rusty pins that I found in my stash.

And here she is. I think I really like her and I enjoyed doing a craft that had a few more steps and took a bit more time. Now I just need to find places for all of the new crafts. 

I am off to clean up, grab a quick lunch and get ready to head to my grand children's lacrosse ceremony. Not sure when I'll be back but the swap will be coming soon...just need to get all of my ducks in a row. Stay safe and stay tuned.

Definitely Overdue!

 So , as I was perusing my pictures from previous 4ths, I once again came to a total "stop" right here.

Since the day that I made that porch leaner, I have really disliked the color of the twine I used. It reads as orange to me. I used it because it was the heaviest twine that I had and I thought a heavy twine was needed but, if I am honest, I disliked it immediately. And, every year since, I put it out and think "I need to fix that"...but then I still haven't! And so, today was the day!

Here's where we started:

A quick painting of two stars and then a new wrapping with a better color twine...

And, we have landed here!:

I know that in the scheme of things this is probably not high on anyone's list but for whatever reason, this just makes me happy! 

Have a wonderful week. I think the only thing on the calendar is a lacrosse ceremony where both my grandson and grand daughter will be recognized for being on the all-county lacrosse team. I'm really not sure what all that entails-guess I'll find out on Tuesday-but I know it is an honor and I'm very proud of all of the hard work they both put forth for their teams this year!

Stay safe and stay tuned.

So This Happened...

 I spent some time out in my yard yesterday and managed to accomplish the main thing I set out to do but, as usual, it required many trips back and forth into the house and garage to get everything needed and also many trips up and down the ladder so, I am ready for an inside day today. There is more than enough to do in here but, it is a bit dreary outside so that means I'm really not into cleaning per se because nothing looks clean to me when it's like that outside. And so, I am changing the beds, washing the sheets and some clothing and looking for things to do while I wait.

And that lead me to this.

That is the bottom of the armoire in the living room and it holds a lot of my 4th of July decor. When I was out and about the other day I realized that I didn't really remember everything I may have added to my stash last year and it might be a good idea to check it out before I just frivolously purchased more! And as soon as I opened these doors I was reassured of my decision.

You know I like to have my hand and dish soaps on the kitchen counter match my decor/season. Apparently I am not the only one because Mrs. Meyer makes this stuff. Lol I almost grabbed some more blue and red labeled soaps when I was at Target the other day...good thing I didn't because apparently I loaded up last year. I'm not sure I'm going to love the "tomato" hand soap but I love the red label so I figured if I don't, I can always refill it with the "rain water" soap but still have the red label. I'm almost embarrassed to tell you that I actually do think about these things.

This is just some of the pillows and covers.

Going through all of this now will make it so much easier when I actually do start the swap because I almost always have to take extra time to remember where I may have stored something away from the previous year. Of course, there is another whole shelf full in my closet as well as the one Rubbermaid in the family room.

Except for candles and a few other small things that is all that is stored indoors. Of course, there are three large Rubbermaids in the garage that store the things that don't need temperature control like dinnerware, ceramics, etc.

This is always a big swap out because ALL of the greens and lavenders will be replaced with red, white and blue and usually takes at least 3-4 days. I'm thinking now that I might not start just yet. I'm tired just thinking about it! Lol

Stay safe and stay tuned.

Not sure if you noticed but I finally remembered to get a new SanDisk for the camera. I actually think the pictures are clearer so maybe that did the trick! Yay!

Errand Day

 I had to run some errands today so I included a stop in HL and Target to the list. Lots of necessities at Target but no holiday/seasonal or craft items. But, it was a different story at HL. I didn't get any new craft ideas but I did pick up some supplies to tweak some things I have. And, since it was all 40% off and pretty inexpensive to start with, I grabbed a table runner (I love the dark blue with the white stars) and the framed picture. I may change the frame color and I really have no idea where it will go but I have a few spots I'm thinking of trying so it was a bit of a "steal" to fill a lonely spot.

The rings of red, white and blue pip berries are meant to be opened and used as sprigs but I think I might be using them as candle rings since I also found the pip berry picks. I was actually heading to buy the wood stars in the "Woodpile" section of the store but these were exactly what I needed and, since they were in the 4th of July area, they were 40% off and would not have been on sale in the other section. They were pretty inexpensive so I didn't save a fortune but any little bit saved means I can spend it somewhere else. Lol

I struck out looking for rusty stars. I think the only place I can find them locally is at HL when they have their Christmas out and they have them in the miniature tree ornament section. Note to self...buy them next year!

But, since the package of stars I bought had the small ones I wasn't going to use, I decided to just "rust" them up myself with antique wax, ModPodge and cinnamon and glue then onto skewers.

It's still not ideal but maybe I'm a bit closer.

And, the pile is really starting to grow as I am beginning to pull out more "stuff" for more new vignettes. Can't wait to get started!

So that is it for this Fri-YAY. I'm off to put everything away, water some outside because it looks like we still aren't going to get any rain relief and everything is fired and then call it a day! Stay safe and stay tuned.

Feels Like a Lazy Summer Day

 Yes, it feels like a lazy summer day but I have to remind myself that it is still only May! It is so hot that I truly just had no motivation today to get out and do anything and so I hit my Pinterest pages to see if there were any craft ideas just jumping out at me...and, there really weren't but I did see a 4th of July hanger that I knew I had most of the supplies for so I decided to go ahead with it and use up some of the day.

I pulled the beginning of the supplies and printed an Uncle Sam puppet image that I thought was about like the inspiration.

I needed to distress the flag a bit so this time I just watered down some of my antique wax and gave it a good coat after taking it off of the stick it came on-which I saved because I'm sure I'll do something with it some day. Lol

While that was drying, I glued the image onto a piece of white foam core board and cut it out. I have learned that when I cut small things from foam core that aren't just straight sided, I don't even bother with a cutting mat because I actually just hold the board up, insert the blade and use a sawing motion. That always seems to work for me as long as I have a new or at least very sharp blade in and I use short motions.

 Once the pieces were cut, I colored the edges with either markers or paint. That probably wasn't necessary but I didn't like seeing the white sides.

Then the glue gun came out and I glued on Sam's arms and the edges of the flag to create a bag shape. After that I used small blue star shaped brads where a regular brad would have gone if I was making this guy into a moveable paper puppet.

Next came the rusty wire hanger and then I simply filled the bag with a bit of poly-fil before adding some greenery, pip berry branches and Uncle Sam. 

I am not done with this yet but if I have anything else that I would want to add, it is packed well away with all of the 4th stuff and I'm not quite ready to start pulling all of that stuff out just yet. I think I might have some blue pip berries and maybe some "sparkly" picks of some kind. If not, I will pick some up on my next HL trip now that 4th of July is finally 40% off in there.

Is this a favorite? Definitely not but I think I can zhuzh it up a bit and find a spot for it somewhere...and, it helped me while away much of a very unpleasant (temperature wise) day. So, do the means justify the end...or vice versa? LOL

Stay safe, stay cool and stay tuned. 

Finishing Up!

 What a beautiful day of surprises I had yesterday! Out of the blue I got a message from grandson #1 inviting me out to lunch and to any restaurant of my choosing. I haven't been to one of my favorite places close to my house in awhile-and I know he loves it as well-so, that was my choice. Imagine my surprise when we were presented with menus unlike any we have ever had here. Looks like it has been a bit longer than I thought since I was last there-the restaurant has been sold and so many of the favorite things-including my fish tacos-were no longer available. Of course, I found a veggie burger that sounded delicious and Har ordered a favorite burger of his still on the menu but, when he went to order his poutine, he realized it was gone. Of course, he asked the waitress and she said there were so many old favorites that people were asking about and they were slowly bringing them back to the menu on weekends until they had a complete menu redo but she would ask. You can't believe the smile on that face of his when a big old bowl full of fries, cheese curds and gravy appeared on our table. I know it made him feel like he was "home" again if only for a short while!

After lunch he asked me about some of the things on my to-do list and we got to work coming up with a plan. Of course, as usually happens, things take longer than expected but, we did get two things off of the list that I really can't do by myself anymore, so I am happy. 

We didn't get to cutting the 4X4s off of the top of the fence so, that task will probably fall to grandson #2. Lol

And here I am today. Once again it is HOT out there-feels like temps are going to be over 100 again and I am just not in the mood to tackle anything outside today so, let me finish up our spring tour and then I will fill you in on my plans for the day.

The bathrooms are all that are left so let's start with the guest bath.

Even if I hadn't told you many times before, by the time you got to these pictures it would probably be obvious that "spring" isn't my favorite decor. And, it doesn't help that the bathrooms are usually the last rooms that I decorate unless I am doing the guestrooms. By the time I am here, I am out of ideas and tired...and, it's pretty obvious! Lol

I love those little egg cup bouquets that, believe it or not, I got at Victoria's Secret back when it first opened and carried more than just clothing items. They always had the prettiest little decor things and these work perfectly for not only Easter but spring as well. 

So that is it for spring 2025. I am off to pull up my 4th of July decor photos from 2024 and see what needs to go, what needs to stay and where all of the new stuff will find a place. I think I am going to try the personalized sign that I bought last year on the shelf wall. Normally I would prefer a more vintage, realistic picture there but I haven't seen any available so far this year so we shall see how this works out. It may work perfectly because, just by chance, the peat pot arrangements that I made for the sides of the shelf unit have vintage fireworks images. Must be serendipity!

Not sure where I will squeeze in all of that other stuff but I'll have fun trying...thinking I will  probably start at the beginning of next week because then it can be out for a full month before I pull it down on July 5! And then after that comes late summer decor with sunflowers and I can start to convince myself that I might make it through another summer! Lol

Stay safe, stay cool and stay tuned.