Next Room Please

 Let's move on from the kitchen and into the dining room. There are only a few changes here but I did simplify a bit.

I love the double table runner that I am using now. My brother and sister-in-law gave me the striped one many years ago and then when I happened upon the starred one last year I realized that the combination would draw your eye from the table up to the "matching" square platter in the niche.

I still love the Styrofoam stars because I remember making them on one of our "grandkids' weekends" They were a chore but we made them as gifts for family and friends and I can still see the kids sitting around this table creating their treasures. When we did these weekends before any given holiday, I would come up with the ideas and buy the supplies and the table would get piled high with everything available to them as well as anything else from my stash or from the computer that they might want to print. I always loved their creativity and how we could all start out in the same direction and yet end up so differently. This is from a different craft but it kind of gives you an idea of our process.

I had fun making this drum and fire crackers. The fire crackers are just dowels I cut down, covered with a flag napkin, drilled holes and inserted twine "wicks". The box was a bit more challenging only because I am not the greatest at measuring-I tend to just kind of "go" and this one really needed some math to make the embellishments turn out correctly-not my forte but I think I got close. Lol

When I got to this photo, I had an "ah-ha" moment. I realized that this is the only vignette where I used a number of flags this year. In the past I have had flags stuck everywhere! I'm not sure why I didn't do the same this year but, honestly, I really like it simplified. I also didn't use all of the other small signs I would normally put here. I decided that since this is birthday #250 and we bought these commemorative plates 50 years ago to celebrate birthday # 200, I would use all six that we had somewhere in the house-and, I managed to find room for all of them. And, I must say as I am looking at these flags that they might need to be coffee stained to knock down a bit of that bright white-looks like I've found another afternoon project! Lol

I still love my vintage image wreath that I made several years ago. I think I managed to make one for almost every holiday/season after buying a few of the dummy board wreaths for Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter but not being able to find any others that I wanted.

I made the 4X4 fire crackers many years ago and they have been done by everyone by now but I still like them. This year I pretty much "cleaned off" the top of this console and they are the only decor I used.

So that is the dining room for this year. Now that I consciously realized that I don't have flags EVERYWHERE, I think I am liking it a lot more.

I have some heavy lifting to do outside so I am off to see what the temperature and humidity are feeling like. It just might be a project that I need some help with but we shall see. Happy Saturday and stay safe and stay tuned.

Summertime!

 After spending a VERY HOT day in the yard yesterday, I decided that even though there are still outdoor to-do list items waiting, I would be tackling INDOOR chores today to give myself a break. It is actually quite gloomy out there any way so not my kind of favorite day to be outside. Fingers crossed we will get some rain to cool things down a bit.

In any case, while the washer and dryer are going full steam ahead, I thought I would move along with our 4th of July tour...we are on to the kitchen.

I really didn't make a lot of changes in here this year except for the addition of the 4th of July "art" on this counter.

I do love the glow these little inexpensive, chargeable lamps bring to nooks and crannies.

And, of course, I am still loving not only the glow but the fragrance that the candle warmer adds to a dark corner.

The only reason I am adding this picture is to reconfirm what everyone in my family already knows-I am just a tiny bit OCD when it comes to colors, scents, images, etc. having to do with any holiday/season. I was so excited when I found Mrs. Meyers soaps with blue labels a few years ago because not many other brands would "match" my 4th theme and, of course I grabbed up both a dish detergent and a hand soap and I was good to go...until, I spied the red label last year and just knew I had to have that for my red/blue color scheme. LOL The only problem is that the red labeled soap is "tomato" scented and definitely not my favorite but, I will concede to going around with my hands smelling like a vegetable until I finish this bottle at which time I will quickly replace the soap with another fragrance but keep the red labeled jar...for real! I am just that crazy. Lol

I am including this picture to remind myself that if I can't find a Yankee Candle with an image on the front that I like-and, last year they didn't have any new ones for the 4th-I can just print an image, put it on a candle of the appropriate color and we are good to go!

So that is the kitchen for this year. I am sad that I still haven't come up with anything new to make to add to the mix but I do still enjoy revisiting all of my older crafts and moving them around a bit so they still seem a bit newer to me. I'll be back Until then, stay safe and stay tuned.

I Made It!

I don't really know if it is my age, the heat or the fact that I am obsessed with "The Traitors" and reward myself with watching one episode every time I complete something from my to-do list-LOL-but this swap out took a bit! Happily, I packed up the last of the spring stuff yesterday afternoon and I'm ready to start our tour. We are going to head straight into the living room and I took this full picture to show you the new rug in front of the door. My daughter ordered a sample for me to see before we decided on the large rug and, since we decided to go ahead and get the rug we decided not to return this piece. It fit perfectly here and it was only the price of the sample-which, honestly I have no idea of but I am happy that we have a match.

I made this Uncle Sam so many years ago. He came from a site that had free vintage image downloads and also craft ideas to do with the images. When I got my new computer, some of the places I followed got lost and I could never find this site again. He is just printed on photo paper and then backed on a piece of foam core with a foam core stand added to the back. And then he is surrounded with some Bethany Lowe paper fringe.

I made this pinwheel thingy last year and I love the base which was just made out of random wood shapes I had on hand.

Everything here is actually pretty old and I just kind of realized how well the candle holder-which I got from Ballard Design years and years ago-and the bench go together. There is a funny story with the bench. My husband and I used to travel down to Dade City about once a month. We had a favorite restaurant there and we also loved the shops. I found this bench in a boutique owned by an interior designer and as things often do, it "spoke" to me. And, before we knew it it was purchased and we were on our way out to our car with NO idea of how we would fit it in. But, I have always gone with the "where there is a will, there is a way" theory and if I told you some of the other things that I have managed to drag home and what I had to do to accomplish that, you would see where I was coming from. Lol

In any case. we were preparing to have the passenger seat completely flatten out and try to cram it in when, as we lifted it, we must have held it in just the right spot because it totally folded up in front of us!! Why the clerk in the shop didn't tell us that is anyone's guess-maybe she didn't realize it either but, suffice it to say the one hour plus drive home was much more comfortable than I had expected! The pillow cover was something that I made for everyone as gifts one year.

Seems like there is a story with everything in this room. The flag holder was made from instructions in a Martha Stewart Magazine. I made these as gifts one year as well. It is simply made from wooden ball feet (that I was lucky enough to find at a large outdoor antique fair. They said they were from old armoires from a hotel that was torn down. I have no idea if that is true but I loved the story) and odd pieces of wood that I cut from scraps.

Still love the Uncle Sam I made from a spindle I got at Lowes and the Pledge of Allegiance that I wrote on a small flag. If you look closely, you can see where I misspelled "allegiance" but by the time I noticed it I wasn't about to find another flag and start over so I just corrected it and it has been like that ever since. Lol

There is a story with the "Liberty" banner as well. I love any Bethany Lowe vintage holiday items and I had seen this banner in a magazine-maybe "Country Living". I decided I could replicate it so I set out to do just that. It was a multi-step process and took me awhile but I was pleased with my efforts and glad I didn't give in to ordering it because it was PRICEY!

Fast forward to my next trip to Micanopy-a favorite little town not far from here where I have a FAVORITE shop-actually called "The Shop"-that is STOCKED with holiday decor from every holiday/season you can imagine. And, she carries Bethany Lowe. Imagine my surprise when I found a small 4th of July feather tree with this banner. Apparently I had not looked at the size of the banner in the magazine. Boy am I glad I didn't order that-and even happier that I didn't spend the price that it was for a miniature banner.

I'm also still loving the faux ceiling tile star I made last year and that I remembered the plates we bought from the Franklin Mint back for the bi-centennial! And, here we are fifty years later!!!

As I looked at the picture of the whole wall above, I realized that I had some books I wanted to use on the shelf to bring home the idea of the stacked books in the picture. I had a thin red and thin blue book that would work perfectly as long as you don't look at the titles on the books-they are both Christmas books-but I like the color so I'm going with it!! Lol

As I look at this picture I realize that every statue you see here has come from "The Shop" in Micanopy. Maybe I need to schedule another trip soon.

So, I think that is the living room for this year. I say that because there is definitely some kind of a glitch in my photo editing program today. Usually when I edit a photo it is saved as a copy and lands right next to the original. This time the pictures are going randomly all over the month and mixed in between other family photos-and with many of my gang traveling again there are MANY pictures to sort through. If an edit is large I can easily spot the one I need but if it is just a slight crop or brightness tweak, I'm really not sure what ones we have ended up with. Lol Sorry.

In any case, I am off for a quick lunch before hitting some outdoor chores this afternoon. I think I've gotten enough off of my to-do list that I can reward myself with another "Traitors" episode with lunch. LOL Stay safe and stay tuned and I will be back with more soon.