No Time to Dawdle

As I mentioned in my last post, this time of year is another incredibly busy time for our family. Spare time is few and far between. So, when I had a few spare minutes the other day, I hit my Pinterest boards to see what I have been thinking about for 4th of July and crafty gift ideas over the last year. I love Pinterest. It is the "OCD's Idea Keeper for Dummies". In the past, I would have pulled ideas from magazines and/or printed them from something I saw in a blog or online somewhere. Then, I would have had to go search through file after file to get my brain stirring. Now, with the press of a key, I am there and I can see it all at once!

As I also mentioned, I know I will be needing something 4th of July-ish to hang over the new piece in the foyer. But, I wanted to do it on the cheap. So once my brain was perking, I shopped my house. I found a grape vine wreath that I had made for my mom and since I probably got my love for holiday decorating from her oh so many years ago, I thought it would be fitting to finally re-purpose it.

I made this wreath to hang on Mom's door when she moved to an independent living facility. It was a difficult move for her and since she didn't know anyone there, I thought the wreath would not only make the door to her apartment feel more like home but hoped it would be a conversation starter for people as they walked by. And it became just that! People would stop me and say they were looking forward to seeing what the next month's wreath would look like.

I simply used an inexpensive grape vine wreath and a base of greens and white azalea flowers. Then, I would create a kind of seasonal/holiday bouquet that I wired on to change the look for each occasion. I had fun looking for things to use and Mom always loved to see what new idea I had come up with.

When she eventually had to move to assisted living, the wreath came along and we hung it by her bed. It was one of her things that still made her feel at home-it was familiar.

When I found it in my closet, I wasn't sure I wanted to take it apart but then I knew it is what she would want. She was a realist...as I am...and I know that she would want me to find a way to continue to use the wreath while still always remembering its roots.

And so, while we were finally running what seemed like hundreds of errands yesterday, we made a trip to HL. None of the 4th of July stuff was on sale yet and even though I had some 40% off coupons, I would have had to buy too many separate "picks" to get the feel that I wanted...one at a time. I was already exhausted and had no patience left for that but I also didn't want to spend $16-$20 just for bling for this wreath-remember, this is supposed to be on the cheap.

And then, I saw this:

  
It is actually made up of most of the "bling" that I wanted in pick form and realized that the hat would give me even more bang for my buck. Thinking I may have to slice off a bit of that brim but it will look nice nestled into the wreath with these:

I'm thinking something along these lines:

...but, with the hat instead of the flag...or perhaps WITH a flag also? I won't know until I try and that will have to wait until another day as today has managed to fill itself up before I knew it! Like I said, no time to dawdle...gotta strike while the iron is hot-so to speak...or at least while the glue gun is hot. Can't wait to see how it ends up. And I will share with you first...I promise. Stay tuned.