Sunny Days

Sunflowers?! I know, right. And just how did this happen? Well, as I have been posting, I still don't have a car and a lot of my family are not only out of town, they're out of state! And, I am dog-sitting. All of that together, kind of puts a bit of a damper on what I can do and where I can go. And so, with those parameters, I find myself still looking for things to keep me busy.

And, so, even though the 4th of July is still a few weeks away, I am beginning to look beyond the red, white and blue and long for what comes next!

This is when I usually go back to last year's photos just to kind of give me a gentle reminder...and, to realize that if I don't come up with anything new, this might me the exact decor arrangement I will be using next.

I have to admit that as soon as I saw those sunflowers, my heart beat a bit faster. Once they have arrived, can autumn be far behind? The truth is "yes" but, in my world, I find it easy to ignore the forces of nature and sink into my delusional world of being whatever season I want...no matter what is happening outside my walls! Lol That's why God created A/C and fireplaces, right?

And so, after perusing the photos, two things popped out. Not large things mind you, but, enough to get me started.

I noticed immediately that there wasn't a postcard in the mailbox as there usually is for each theme.

I actually just realized that there isn't anything in the scale either...may be another project in my future. In any case, I couldn't find a vintage postcard with a sunflower to download and print so I found an image, printed it and matted it and I think I will be fine.

And then, I also realized that although I thought that I had made one of my wooden tags for every theme, I must have missed sunflowers. And, you know, I couldn't let that happen! And so, with a pile of tags still at the ready, I pulled together some supplies.

As usual, my plan had been to take you along on each step of the painting. Here is step 1: a coat of white chalk paint.

And that is pretty much where I went awry. As so often happens with me, especially when I don't really have a plan, I get so excited to see how things come out that I forget to document them along the way. And, so, this is step #2...and #3 and...well, you get the idea.

At this point I felt like it needed a quick swipe of the antique gel just to knock off a bit of the "whiteness". Then, it was a simple matter of some twine and butcher's cord for the tie and...

I'm really not sure where it will go but with all of the crocks and urns that will be out soon, I'm pretty sure I will find a place. I'm also keeping my fingers crossed that one of the blogs that I follow will soon start coming up with some fantastic new sunflower ideas to get me through another crafting lull. This just might be another reason why summer is just not my favorite time of year.

Stay safe and stay tuned.