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.