4th of July Subway Art

Don't you just love it when out of the blue, not only do you get a few minutes to craft but you actually know what you want to make AND already have the supplies?  That's exactly what I lucked into this past weekend.  A friend of mine wanted a 4th of July wreath for her front door and we scheduled a little spur of the moment crafting so I could be on hand in case she needed any help putting it together (mostly that means tying the big fluffy bows :)  and saying "yes that looks great!").  I had a few orders for countdown blocks that I needed to work on, so my plan was to finish those and not really worry about other crafts.  Then I remembered I had been thinking about adding something to my 4th of July decorations that I put up a few days ago (blog post here).  In true craft-hoarder fashion I was able to dig up exactly what I needed in no time at all, including some scrap wood that was the perfect size (approx 13" x 24") - I didn't even have to sand it! A simple coat of blue paint, a few pieces of vinyl and it was all ready to go up on the wall.

The hardest part was setting up the cut files for the vinyl lettering.  It always takes a little bit of playing around to get the difference sizes and placement for subway art to look right (and I'm no expert with any of it) but I kept this one pretty simple and instead of changing fonts I just adjusted sizes and spacing.

 The husband turned out to be a big fan of this one too - yay!  (He has a soft spot for anything patriotic, I think)  It didn't take long for him to route a keyhole on the back so I could mount it on the wall.  And now I can happily move on to the Next Big Thing on the list...soon as I decide what that is ;)

You mean it isn't Spring anymore?

Finally put away the Easter decorations yesterday.  Someone tell me I wasn't the last one to do so ;)
We don't plan to spend a lot of July at home but I love all the red white and blue so I went straight to putting up those decorations.  Actually, I put the wreath up for Memorial Day, so that makes it not early but appropriate, right?

 I do keep it fairly simple for the 4th.  Just the wreath on the door and a flag in the flowers, and a couple of touches in the living room and kitchen.

The ledge is looking a little drab though don't-ya-think?  I wasn't really intending to make any holiday crafts this month but I may need to whip up some big subway art or something to balance out the flag-thing in the wall.  As you can see, our Summer Bucket List ended up there for now but I'm thinking may move it to the console table in the living room just for fun.  Suggestions?  I still think it needs a little something to pull it together better.

Red White and Blue

Long weekend - woohoo!  You don't often hear me say that about the smaller holidays (ie: the ones where I don't plan gifts and activities weeks and weeks in advance) because I usually neglect the long weekends and then end up regretting my lack of planning.  But as luck would have this weekend seems to have fallen into a nice little mix of fun and productivity and mostly happy family members all around.  Plus, I'm on the winning end of a week-long fight with a nasty little cold, and that would put anyone in a good mood :)  However, the combination of the cold then the busy weekend means the blog once again only gets a minimum amount of attention.  So I thought I'd do a quick Show and Tell of the red, white, and blue hairbows I whipped up a few weeks ago.  I've been messing around with the use of denim for hair accessories as well as some of what are proving to be my favorite fabric flower techniques and combinations.  Kind of fun, and like a comfy pair of jeans, I figure a denim hairbow would be pretty versatile and appropriate for almost any kind/color outfit.

I thought the denim and polka dots would be festive without being too over-the-top that it couldn't be worn every day, not just on the red/white/blue holidays.  Appropriate for Memorial Day, and just the tip of the iceburg on the ideas I have for 4th of July.  We'll see how many of those I get around to in the next few weeks.  But for now, it's back to the pool (oh how I'm loving our new neighborhood pool!) and the home improvement projects for one more day :)  Happy Memorial Day everyone!  My many thanks goes out to not only those in the military (including my wonderful husband) past and present but to the family and friends who support them, on Memorial Day and every day.

*I made the hairbows primarily for my own entertainment and because I like to play dress up with Kate, but I did list the red/white/blue one in my etsy shop.

Red, White, and Blue

Just wanted to share. I had a project day on Saturday and am so happy to finally have a few 4th of July decorations. The bright colors make me happy :)

(almost all supplies are from the Wood Connection)

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