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.

Our Summer Bucket List

The kids are so close to getting out of school.  T-minus one week from tomorrow.  I know, I know - their school gets out a lot later than most.  Wish we could do something about it.  Then again, it did give me the opportunity today to spend some time at the pool, just me and a couple of friends and no kids.  Peaceful ;)

It occurred to me yesterday that we hadn't quite finished our traditional Summer To Do/Bucket List yet, even though we had started the list a couple weeks back when we were in the car trying to keep the kids entertained.  I took a couple minutes today to modify our list from last year and got the final thumbs up from the kiddos before printing it out and putting it in a frame.  Here is our list:

It reads:

 (   ) pool time, pool time, and more pool time    
(   ) go berry picking      

(   ) go boating      

(   )  take swimming lessons    

(   )  beach   

(   )  Tyler – try to water ski      

(   )  take lunch to Daddy at work      

(   )  roast marshmallows 

(   )  homemade rootbeer   

(   )  teach Bambi things (consistently sit, stay, etc)     

(   )   S & A - movie date night    

(   )  make ice cream

      (   )  go to a rodeo   

(   )  eat outside as often as possible    

(   )  Brag Tags      

(   )  Trip to Utah!!!    

(   )  playdates/fun with friends

(   )  watch a parade    

(   )  get grass to grow in the backyard     

(   ) ride horses     

(   )   visit farmer’s market     

(   ) library

(   ) hike Timpanogos   

(   )  try out a new restaurant    

(   )  try paddle boarding  

(   )  family fitness activities  

(   ) BBQ

(   )  family pictures    

(   )  K - read some of the BOB books from next year’s list    

(    )  K & T – learn to cook one meal   

(   )  HAVE FUN!!!