Patriotic Decor

 It's officially summer! Hooray! (Those of us living in New England feared it would never come.)

My favorite part of summer is celebrating the Fourth of July. Parades, picnics, and fireworks are all apart of the fun, but, I fear the reason for the holiday is set aside while the party is taking place.

The actual name of the holiday is Independence day. It commemorates the adoption of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, on July 4, 1776. 

So, as we celebrate, let us remember to be grateful for the freedoms this beautiful country provides. Let us remember to stand united and be proud to be American!

Now, let's talk about ways to decorate for the occasion.

I had a hard time sticking with one "theme" this year. There were several different aspects that I felt passionate about. The historical, cultural/personal, and the trendy aspects were all on my mind. So, I made all three work in our home. We have three locations in the living room in which to decorate. I chose to make each a different theme. 

1. The Historical Aspect

In this set up, I draped the flag over a floating shelf. It is being held up by a tack at the upper grommet. You could put a tack in the lower grommet also, but it held just fine and I like the hanging look. I like how the bottom of the flag hangs down, now I just hope and pray that my kids don't yank on it while sitting on the couch!

I found the painted ceramic piece at Goodwill for $3. George Washington is in the middle with two others on the sides. On the bottom is painted 1776. I was drawn to the piece. I admit that something about it bothered me at first, but I grew to love it. I like how it added the historical reminder to my decor. The bicycle also came from Goodwill for $3. I like the uniqueness of it. 

2. The Cultural/Personal Aspect

I really wanted to incorporate baseball into my decor but wasn't sure how I was going to pull it off. While visiting my parents, I talked to my Nana about it. She told me about her Grandfather, the minor league baseball player. My mom dug out this photo and it all started coming together. The photo is dated June 6, 1915, which makes it 100 years old! I like how it adds an heirloom to the decor.  The story behind it makes it apply to the holiday also. My Great, Great, Grandfather, Robert Siberia Eaves was born while at sea, over the Atlantic Ocean on March 27, 1871. (Can you imagine giving birth on the ocean in wintertime?!) His parents desired the freedoms that the United states offered and moved from England to America. The name of the ship was "The Siberia", which explains his middle name. His nickname was "Si". I am so grateful for the sacrifices that my ancestors made, which made it possible for me to be born in this wonderful country! I am proud to hang his picture in my home!

When I think of baseball, I think peanuts, so naturally I had to incorporate them and the flags help tie the decor themes together.

3. The Trendy Aspect

This display is not my favorite and needs work. It is staying as-is for now though. My favorite piece is the Proud to be American set up. This is one of the first projects I shared on my blog. (view HERE)

I did change the "P" because the kids broke if off and I replaced it with a blue block and stamped a "P" in white paint. It's growing on me, and I think it adds more character. 

I love decorating for the Fourth, it is so much fun! I recently filmed a Fourth of July show for Holiday Fun with Hillary on Amherst Public Access TV. For the show, I blended all of these concepts together into a beautiful display. As soon as I receive those pictures, I will post them.

I hope you all have a great Independence Day, and enjoy the decorating process!

*Hills

4th of July Fun!

I know that this is alittle late... but better late than never right?
  I tried to get this up yesterday, but the photos took forever to load and I was trying to pack for vacation. We are now on "vacation" and my 3 year old fell asleep on the 6 hour drive. We got here (Maine) at midnight and he woke up at 5 am because he was at Meme and Papa's house and wanted to see them! So since I am up at the crack of dawn on my first day of vaca... why not create a post right?

Now onto the 4th of July goodies...
  Does anyone else procrastinate things? Because I do and it drives me crazy. I don't mean to. I just always think I have more time/days than I actually do. So I did projects yesterday morning instead of getting ready to go. So here we go.
First I made a shirt for "Mr. Cowboy". I actually made this for Memorial Day but it works for the 4th as well! I took a white polo, rubber stamps, and fabric paint and went to town. (sorry it's wrinkled. I pulled it out of the suitcase to snap a photo).

I was very happy withthe way this came out. It came out better than I invisioned. I found clear stamps at Micheals for $1 that said great grandpa etc. I was thrilled! I had planned to do that anyway... and was prepared to stamp each individual letter. I was VERY happy that I didn't have to.

 It was fun to make this and to honor his grandfathers. Everett Jr. and Wesley are still living and we will be spending the 4th with them. They have not seen this shirt yet, but I think hope that they will feel honored to have "Mr. Cowboy" wearing their names.

Bleached Star Shirt:

I cannot take credit for this idea. My sister makes these babies and does and INCREDIBLE job! I stole her idea and have called her several times asking questions. It's fun and WICKED easy!

 Materials:

T-shirt

stickers/freezer paper

bleach in a spray bottle*

cardboard (for inside of shirt)

* Make sure that you have bleach that can be used for cleaning. My first attempt (around Valentine's day) failed miserably because I didn't "cleaning" bleach. The other stuff slightly faded the shirt, but DID NOT give me the look I was going for.

Process:

1.Put cardboard inside shirt

2. Put stickers on shirt as desired

*You can also cut out a design from freezer paper and iron it on.

*if using stickers they should be thicker/plastic stickers. (The bleach seeps through the paper ones)

3. Spray in the bleach

There's not particular rhyme or reason to spraying. I likes the look of going up the shoulder so tat's what I did. Do whatever you think looks good.

4. WAIT (it's the hardest part)

*Some colors take longer than others. Let the bleach sit until you get hte color you like. Sometimes you don't get the color you're looking for. I got frusterated because one of hte shirts didn't come out like I wanted too and tried bleaching it again... but it didn't lighten any.

5. Hand wash in HOT water. I added some laundry soap to the water.

6. Wash in washing Machine. (We live in a small apt and don't have a washer and dryer, sadly! But I just hand washed it really well and it works just fine.)

7. Dry!

*The colors are come out lighter once they are dry. Always dry them before you determine if you like them or not. Drying makes all the difference!

***A side note: Make sure you take off the stickers before you rinse the bleach off. I wasn't sure I should. I guess I was worried about it bleeding or something.  But TAKE THEM OFF FIRST! or else you get a gooey/flakey mess. (example below)

 

So that is basically it! Here's the final product. (I don't have after pictures or "Mr. Monkey's" Made in America shirt yet. But they will come).



Now for the last project! An Independence day door hanging!

This is made from a stair tread from an old slide. I was so excited about this! I am not going to do a step by step break down of this project at the moment. I need to go relieve my mother-in-law from the sleepless monsters that have invaded her house!

But here are some close up shots for you. The tutorial will be come in days to come!

Well... Happy Independence Day! I hope you all have a great, fun filled day!
Hills