~THANK YOU~

To all of the veterans and soldiers. 

We are so blessed by your sacrafices and dedication.

xo
Dee

Happy Fourth!

 I hope you had a great Fourth of July!  Celebrate the birth of our nation and rejoice in the liberties and freedom we have here in America.  

I can't think of a better reason for a summer barbeque each year than that. 

 

Each year our small town hosts a patriotic parade and firework display over the lake at dusk.  We host a family barbeque and swim before heading out the door with picnic blanket in hand to find the perfect spot.    

 I like to doll up the farmhouse with some patriotic decor in time for the party but

it will all be left up until labor day to enjoy throughout the summer.  Here's a few photo's of patriotisim around our home and barbeque.

Mantel decor.... 

  

 

These lanterns were made from glass jars, I tied a gingham ribbon onto the hanger, a white candle inside lights up the night when the festivities continue into the evening.

Several are hung all the way down the trellis that covers our back deck.  When they're all lit they give off a dim glow, just enough light to see but not enough to attract bugs.

 

 The tables were all set with patriotic accents for the party. 

A vintage cake holder is put to use safeguarding the sweets.

A big bowl of watermelon quenches our thirst in the summer heat. 

What barbeque would be complete without some juicy watermelon? 

A fresh baked Strawberry pie....

An old crate makes transporting out the barbeque necessities easy.  My kiddos have hotdogs and burgers with their ketchup...so we go through alot  of it each summer.  I made a mason jar dispenser to hold large amounts.  I looks nicer and cleans up easier too.

The drink station is set up outside to avoid cleaning up any spills

when those little hands refill their cups.

My lil guy was also as festive as can be in his flag bathing suit....

picking me some daisies no less. 

  

So what did you do for July fourth this year?  Do you have any traditions, recipes you would like to share? 

Take care,

Dee

Americana Folk Art for Real Folks

A lil' Americana Folk Art for Real Folks...

Okay...I have to ask, is there anything more American than Folk Art?  Well of course there's apple pie...baseball and more but in regards to country design...well you get it, right?

I'm still working on decorating for the fourth, I still have lots to get ready for our annual Fourth of July party and will be busy for the next couple of days.  The Americana pretty much stays up here all summer long so it's worth the effort to go all out.  I love the festive colors and they go nicely with our Farmhouse decor.  

I have been oooohhhing and ahhhhing flag finial displays for a while now.  I almost bought one a few years back on a visit to Williamsburg but came to my senses when I reached for the price tag.  I saw another on one of our trips to Gettysburg again and was once more disappointed at the high cost of owning such a piece.  This time, each year, I would love to decorate with one but the prices are simply out of my budget.

Well, I finally decided enough was enough and this was finally the year that I was going to get me one.  So I impulsively hopped into the car and drove the 3+ hours to P.A., ran into the store I last saw it and to my pleasure picked up the very last one on the display counter.  Well I quickly shelled out the $150 to the nice man behind the counter before someone else could yank it right out of my hands, right?   

Ummm no....no I didn't!  I'm a terrible liar BTW.  Well, rather than do all that I decided I was just going to have to make it.  I grabbed my idea notebook, scribbled down a sketch of what I wanted and off I went to the stores to see what supplies I could gather.  I'm happy with the way it turned out and decided that I would share with my blogger friends in case anyone else felt a little last-minute ambition too. 

Here's a picture tutorial for those of you brave enough to tackle it, it is worth the effort.  It really was easy...does it look exactly like the $150 one?  No...but it's close enough and I like my less expensive, modified version even better.  Why you ask?  Well, because I made it....using good old fashioned American tenacity and ingenuity. 

Necessity is the mother of invention afterall....right?

Folkart Flag Display

Materials needed....
Most of it was found in the unfinished wood section at Michaels Craft store....

-6" block of wood.....$3.99

-3" block of wood......$2.99

-small 2" round MDF plaque.....$1.99

-6" square plaque.....$1.69

-round wood finial (p/u at home improvment store)..... $2.99

-White spray paint.....$1.29

-3- (12"x8") medium sized flags.......$3.75

-6- (6"x4") small flags.............$2.40

Optional decorations...Ribbon $2 roll, and plinth block picked up from home improvement store...$2.00, I chose one with a star

Tools needed.....hammer, drill, drill bits in varying sizes depending upon size of flag poles purchased.

~The Stacking and Glueing Part~

~The drilling part...remember your safety goggles!~

~(still drilling)~

4 holes ontop of block...4 more holes in center of each side...

If you are going to embellish it with a plinth block I recommend painting first and then glueing.  Spray paint the whole display....add decorative ribbon and flags.....

So, let's recap that is a total of apx. $20-$25, varies depending upon what you have readily available....Beats $100+(+) right?   mmmmhmmmm....  What do you think?  Will you give it a try?

Stay tuned to see how this purty display graces our

**Farmhouse Table for JULY 4th**

Now, how's about a Folk Art Flag to go along with that?

So were you able to follow that one?  Here's another folk art project that I have sold several of in the past.  The shipping is pretty expensive on these because of their size so I don't sell them in the online Mercantile but I'm going to share how you can make one of your very own instead. 

Material List....

-(5) 32" long pieces of unfinished pine tongue & groove beadboard found here at Homedepot.
-(2) 16-18" pices of 1" wide x 1/2" thick pieces of pine for the back
-clear construction adhesive I use liquid nails
-1 iron star, I have purchased these at local country shops but you can substitute with wood/paint.

-Red, White and Blue craft paint, foam brushes
-white school glue
-teeny tiny finishing nails...from hardware store
-eye hooks or another form of hanger
-sandpaper
Tools needed:  Hammer, hair dryer

I paint the colors on pretty heavily so that it doesn't require multiple coats but if you have to paint multiple coats repeat glue process with each coat.  Let them dry throughly

 Make sure your edges are even and match up... 

Flip over to front side and.....

Make sure you are nailing in straight verticle line, into the back supports....I nail into each board.

 Peel tape off slowly when finished drying.

It took adhesive about an hour to dry thoroughly with the iron star.  If you use wood it won't take as long & paint is even quicker, but I like the look of the iron star....adds texture.

Add hangers to the top of the back supports and voila...you're finished.  I propped it up on my mantle in front of a large barn star to show you but it will be going outside on my porch tomorrow.  You can distress it with sandpaper as I did with mine if you like.  Take it a step further and antique it by wiping on a medium-dark colored stain and wiping off immediately.  The stain will settle into the cracks and make it appear older and worn.  I haven't done that with this one but still might, I kind of liked the cleaner look this time.  Seal with an appropriate sealer if using out doors.....Enjoy.....

I'm off to finish decorating will show you more hopefully on Friday! 

Let me know what you think of course and if you try these projects send me the link!  I love to read those comments ya know!

Take Care,

Dee

BTW, I participated in a couple of linky parties....

Link to party

Click here for link to party

Click here for link to party

**********************

You're a Grand

Ol' Flag,

You're a high flying flag.....

And forever in peace may you wave.
You're the emblem of the land I love.
The home of the free and the brave.
Ev'ry heart beats true'neath the Red, White and Blue,
Where there's never a boast or brag.
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
Keep your eye on that

Grand old flag!

***********************

I hope that you all had a wonderful Fourth of July.....

it went by so fast for us.

We had a small barbque with close family only

a nice break from our usual large party.

Some photos of our home all decorated for

America's Birthday Party...

The porch was all decorated patriotically waiting for our guests to arrive....

I love the fourth of July,

the cheerful colors of our nations flag decorate our home.

Here is our desert station....

a cake carrier holds the pie ontop and strawberry shortcake below...

keeping them safe from my two year olds fingers

and the inevitable summer bugs.

Independence Day menu 2009....

and drink station below. I like to keep things in seperate areas of my kitchen when entertaining to keep the flow moving around my island.

Everyone likes to hang out in the kitchen no matter what I do though!

A patriotic hat box that I made in 2008.....
Some homemade star boxes stacked brighten up the corner.

Star Spangled banner sign,
will be listed in the Mercantile sooner or later...
I tried for sooner but will now be later!

I love this photo of my grandmother and father

when he was a baby many, many, summers ago.

It sits safely on the end table in the front parlor.

My entry foyer greets you with some patriotic folkart.

A red cupboard in the corner of our family room.....

I just popped some flags in my ironstone pitchers.

Below a small picture I made from a post card.

The old marshmallow tin,

an ebay win from several years ago.

It comes out with my summer decor every year.

THE CELEBRATION!!

Some Fireworks or boom, booms,

as my two year old son calls them...

My son falling asleep ontop of my hubs head....

a looong fun day for him.

Our small town really puts on a nice display and it is all funded solely by private donations. We usually watch the fireworks on a blanket in the lcoal park but this year it was undergoing a complete overhaul and they shot the fireworks over the lake but we couldn't get into the park. We all sat in our local market parking lot...it was nice but not the same...I had a great time anyway though and ooohhhhed, and ahhhhhhed the whole time.

May God Bless America,

we are truly blessed to live in such a country!!

I must say that I think extra prayer is in order for our country with the current state of things, I can only pray that our children are able to celebrate the fourth of July with the same pride that we do some day. That they may know the full meaning of the holiday and the sacrafice that it is born from, that this country was built upon the backs of hardworking Americans, not from the bailouts of our current government. I pray for peace, healing, conviction and courage for our nation.....and that we can recover from all that is current and get back to what our forefathers intended and fought for~ all they hoped this country would be........

One nation under god.

But it is the Amercian Sprit to overcome, and in the end we shall.

I hope your holiday was as wonderful as ours....

I hope to post a little more often than I have been,

our summer will hopefully be a little more relaxing next week!

Take Care now,

Dee