Hurray for SUMMER! 4th of July Decor....

Schools out, time to celebrate with some Red white and blue.  I love this wonderful County  , and I have always wanted to get festive for this time of year. So I came up with a   few new things....

Found this cool Thomas Jefferson plate at the thrift store for $2.00! I LOVE it! Than I got a few old frames, painted and distressed them.  I painted/stenciled the 1776 est. on this linen type fabric. 

.LOVE.

I made this wreath inspired by this one

http://tatertotsandjello.com/2011/07/summer-wreath-and-mantel-tutorial.html

. I LOVE hers SOOO much, so I made the base of hers, and than added my embellishments with push pins ,so when our Independence day festivities are over, I can change these and   than attach the starfish decor like hers. She did such a beautiful job! I love mine now, and cant wait to get to `updo` it again after the holiday. After a few years now of collecting ocean things I realize that I   i love all things Nautical :-) 

I googled and printed out a copy of the Declaration of Independence. Placed it in this frame that I also repainted. I have a love for Seashells...have been collecting them since I was a kid in Denmark. I love getting them all out for the summer months....Had to add some to this. I even bought me some beautiful ones while on our trip to Hawaii. I will have to post about them later.

An old piece of driftwood I painted some blue and white stripes on

More fabric painting.   

Heres my little corner

And to end it, I painted a starfish on my old burlap pillow. Remember the old & sign./? This is just the other side.

Hurray for Summer!!!!

PB Inspired Christmas Swag DIY

I am in LOVE with door swags these days. So I wanted to make my own. When I came across this one on Potterybarns website, it was an instant "I can totally make that"! {I love those moments};-) 

Here is the Potterybarn version.

 {I searched everywhere for big metal bells like these, but my only luck were these smaller ones at the Dollar Store. Could NOT beat the price! So this swag is inspired by PB but with my own twist }.

 *if i do come across these, you bet I will replace the ones I have, but for now these cute little ones will do.

 Here is my version

1. I started by bunching some "naked" dry twigs together with wire.
2. Than on top of that added my freshly clipped Evergreen. Also with wire.
3. Next I strung all my bells together with some jute, and attached it all together with this lovely burlap wired ribbon. 
4. Last I made a "hanger" with some wire.

And thats all folks! I think it turned out SO cute:-)

And it was EASY peasy! ;-)

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LIVE Holly Wreath and a few knick knacks

I have been SO excited to put up my Christmas Decor and now the time has finally come! Yes its still November, but once Thanksgiving is over, its time for THE next holiday to be celebrated. lol

I started out by taking my kids to the Park. Yup, its been gREAT weather here so, I took them out and while they played I brought my clippers and bags for my future Christmas projects, and cut oh so many lovely greenery. {This year I want to use as much live greenery as possible}. Not only because its CHEAP or shall I say FREE, but also because it is BEAUTIFUL. {I have a special place in my heart for this kind of stuff because my Mom is a MASTER at flower arranging....and well...it just reminds me of my sweet Mama}. So here is my first attempt at a wreath. This one is made from Holly leaves....OUCH! lol. That is what I was saying through out making this little baby. But OH it was SO worth it!! I used a already white berry wreath {like the ones they have at PB a few years ago} and covered it with Holly branches. {I used my glue gun & green wire}. 

 Finished it off with a nice piece of wired Burlap ribbon.

L.O.V.E

Than for some shabby Christmas decor I rounded up these babies, 

Mason jars :

1. filled with antique lace/doilies
2. Pearls and a sprig of FRESH evergreen {smells OH SO GOOD}.
3. Vintage door knob & key holder and some other random metal goods

 OK. so I am sure I have mentioned how I LOVE Bethany Lowe Designs. Well, I happened across this lovely little guy at TJ Maxx the other day. I saw him and GASPED, A REAL "Vintage by Bethany"?! I was in love! Than I left the store, convincing myself I didnt need it....well....That was on a Saturday. ALL the rest of that weekend I could not get it out of my head! lol...so Monday morning I went back hoping he would still be there {because if he was than it was meant to be}. I could not believe it!! He was there! And $16 later I went home a happy lady:-) I think he is so cute.

So here is the first of my Christmas Decor. I am all finished with a swag I made for the front door...I just need it to be light outside so I can grab a pic and post about it. AND yup...its a PB inspired Christmas swag, so stay tuned;-)

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A Harvest Wreath

I dont have a Fall wreath that can stand the Elements. So I made this one:-) 

Mostly from things I had lying around the house. 

{p.s. dont mind my beautiful door...we are not home owners, so our current living status is a "manager on site" place....yup...hence the "Private" door}. 

I hate it....oh well....our time for Homeownership WILL come:-)

Thanks for stopping by!
~Cat



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Ruffle Wreath

Ok, so I saw this idea on another blog {My Life on Cedar Street}, and I simply HAD to make one of my own! It really was SO easy, and cheap. I used some scrap fabric that I had leftover and a wooden wreath from the Dollar Store. Oh my goodness, this was absolutely so fun and easy to make. It was just what my little apartment needed. I sewed the ruffles with my sewing machine {good old ruffle stich}. Than followed all her instructions, only I glue gunned the whole thing together. It took me no time at all to make, and I just beam with happiness every time I look at it on my way out the door. 

Thanks Jodi for sharing your cute idea!

Check out her cute blog here. 

http://mylifeoncedarstreet.blogspot.com/2011/04/new-wreath.html

For Reals....make one, RIGHT NOW! You know u want to ;-)

And become her follower too {as well as mine if u havn't already} :-)

took this to the party @

www.linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com

and

http://sewwoodsy.blogspot.com/2011/06/whats-up-wednesdays-link-party-features.html?showComment=1306942497296