4th of July layout and wreath

Summer is the time for projects! We have a project going on at our house. I love seeing the progress made, bit by bit. Yes, I'd like to see the finished product!!! Now!?!? ? Okay, so I'm more than a little impatient with projects, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. My poor husband and son are working their tails off. They are putting up Hardie shingle board siding (looks like cedar shakes, but lasts for all eternity...We hope). The trouble comes in when they have everything off the side of the house, and a pop up storm comes through....Frustrating to say the least, and they both work 40 hour plus each week at jobs where they actually get paid. I'm sure they are even more tired of this project than I am.

Along with summer house projects, comes all of the fun patriotic holidays where we burst with pride for our country and honor our service men for their courageous sacrifices. One of our favorites is the 4th of July. It's always fun to make a special meal with the family, and watch the fireworks in town. Last year on the 4th, our grandbaby was only a few months old. We went to the fireworks, but parked way down the road so they wouldn't be too loud for her little ears. I got the cutest picture of her, and came up with this one pager.

Yes, I even broke out the glitter. The Stand and Salute cartridge has great patriotic images like this title and fireworks. I struggled with the color choices since Scarlet was wearing pink, but I wanted to pull in the traditional red, white and blue. The light blue seemed to help. Isn't the expression on her face, just priceless? =)

I don't have many patriotic decorations, but I made this wreath for the door last year. It's very easy and inexpensive to make. Click here for the instructions. I thought it was worth sharing again.

My bandana flower came uncoiled in storage, but a few dabs with the hot glue gun took care of that.

I'm thinking about making a patriotic banner to hang inside. Not sure if I will get to it or not, but you'll be the first to see it, if I do.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today. Let me know if you have any patriotic projects to share.

Have a great week!!

Patriotic wreath

Time is flying by and the 4th of July holiday is next week! Do you do any patriotic decorating at your home? We typicaly hang the flag, of course, but this year I decided to make a wreath for my door. I am so happy with the way it turned out, I thought I'd share it with you today.

Supplies:
3  bandanas (red, white, and bue)...or 4 if you want to make roses out of a bandana
Scissors
Foam wreath (from craft store)
Straight pins
Embellishments of your choice (fabric flags, diecut stars, patriotic ribbon, patriotic scrapbook paper)
Glue gun (or other adhesives)

I cut each bandana into 3 even strips.  Starting with a red bandana piece on the inside edge, wrap it around the wreath making sure  to twist it so it doesn't look flat. Use straight pins to pin the end into the foam wreath on the back side. You may have to play with the first strip to know where to start it so the strip will end on the back side. Repeat with the next two red pieces so that all 3 red pieces are next to each other. Then, do the same, alternating the blue and white, ending so that it slight overlaps with the red bandana. Note: you could use any number of variations...skinnier strips of bandana, or grouping all of the colors, rather than alternating, alternating them all...you get the idea.

Then it's time to embellish. I tucked two fabric flags behind one of the bandana strips, stagering their heighth and secured them with a ribbon around the outside. The rose is made from 1" wide strips of red bandana. I folded each strip lengthwise and started winding it tightly with the fold side up, turning the strip every so often to make it roll out. I glued the rose to a circle of cardstock and added to the wreath near the bow. These were kind of fun to make. =)

I didn't like the flag to just stick out straight, so I used adhesive to roll mine out and back in to give it a more furled look. You could also use pins to help secure the flags, but I used hot glue and adhesive foam squares.

On the other side of the wreath I added some die cut stars. The "God Bless America" paper was from Hobby Lobby and it worked nicely for the medallion. I used a star shaped gem for the middle of it. The larger diecut star was wound with blue twine and topped with a red star shaped gem.

Here's a slightly closer look. Again, the idea is to embellish it to your own taste.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today. Hope you are inspired to make a wreath or show your patriotism in some other creative way. Have fun!!