Americana Banner

 Hello everyone!  It's Monday once again and I am happy to be here after a few day's absence.  I was down with the creepy crud for the second time this spring.  Guess that's what school aged grandson's give you when you are not looking.  Whew.   Glad it's over and I'm more than ready to move on with life.

The day before said "crud" set in, I spent the entire day outside working on a project for our mantel to celebrate Memorial Day.  I was "in the zone" as they say, working away while enjoying the beautiful weather.  I had my paints, brushes, glue gun, and huge box of craft sticks (better known as popsicle sticks) and I was on a creative bent.

I started making stars and flags galore and had absolutely NO idea what I would do with them, but I liked them and they were fun to make.  That was enough reason to continue, so I did.  I simply hot glued sticks together in a pentagram shape for the stars.  For the flags, I put two sticks parallel to each other vertically with about 1.5 inches between.  Next, I glued 9 sticks across them horizontally.  I decided on 9 because it made the best looking "flag."  It took a bit to put them all together, then it was time to paint.

Since I was going for patriotic Americana, red, ivory, and blue were my colors of choice, with brown paint used to "antique" everything.   First, it's necessary to paint everything in the color and design you want before "antiquing."  Americana is about simplicity.

After letting the paint dry, I dipped a paper towel in some water just to dampen it, dipped the same towel in some brown paint and rubbed the entire flag or star with the brown paint.  While still wet, I then used a dry paper towel to rub the entire surface, actually removing some of the paint to get a really vintage look.

Makes quite a difference.  If you like the true colors, stick with them.  As for me, I like the rugged, worn, vintage look.  The bottoms of the parallel sticks were clipped off with cutters after everything dried.  This is how the stars and flags looked when finished.

 All painting was done just as it was time to prepare dinner, so everything was left to dry overnight.  Then, the - dun, dun, dunnnnnnn,  creepy crud laid me low for a couple of days.  Gave me some time to contemplate what to do with said stars and flags.

The banner on the mantle is what I came up with.  Glad I had time to contemplate, because I really, really love the way it turned out.  All I used was a length of burlap ribbon that you can buy at craft stores.  I laid out the pattern of flags and stars I wanted to use and hot glued them to the burlap.  Easy. Then, I stenciled USA in red, white, and blue between the flags and stars.  The banner is hung with some clear push pins.  Done.

As a major lover of all things Americana, this banner is one of my favorite projects I have done in a good while.  This banner will hang on the mantel until after July 4 and maybe longer.

You can get a big box of craft sticks very reasonably at any craft store or Wal-Mart.  They come in the popsicle stick width or tongue depressor width, it just depends on which size you prefer.  There are lots of things you can do with them and they are great fun for kids to use.  It's almost summer vacation time, so they can be a great way to keep kids occupied when you need a craft project.

This weekend, we will remember all those who have served our country or given their lives for our freedom.  We can never thank them enough.   Happy Memorial Day everyone.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

My father lied about his age to join the Army Air Corps during World War II.  He was only 17 when he enlisted to serve our country and served for 5 years in Italy and Northern Africa.  He didn't talk about it much, but he was proud to have served.  We will honor his memory this weekend.  Thanks Dad.  

Olympics, Election - It's Americana

When Dan and I were first married in 1969, the color trends were avocado green, gold and orange.  Those were not my color preferences.  For the most part, I have been an Americana kind of decorator for many years.  Red, white and blue have always been one of my favorite color combinations in home decor and clothing.  Don't ask me why, I couldn't really tell you.  I just love the way the colors go together and of course, they are the colors of our country's flag.  Thanks you Betsy Ross.

Since this is an Olympic year (and who doesn't love the Olympics), and also a national election year, I decided to go Americana in my summer accessories.  Last summer I went with a beach look, lots of shells and aqua blues and that look makes me happy.  But this year, I wanted to celebrate the summer Olympics.  Of course, this weekend is Memorial Day, then there is Flag Day and the Fourth of July coming up - so red, white and blue it is!

I like muted colors so I used a barn red fabric, ivory and navy blue for the banner I made for our fireplace.  I stitched some of the red and ivory together in 2 inch strips to represent the red and white stripes of our flag.  The navy was stenciled with ivory stars to represent the field of stars on our flag.  The banners are 8 inches long by 6 inches wide.  Really simple to do.  Using a hot glue gun, I glued the banners to a piece of sisal twine and attached it to the mantel with some push pins.

The plaque on the mantel was painted on an unfinished cabinet door I found at the Habitat for Humanity store for $5.00.  Actually, I bought lots of these doors in different sizes.  They are cheaper than buying unfinished wood at the craft store.  Just something for you to keep in mind and it helps a great cause when you buy things there.

The plaque says "with liberty and justice for all" which I took from our pledge of allegiance.  I turned the door sideways and then painted the top and bottom edge a barn red color, the two end pieces navy blue and the middle panel an ivory color.  The stars were stenciled in ivory using the same stencil I used for the flag panels.  After painting on the words from the pledge, I waxed the entire panel with Annie Sloan clear wax and then went over it with Annie Sloan dark wax.  If you have never used her products, they are amazing!   The wax gives the plaque an aged look that I really like.

I don't know about you, but I get really excited when it is an Olympic year, especially the summer olympics.  While the national election and politics sadly seems to be very divisive to our country, the Olympics brings out the best in our country, and the world, for a few short weeks.  Cheering on everyone who has dedicated their lives and bodies to the very best they can be is something we can ALL appreciate and politics are put aside.  I have so much admiration for all of the participating athletes!

Isn't it interesting that the host country is England, the country we declared our independence from in 1776?  Just another reason to celebrate the red, white and blue this year!   Can't wait to see what records are broken and who wins medals.  Hurray for the Olympic spirit.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

There is something in the Olympics, indefinable, springing from the soul, that must be preserved.    Chris Brasher

Remember those $1.38 plate stands I showed you yesterday?  Well, here is what I did with them.  This is the big reveal.  If you look really close, you will see that I used a candlestick, a sherbet dish and a martini glass to achieve different heights for my candle holders.  The variety is also very visually appealing.   The picture simply does not capture how pretty they look on the table.  

This is the way our kitchen table looked this morning before I began setting it for Christmas. 

 Nice huh?  Guess you would never know I have been crafting on the kitchen table.  Why you ask?  Because my craft/sewing table is also buried in projects.  At least, I resolved this table today.  The other one is going to take some more work.  

After I cleaned off the table and put everything away (sort of), I put down my new hand painted table runner.  It looks like this.

I made it from a painter's drop cloth.  I will give you a tutorial on how I did it later.  I have to say I love it!   Next, I placed three of the plate stands in the center, added three of the sparkly candles I made and some cedar and holly from our bushes outside.  (Remember, use what you have.)  The holly has really beautiful red berries on it and it makes a nice little pop of color on the elevated plates.  Then I added one of my beloved acrylic stars.  Yes, more stars because it goes with the star in the center of the table runner and it WAS a star that guided the wise men to the nativity.  

The same treatment was done on the other two plates.  Next, I added 5 mercury glass votives, and hung some stars from our light fixture.

Then, I put out my red chargers which were given to me by my dear sweet friend Don and added a festive red holiday napkin that is embroidered with gold holly.  I have some beaded napkin rings, but didn't want to use them so I searched around and decided to cut a branch of artificial berries apart that I had and twisted them around the center of each napkin and then added a sprig of fresh holly leaves.

The backs of the chairs have red velvet bows tied on them with a crystal snowflake and some red and white string.  Here is a close up.

Because we use our table every day (we don't have a dining room) I will have to move the chargers for daily use, but I just love the way the table looks.  It is simple but festive.  Smashing actually and that is what I was aiming for.  There will be so much ambience when all the candles are lit. 

These pictures were taken with my phone because I don't have a camera at the moment.  They are not the best, but will give you an idea of what you can do with little expense.  Here are a few more pictures.

I also used some of the plate stands on the trunk I use for a coffee table in the living room.  There is a new hand painted tabled runner on it also.  Instead of candles, I used some of my Dollar Tree mirrored trees that I got a year or two ago.  Here is what the coffee table looks like.  I LOVE this look.

So I have $1.38 in each plate stand and $1.00 in each mirrored tree for a total of $5.76.  Not too shabby for a great looking arrangement.  Greenery is from the yard.  Now that makes me happy.  Here are a few more pictures for you.

At last, I am at the end of my decorating spree.  Everything has come together quite nicely and I will be sharing some more tutorials with you and pictures of all of my efforts.  I LOVE when the sun starts going down and all the lights are on and everything looks so beautiful.  It's a lot of work, but so worth it.  Can't wait for the grandsons to see all the trees! Our New York grandson won't make it here this Christmas  because his dad (our son) will be performing and we will really miss him.  Otherwise, it's going to be such an exciting Christmas and we are counting down the days.  

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more 
beautiful.    Norman Vincent Peale