Amy's Post-An Awesome, Interchangeable Wreath, ready for the 4th of July

Our dear friend Amy made an incredible wreath and we've encouraged her to do a guest blog about it! Amy's inspiration was from  here . I saw this wreath and thought it was precious.  So, I shared it with Amy and then forgot about it.  Well, she didn't forget... read on and see how she turned this into her own masterpiece. Thank you, Amy!  We're glad you're a fellow crafter!

I cut a 2" strip of burlap, from a huge piece. I'm not sure how long the strip ended up being.

I wrapped it around a straw wreath that was still wrapped in plastic. I used my glue gun to secure the bitter end to the wreath and started wrapping, slightly overlapping the edges, trying to keep the edges parallel...(that's my OCD coming out...)

I picked out these two scrapbook papers and 3 different sized stars at Hobby Lobby. I traced the stars on the back of the scrapbook paper and cut them out.

 I like using the "gloss-lustre" Mod Podge.

I used it to "glue" the scrapbook paper to the wooden stars. Then when it dried, I painted on a nice thick coat, until it almost looked white.  I found that the thickness of the Mod-Podge kind of helped save my wreath, as I had it hanging on my front door during several of our crazy thunder storms! 

Using my glue gun and Scotch Velcro tape, I created 3 clusters of stars.
Again, the OCD kicking in, I did a pattern with the stars & stripes patterns.
First, I stacked & hot glued the stars in their 3 clusters.
Once they were dry I positioned them on the wreath to space the clusters out.

Next I cut 1" strips of the Velcro tape. I glue gunned the hook&loop piece onto the back of each star cluster & then I glued it's catch piece onto the wreath. 

The great thing about using the Velcro tape is that now I can make other clusters and change out the theme for the wreath as the seasons change!

Here are some patterned paper and flowers for a future wreath!

I traced the pattern on the backside of the paper.

...and cut the shape out... you know the drill... next comes the Mod Podge and gluing the shapes in clusters.  Fun stuff!

Happy 4th of July!

Amy

A 2x4, Fourth of July, Decoration

Here's a GREAT idea for a Fourth of July decoration, courtesy of the girls from HowDoesShe.  I made about ten of these last year!

Isn't this adorable?

Here's the tutorial: HowDoesShe 2x4 flag

Patriotic & Fourth of July Printables

Fire up your printers for the Fourth of July printables! There are many to choose from!

From Landee See Landee Do

From HMH Designs

From Love in Simplicity

From Love in Simplicity

From Madigan Made

From Junk in their Trunk

From Eye Candy Event Details

From Copy Cat Crafter

From Measured by the heart

From Polkadots on Parade

From The Project Corner

From Today's Fabulous Finds

It's All About "Peace, Love, and Happiness"

Peace, Love, and Happiness is what I strive to have in my country. This was an easy, patriotic project.

I took scrap 4x4 posts and cut them to 5, 7, and 9 inches. I painted them red, white, and blue. I got three deck post toppers and painted them gold.  My "inspiration" for the gold toppers is a flag pole. So many of them have gold toppers.

I found the center of each post top.

I drilled holes in the top.

I screwed the deck post toppers on top.

I then cut vinyl, on my Silhouette, for each post and applied it with transfer tape.   "Peace" is Tiranti Solid LET font. I used all capital letters and centered them. The dimensions were 2.6x5". 

 "Love" is in the Annoying Kettle font with the dimensions of 2.6x7". 

"Happiness" is in Too Much Paper font with the dimensions of 2.6x9"

Using scrap wood, paint leftover from other projects, and vinyl I already had, made this project about $10.  The only thing I had to buy were the deck post tops. I'm really happy with the results and like that this project will help me decorate for Memorial Day and The Fourth of July.

A Patriotic Sign from A 6"x6"x14" Post

With Memorial Day coming, I wanted to decorate with a Patriotic spirit.

1. I took a 6"x6" wood pole that I found in my husband's scrap pile (14" long) and painted it navy blue.

2. Using my Silhouette, I cut "USA" using USStarsNStripes font.  I made it 5.5"x11". I cut it out of red and white vinyl.

3. I used transfer tape to place the red letters on the board.  I then covered parts of it with the white vinyl.

Here's a close up of the white vinyl over the red vinyl.

4. My husband drilled holes on top of the pole and I placed little American flags in each hole. 

Not only is this perfect for Memorial Day but we'll also have a decoration ready for the Fourth of July!