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 Memorial Sign

My sweet Uncle Jim died on April 6th.  He suffered with cancer the last eight months of his life. 

During his 63 years on Earth, Uncle Jim was many things.  I wanted to create something, that represented his life.  With my Aunt Esther's help, I came up with a list of words that were important to Jim's life. This was my memorial to him.

First, I chose to do the names of the most important people in his life: Jim, Esther, and William. Then, the relationships he had: husband, father, friend, brother, uncle, cousin, and son. Next, I wanted to represent the roles he had in his life:  a veteran, missionary, writer, believer, friend, and counselor. Finally, I wanted to choose the adjectives I felt described him best: gentle, caring, and kind.

Using a variety of fonts, I cut these out of vinyl, on my Silhouette. I used the negative part of the vinyl to create a stencil.  I carefully arranged the words to the board I'd prepainted navy blue.

After attaching all the vinyl to the board and rubbing it down well, I painted the words cream.  I let the paint dry completely and then removed most of the vinyl.  I decided to add a pop of color, and emphasize the red, white, and blue Memorial theme by painting some of the words red.  So, over the cream paint, I painted red.  I wanted some cream to peek out, and it did.

Here's what I had when I removed all the vinyl.

I distressed the sign with an orbital sander. This was a mistake.  The sand paper was fresh and the sander fast.  There are a couple of places that show the circular marks. I was so disappointed since this was a time consuming project and I didn't have time to redo it.  I decided it just added character (or I hoped). I then drilled holes in the top and added wire to make it easy to hang.

Here's the sign I presented to my aunt and cousin.  I think remembering all the special people we've lost in life is a special way to spend Memorial Day. I will miss my Uncle Jim. He will not be forgotten.

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!