I was looking for some inspiration for Independence Day decorations for my Etsy shop and had a hard time finding new things on Pinterest until now. I suppose we just got
over St. Patty's Day and Easter, so maybe that's why it took some time. The older I get, though, the harder it is to find new or reworked things for today. I've been watching an old decorating show today and realize how styles and trends have changed so much! The 90's weren't so fabulous after all!
This first example, and great inspiration to start with, was posted by an unknown artist. Smart use of the red, white and blue in this primitive piece! I think I'll search the house for anything in these colors to make my own twist for the upcoming holiday!
When I look for inspiration, I love finding a great painting to draw ideas from. I enjoy looking at this beautiful vertical flag (left). Found on Pinterest, there was no indication of the artist of this painting, but the bends and curves of this well-used flag interests me. The colors have different tones of red and blue worked in and there's only a glimpse of the full flag available. I wish I could paint like this!
I found Dough and Splinters, a family operation, on
Etsy.com and they produced this lovely set (right) of primitive fire crackers (no longer available)! I actually painted some of these in the 1990's out of landscaping posts. I'm kind of curious what the actual size of these are. I love these because of the aging and texture infused in them. Maybe it's time for me to go after the fire crackers again for my porch
this year! I've enjoyed working with landscape beams for these and the large "Uncle Sam" with his arms nailed to his side! Uncle Sam is cool! Wait a minute, I just said in the opening paragraph that the 90's weren't so great! Let me rephrase that....some of the 90's ideas were good...
Jen Hadfield with
TatortotsandJello.com likes to decorate for the 4th of July. Take a look at her wooden bunting! She aged this decoration to perfection and it's a great compliment to the traditional flag. Makes me think of "small-town" America! Jen's website has some wonderful ideas, great tutorials and useful materials to print. She covers a wide variety of subjects including cooking, crafts and décor. Thank you, Jen, for your wonderful ideas and guides to help us!
And finally, to end this "Quick Five" edition, here's a wonderful use of an old window and flag. I saw one like this in the Bunkhouse in Coalgate yesterday and thought it was adorable. This particular window is linked to an Etsy site that is no longer available. So let's talk about Elaine's, at the Bunk house, version. She actually used burlap fabric and burlap ribbon to create her flag. Elaine has several windows ready to decorate, but she's swamped right now with current furniture projects! Her idea was to decorate one each month to show off what could be done with them. Talk about talent! Hmmm, maybe we need to do a special post on her store to showcase her talent.
Well, I better get started on that scavenger hunt to find all things in red, white and blue. I hope I find just the right things for a very special Fourth of July!
