Vintage 4th of July Blog Party

We usually aren't home for the 4th, since we live so far from family we usually travel for holidays.  So this is the first 4th we'll be home in a long time and the most decorations I've put out for Independence Day celebration as well.  Not too much but here goes.

This chippy white piece is the top of an old fence post that I've drilled holes in for this collection of new, old, and in between flags.   

Mary Emmerling had this idea in one of her books or magazine, love her, copied her idea.

That's supposed to be '76, in old wood printing blocks.  Some more Scrabble letters.

Robbins, instead of eagles.  I grew up in Michigan, it's the state bird, you know it spring when you see one!

Okay, not so vintage, just a little dolly I made years ago,  

pledging her heart to our country.

Here's a little bobble headed wiener dog 

my sister sent me by surprise a while ago.

He's sporting a little flag bow tie I found in my 4th of July decorations box.  Can't remember what I might have tied this onto before, maybe a bunny, how long ago was that?!

At my kitchen window, another printing block and 2 little stampers make the 4th.  That's another little dachshund there, although it kinda looks like a seal.

Apparently, I have nothing better to do with my time.  There are over 100 little cootie catcher/fortune tellers made from the pages of an old Readers Digest book. 

Here's what I did with the rest of the page after I cut it square for the catchers.  Ya, I don't know what I'm going to do with them either, and I've got lots more pages to punch.  But they are so darn cute, but I digress form the 4th.

(The punch, by the way, is from Stampin' Up.  Here's the site for gal I got it from, Tricia.)

So have a great.....

I'm linking up with Joan's Vintage 4th of July Blog Party over at her blog Anything Goes Here and her anything is always something fun so check it out and see what the other party goings are up to.

Some photos edited from original post due to spelling errors, funny, sparklers was the only one I looked at and thought, hum, is that right?  Thank God someone in this house can spell and that would be this little girl laughing at me.  Posting her picture here will fix her wagon, ha!

What's New - White Wednesday

What's new is the music sheets lining the back wall of the cupboard in my front hall.  I just decoupaged the music sheets to craft paper because I didn't want to paste them to the bead board back.  Then stuck them in with painters tape.  This cupboard is my first wood working project from some 15 or so years ago, so I guess I'm  a little sentimental about it.  Sorry, the color is off on these pictures, the walls are actually a golden cream color.

This pair of sweet little vases were collected years apart.  I wonder if there are more out there of similar design, I'd love to find them.  Each is marked "made in Japan", that narrows it down, ha!

This is a little pillow I made with a picture of my Granma in front of the phlox in her garden.  She died over 17 years ago at age 97.  I made the pillow as a challenge by a TV design show I was watching once.  The challenge was to make a pillow using only what you have at home at the time.  The materials are photo transfer paper, fabric remnant, vintage ribbon, vintage zipper, so I can get at the vintage buttons I used as "stuffing" and those are 2 pair of my Granma's clip on crystal earrings at the corners.

The rabbit's foot I just found this morning, forgotten in a shopping bag.  A junk store near my Mom's in Michigan was giving them away free with purchase, too funny.

Here's one of my favorite pictures of my little babies in the back yard of our house when we lived in Minnesota.  Probably the first show of the season.  I'm thinking they're almost 5 and 3 here.  These days they're 21 and 19, doesn't seem that long ago.

I'm linking up with Kathleen's White Wednesday party,

check out all the other lovely whites on her blog, Faded Charm.

First Aid - Make it for Monday

Well, I have a creative space because I do consider myself a person who likes to create things but I do not consider myself a person who likes to clean.  Yikes, that's a dirty word!  Oh, I like to collect and organize and collect and rearrange and collect and sort and collect and display and collect.  It's always been much more fun for me to gather supplies.  Unfortunately, all that good junk takes up alot of space.  I've been telling my friends I'm one dead husband way from the hoarder show, meaning that if my Mr. Wonderful didn't come home every night, there would be piles everywhere until the money ran out.

So, anyway, what I'm trying to get at is that I haven't cleaned and straightened up my creative space to show everyone at the  "Where Bloggers Create II" party going on at Karen's blog "My Desert Cottage".  No, no one should be subject to that mess!  Hopefully there will be a number III.  But why start cleaning now, I have plenty of time.

But I do have something I made that I'm excited to share with you.  I think the original idea came from somewhere in Martha Stewart Land.  But I may have also gotten ideas from etsy, from people like this gal's shop Love Nostalgic Whimsy.  If there are no wall suit cases, look in her sold items, totally cute stuff!

This is on the wall in my laundry room, located between my kitchen and garage.  A convenient place for first aid I think.  I gathered the wood box, the vintage first aid sign, the fabric, the tacks, the first aid supplies, like I said I like to gather.  Presto chango! 

A First Aid Station!

I've had the wooden box for awhile.  The pocket is made from a fabric remnant left over from the roman shade on the window, the toile is really more of a blue green than the photo appears.  The one vertical divider is original but I added the horizontal shelves which were plain unfinished pine boards.  I glued fabric on them so I wouldn't have to match the stain plus it adds more color.  With the box on the wall like a cabinet, I have more room to pile good junk on top the dryer.

Some day this room will be painted the same color as the mud room (below) across the hall, a color I call Virgin Mary Blue.   I started collecting these "home" signs but I'm starting to get bored with them.  I think the problem is that I have some that I don't love and they need to go.  I don't have a picture of the cubby side of the mudroom, probably because it was a mess

 

White Purse White Wednesday

Once again, it's White Wednesday 

with Kathleen over at Faded Charm!  

Check out all the other party goers, you'll be glad you did.

My camera is charging so I've got another excuse to procrastinate posting about my Up North trip.  

But I have this picture just waiting for a chance to show itself.

I bought this purse in April at Round Top, or around there someplace, I don't remember where I was exactly, but you get the idea.  It's a vintage Enid Collins bag.  My second, the other is a cream canvas with black leather trim and black and gold gems.  

I've been lazy about changing bags lately 

and only took one bag on vacation.  

So this young lady is coming out of the closet today.  

Oh, where shall we go?

I'm Going to the Party!

Joan over at Anything Goes Here is hosting a Vintage Holiday Blog Party.  Pop over to her blog to see what it's all about then sign up to join in the fun! 

We're not usually home for the 4th.  Since we live so far away from family we visit them around the holidays.  Plus there's nascar in Chicago the next weekend so.....  (Does anyone else's vacations revolve around sporting events?)  Anyway, since we'll be home, I more excited about decorating with the red, white, and blue.  I can think of a few things I haven't bothered to put out in a few years. 

And, want to convince my Mr. Wonderful we need to have a pool party. 

Ya, wish me luck with that.

I've figured out how to get this party graphic into my blog now I need to firgure out how to get it into my side bar with a link.  My kids will be around this summer so hopefully they can teach me a thing or two about a thing or two.  So, please, wish me luck with that as well!