4th of July Banner Tutorial with Printable

I love our country's Declaration of Independence.  I love it because it's a cherished symbol of our nation's freedom, a national treasure that was written over 200 years ago bravely declaring our independence from Great Britain.  The 56 men who were part of the Continental Congress in 1776 signed their names to this document and by doing so were considered traitors by the King of England.  They were risking their lives and their honor for freedom for the United States of America.  I love it also because it is so beautifully handwritten.  Notwithstanding its content, the handwriting itself is a work of art.

I wanted to use this beautiful text somehow in a fun piece of decor for the upcoming 4th of July holiday.  I created a simple banner that I hung on the mirror over my sideboard.  If you'd like to make one too, here's a step-by-step tutorial:

Step 1.  Download* these three 8.5 x 11 pages and print them on heavy paper (I used 140 lb. Strathmore Watercolor paper because I wanted the flags to have texture and sturdiness.  I trimmed the 9" x 12" paper to 8.5" wide so that it would fit into my printer.)

*To download, just click on each thumbnail image and the full-size image will open.

Right click on the full-size image and save to your computer.

Banner Printable 1

Banner Printable 2

Banner Printable 3

Step 2.  Cut out the 9 Declaration of Independence flags that you just printed on heavy paper.


Step 3.  Cut out 9 strips of blue glitter paper (the length of each flag top by 1/2 inch wide).

Step 4.  Repeat step 3 with red glitter paper.

Step 5.  Glue the blue strips to each flag top, leaving a 1/4 inch of the strip showing at the top.

Step 6.  Repeat step 5 with the red glitter paper.


Step 7.  Download* the star and print on regular paper; cut it out and use it to trace stars on the glitter paper.  I used 5 red and 4 blue stars.  Cut out the glitter stars and adhere to flags (I used 3D tape so they would have a bit of dimension).

*To download, just click on the thumbnail image and the full-size image will open.

Right click on the full-size image and save to your computer.

Banner Printable 4

Step 8.  Punch holes in the banner tops and string bakers twine or other string through the banners.

Thank you for stopping by, and have a happy 4th of July!

I'm linking to these parties:

InLinkz.com

  

The Bee's Knees - June 4

A Cute Place to Make Stuff - Raising Up Rubies

There are so many creative blogs nowadays, sharing so many fun projects that I enjoy looking at and that inspire me.  And every now and then I come across a project that takes my breath away.  I love to share these projects with you - they're just too good to miss!  This week's featured project comes from Jaime over at Raising Up Rubies.  She transformed her formal living room (which is just off the kitchen) into an unbelievable craft room.  EVERYTHING in the room is beautifully done.

You've got to click over to her post about this room and check out all of the amazing details.  She shares over 30 photos of this fun space, including a fantastic idea for customizing standard bookcases.  Also, her sewing tabletop is soooooo creative and cute.

I could go on and on about Jaime's cute place to make stuff, but I'll let you see for yourself why I think her craft room is absolutely The Bee's Knees.  Thank you so much for stopping by!  I'll see you here tomorrow for a new segment of Tuesday's with Matt.

Kitchen Remodel Reveal

Here it is!
This is a link to our entry into the This Old House Reader Remodel Contest 2012!
Click Here to See Jon & Catherine's Kitchen Remodel

There are 6 images that show the remodel: 2 "before" photos and 4 "after" photos.To scroll through them, click the orange arrow.

At the bottom of the first screen is a place for you to rate our project.Slide that baby all the way over to 100 and click Submit!  Please?And do that as many times as your little heart desires ;)(I do think you have to exit and go back in for it to let you vote twice, or thrice, etc.)
The winner gets a 2012 GMS Sierra!  That'd be awesome!Thanks for stopping by, and thanks for voting for our project!

Easter Decor

Yesterday I shared with you my bunny paint chip art project.  Today, I'll show you the rest of my Easter decor, starting with this fun centerpiece that has been all over Pinterest lately:

I found the tutorial here.  It was so easy to make!
Here's another small Easter project that I did:

 I found this huge jar on clearance last month and decided I'd fill it with plastic eggs for Easter.  I wanted the eggs to be pastels, but more muted than I could find in the stores.  So I bought the bright colored eggs and spray painted them almond, pink, and blue.  The blue turned out too dark so I oversprayed them with the pink.  Then I simply dipped a wet toothbrush in brown paint and flicked speckles on the eggs.  These eggs go so well with my pastel bunnies and cross.

Another really simple but fun decoration that I use year-round are these jars that I keep on my kitchen counter:

I got the jars from Hobby Lobby and used a nail to poke a hole in the center of each lid.  Then I just screw on different drawer pulls (also from Hobby Lobby) depending on the season or holiday.The large jar always has coffee beans in it because I {LOVE} coffee!  The second jar's contents change depending on the season or holiday.  At Christmastime I filled the small jar with jingle bells and I had a red and white striped drawer pull on one (looked like a candycane) and a green glass pull on the other; for Thanksgiving I had acorns in it and the drawer pulls were brown and bronze.  In the summertime, I have crystal drawer pulls and lemons in the small jar.  Etc, etc, etc.  It's pretty fun to change them up every month or so!  
We are all ready for the Easter Bunny now!  Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Bunny Paint Chip Art

Who was the first person to think of using paint chips in a craft project?  Y'know, those free samples with all of the beautiful colors on them that we take when we're trying to pick paint colors?  The papers that for years we've all just thrown away?  Well.....whoever it was - genius!

There are so many cute and clever craft projects out there using paint chips.  I came across one such project just before St. Patrick's Day: the Shamrock Ombre Speciman Art from Lolly Jane Boutique.  As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to try it.  With Easter coming up, I made my own version of Kelli and Kristi's adorable paint chip art:

Instead of applying the cutouts to paper and framing it, I glued my bunnies directly to an 8 x 8 canvas that I had spray painted white (the canvas was already white, but I wanted it to be a bright white.)

  I added little white pom poms for bunny tails and that's it!  So easy!  

Easter is less than two weeks away now!  Time's a-flyin'.  Tomorrow I'll show you the rest of my Easter decor and some plastic eggs that I spray painted in muted pastels.  Until then, have a wonderful day, and if you're here in Utah, hold on to your hats! (This wind is crazy!)

I'm linking up to these blog parties: