Baskets For The Fourth

 The Fourth of July is this coming week!?!  How did that happened?  This summer is flying by.

Decided to decorate a graduated set of baskets to carry the goodies out to the backyard.

Might as well make them special while I am painting them.

 
Used Folk Art Barn Red in a slap-dash way - didn't want complete coverage.

 Chose three different calico prints in red, white and blue.  

Pinked a cover cloth for each.

Attached a patriotic tag with some torn ribbons from the same cloth.

Read how to make the tags here. 

The large one is holding the sets of tags right now - it would be perfect for buns.

 The medium one is definitely for chips.

The small one can hold the cutlery.










 
Of course they look fine just hanging out together outside. 

Maybe they deserve plants instead of food.

Well, too lazy to decide now.

Molly approves of the baskets sitting outside - as long as they don't disturb her catnip!












 
We don't do much but hang around and swim on the Fourth.  That is fine and dandy - just relaxing!

See y'all!

Be Inspired at Common Ground!

Patriotic Tags

 Tattered tags in the traditional red, white and blue - just for you!

I made these a different way from the last two tag posts.  Read here and here!

I think you will like the marbleized look of these.

 Using shipping tags, I painted each front with a watered craft paint in blue.  While the tag was wet, I turned it face down on some crumbled waxed paper and smashed it.

This leaves wet blue paint on the waxed paper so I flipped the tag over to the unpainted side and smashed again.

  Put them out on the screens to dry.

Don't worry about the curl - they will flatten as they dry.

A beautiful marbleized look on both the front and the back.  The finish is further enhanced with a light spray of walnut ink.

AAAHHH - distressed, tattered, and now marbleized!

Primitive little white stars and red stripes were painted on with craft paint.

 Red and white ticking fabric was torn into ribbons for the ties.

Perfect for labeling your goodies for a Fourth of July picnic!









See y'all!

Be Inspired at Common Ground!

Simply Spools

I find these cardboard spools of thread at sales or thrift shops.  A lot of times people just dump them, but I love the shape of them.

There are many decorative projects utilizing the spools.

In this post, they will simply be spools.



Of course there will be torn cotton ribbons and tags!

 I bought this bin of spools at an estate sale last weekend. (Read Fleaing Springfield here!) Unfortunately Willie, the wonder dog, thought they were great dog toys.  He managed to get yards of thread off a couple of the spools, but I managed to save the rest.

These spools were dusty from being in a garage for years.  I used a soft brush to remove any dirt or dust.

Any loose threads were clipped.

The torn cotton ribbons were tied around each spool. Both solids and patterns were used.

At the flea market I had scored a basket of 1960's  patterns for children's clothes.

I chose three of them.

Scanned them into the computer.

This is a great way to use your vintage patterns without destroying them.

 I printed them out nine to a page.  Notice the pale ink colors.  My printer is running out of ink.  I hate to waste a single drop since it is expensive.  So at the end of the cartridges, I select images I am going to distress anyway and keep printing until all ink is gone.

 

(On a slightly creepy note, my printer emailed Staples to tell them it needed some cyan ink!  WHAT!?!)

You knew it, didn't you?   I made tags!

The fronts were overprinted with my favorite script stamp and the backs printed with a damask stamp.

Scalloped edges and a tie of mini-jute completed the tags.

Here is a close-up of my favorite one.

 Here is a selection of them on top of a bookcase with lace underneath and a shadowbox behind.

The spools are simply great for sitting in little nooks and crannies or piled into a basket.

Quite simply the spools are ornies - little decorative ornaments for your home.

Enjoy.




See y'all!









I will be over at Funky Junk Interiors for Party Junk 193!