fourth of july decor roundup!

 i'm being lazy right now and NOT creating any new summer decor content
for the Fourth of July.

but that doesn't mean i don't have loads of previous projects

to inspire your celebrations!

click HERE to see ALL of my past fourth of july blog posts & projects
(the first four are yellow - but they'd be perfect in red, white and blue!)

see more inspo on my July Pinterest board

continue viewing post...

festive 'foo foo faux food' for the fourth!

a miracle happened yesterday... a thrift store near us was OPEN!

so, masked up with sanitizing wipes in hand, Mom and i tiptoed through the door

and were welcomed by a cheerful young lady who was wiping down the register counter.

only one other person was in the store, so we felt quite safe.

and on the way to the back of the shop, 

where there are many many bookshelves filled with many many books 

- for just ten cents each, which is why we LOVE this thrift shop! - 

i spied a brand new roll of vintage crepe paper (probably from the 70's)

and my weakness for vintage paper ephemera began nagging at me. 

(spurred on by the fact that i haven't been out thrifting since February!)

yes, i bought it. i spent a whole TWENTY FIVE CENTS on it!

nope, i had NO IDEA what i was going to use it for. i just couldn't resist.

but then i came home, sat it on the sideboard in my studio,

 next to a few small bottles holding old paper flags.

and an idea for a 'fast, cheap, & easy' accent for the Fourth of July was born!

click through to see the details...

diy fourth of july

Fourth of July weekend is coming up in just DAYS,
and no matter where or how you are celebrating
during this crazy quarantine you probably need some easy 'use what you have' ideas!

so i've pulled together all of the previous red, white & blue projects, ideas, & decor
that i've shared here at homewardFOUND since 2012

to inspire your patriotic celebrations!

continue reading to see them all...

NEW! Sweet Sweater Pops!

so a funny thing happened while i was creating my last blog post...

i was typing in additional ideas for accessories that one might use

on one's own versions of my Sweet Sweater Sandbabies.

things like ball caps popped into my mind. and THAT led me down a rabbit hole...

it went something like this:

"yeah! ball caps! ball caps?! baseball! hot dogs! beer! popcorn! 

POPCORN??!! waaaaaiiiiiiiit a minute... i have...."

at which point i ran out of my studio to the garage, to the party supply bins,

where i found the paper and plastic popcorn containers i knew were in there.

i returned to my studio and dragged out the box with sweater remnants,

and there was a bag filled with wonky fuzzy yarn that is the color of UNbuttered popcorn.

my crazy brain puts two and two together and the result is those guys up above:
Sweet Sweater Pops!

Red, White, and Blue PATRIOTIC Pops.

and then the ideas REALLY started poppin'... continue reading to see!

NEW! Sweet Sweater Sandbabies!

in my last post, i shared my new 'sweet sweater kakamora'

along with a 'flashback' to a previously unseen 'sweet sweater sandbaby':

and he was cute.... but he needed some color to fit into my studio/office decor!

so i grabbed some bright beach buckets, white beach hats,

one last tan sweater from my stash, and one tan chenille 'sweet sweater pumpkin'
and started playing around....

the happy result was these three adorable beach babies in colorful buckets!

oh, but wait... i didn't stop there! keep reading to see what happened NEXT!

a found & foraged flag

you know, i love decorating with red white and blue
just as much as the next patriotic American... but... 

what if i don't want to use red and blue in my home, 

and want to stick with white + warm neutrals?

well... i found a way to do exactly that, and still have a focus on the flag for the Fourth of July!

i was cleaning out the garage (which may just be a summer-long project, i tell you...)

and found a bunch of materials left over
from when i closed the homewardFOUND shop last March.

when i looked at the weathered white fence pickets,
and the blue-ish zinc metal scraps, i saw a flag.

 so i got busy assembling it on the workbench...
and that metal in the top photo isn't what you think it is!

...continue reading to see how i made my own faux zinc!

summer kickoff: red, white & blue

 over the years i've shared so many 'fast, cheap & easy'TM tips for decorating...

and my faves are always the party themes!

the 'official' start of summer is on the horizon! 

don't you agree that summer parties should be EASY to pull together? 

uncomplicated? fun? whimsical? and inexpensive? i thought you would! 

so let's use stuff we already have - nothing precious or expensive, just simple.

continue reading for one of my easiest centerpieces EVER - plus a few helpful tips...

Red, White and Blue - Water?!

 my 'famous' strawberry & blueberry flavored water

was featured in a past post about front porch decor here on the blog.
it really is pretty, isn't it?!
I made and served this beverage at the vintage shows that I hosted on my farm in Washington,
and it was included in one of the articles i wrote for a magazine.

It's a simple 'Fast, Cheap & Easy' idea (my trademark!) for summer entertaining:

Just put layers of frozen blueberries, ice cubes, and fresh strawberries

in an old glass jar, then fill the jar with water.

They flavor the water ever so subtly - SO refreshing on a hot day - 
and it looks absolutely perfect for a patriotic party!

I can't believe how many times that image has been shared and pinned since then! 
It's my most popular pin EVER, so I want to thank you for the love!

i've always thought that photo was too dark, 
but i can't remove it because of all of the pins & shares - 
so i've added a better, edited image up above in this post and re-pinned it!

You can see another version of my flavored water here

and here

shared online:

Cupcakes & Crinoline | Project Inspire{d}

the How To Home | Project Inspire{d} #274

creatively beth | team creative crafts linky party #147 (2023)

thank you for featuring my project, Miss Beth!

memorial day, labor day, fourth of july, patriotic party decor, red white and blue decor,
red white and blue berry water, entertaining, patriotic party drinks, diy, homeward found decor

patriotic wall art

this combination of vintage sheet music and a salvaged vintage bottle
is a 'Fast, Cheap & Easy'TM project for summer,
one that's easy to create and enjoyable for the whole season!

A 1" pine board scrap is painted, then covered with a piece of vintage sheet music
[the one above is 'America the Beautiful'- perfect for July decor!]

A piece of baling wire holds the bottle securely on the board.
Put a screw into the front of the board and wrap a wire around it, then tightly around the bottle.
[make it possible to untwist the wire and remove the bottle, so you can fill with water]
Then put two screws into the top outer corners of the board, 

and attach another wire to hang the whole thing on the wall.

I also added a few patriotic words snipped from old books to the front of the bottles.
[I only use damaged books for that!]

Place a single flower in the vase, or perhaps a vintage flag!

i made these years ago and sold them at a vintage show,
and displayed them hanging on an old crib spring, that was hung on the barn wall:

Don't have scrap wood?

Grab some from the scrap bins at the local hardware store.
Don't have vintage sheet music?
Look online for images you can download and print, or use a magazine or book page instead.

 And even a new bottle will work for this project!

See more of my embellished bottle creations here

shared online:

funky junk interiors | diy salvaged junk projects #534

beachy summer color palette

In my mind, all seasonal inspiration begins with nature.
The combinations of color that appear in every natural setting on Earth are flawless...

consisting of perfectly coordinated shades and hues, contrasts and compliments.

So when people ask me 'How do you know what colors go together?'

or 'How do you pick a color scheme?',
I tell them to go outside.
Literally! Because it's outside, in nature, every season, that you'll find the 'perfect' color...

Case in Point: the photo shown above.

I snapped that image at Newport Beach, California in April.
It contains a perfect summer color scheme:

The palette of varied blues, grays, tans, browns, and whites

is crisp, fresh, and perfectly balanced between cool and warm tones, lights and darks.

This palette can be translated as a sleek modern look or a cozy country style.

Here's one way to create rooms around that palette:

Can you see it?
The palette of varied blues, grays, tans, browns, and whites?
It's there in all of the details, materials, and surfaces.

We've changed the proportion of color use from the beach photos -
instead of blue being the primary color, neutral tans secondary, and white accents,
We have white as the overwhelming primary color here, with neutral tans secondary,
then touches of blue as an accent. 

In my small Cottage, the color scheme remains the same in each room - 

white backdrops, neutral surfaces, and blue accents.
That helps the small spaces flow into one another and feel larger.
In a home with larger rooms and more space, blue could be used on some walls and furnishings.

Even the simplest accent - like an old door turned into a bulletin board - plays on that palette.
The decor is simple, fresh, and brings the feeling of summer days at the beach indoors.

A photo of a place you love to spend time is a PERFECT starting point for your decor!
If you love to go there on vacation, why not decorate your home to reflect that place, 

and enjoy it every day?!

[I've actually just completed a decor project with EXACTLY that premise, 

and will be sharing it in upcoming posts.]

So what says 'Summer' to you?
 The beach? The mountains? The lake? Mexico? Hawaii?
Find your inspiration and color schemes in the locales you love,
and bring that summer feeling HOME!