4th of July Decor

I love Independence Day!

It’s all about our freedoms, family, and fun!

Thought I’d better get my behind in gear and do some decorating. Here’s what I’ve come up with so far.

Love the red of the apples plus I’m as American as Apple Pie!

I also have a bit of Native American blood in me and love displaying my arrows.

I don’t have a mantle so usually try and decorate my front entry area. I’m not one that goes all out and decorates every nook and cranny in my house. I love seeing homes that are but I guess I’m too lazy to do that. It’s the getting it all out and putting it all back away. So, I stick with my entry way and a few pieces here and there in the house, except for Christmas.

I’ve also made up a flag pillow to add to the occasion and wanted to give you a tutorial on how I did mine. These make a great statement and are pretty easy to make. I did mine in about an hour not including drying time.

I’ve fallen in love with a fabric called Osnaburg I found at Hobby Lobby. It’s actually really inexpensive, especially when you use your 40% off coupon. I paid about $2.50 a yard. It’s similar to an unbleached linen but it has amazing texture. Kind of an elegant form of burlap.

You will also need acrylic paints in red, white, and blue. A sponge brush, painters tape, a filler to stuff your pillow, stars, and a sewing machine.

I cut two pieces of the fabric 14″x20″. You can do any size. For the next step lay plastic or newspaper down so you don’t get paint on your work surface. Lay one of the fabric pieces on your work surface and tape around the area on the flag you will be painting blue. Using a dry sponge brush gradually fill in this area with paint. Let dry a few minutes and lift your tape off. Tape off the red stripe areas of your flag and repeat. I just eye-balled the size of these sections. If you are uncomfortable doing that you can measure. Let the red stripes dry a few minutes and repeat the process with the white stripes.

Once the paint is completely dried I sanded over the whole surface to take off the roughness and give it a more rustic look.

I also sewed on the metal stars at this point. You could use painted wood stars or any other star item. I used my Crop a dile to punch the holes inthe stars. You could also use a hammer and nail.

When that’s done I put the flag and the back of the pillow right sides together and sewed a half inch seam allowance around the outside edge leaving a space for stuffing later. Cut the corners so your pillow’s corners will look better. Turn your pillow right side out and stuff. Hand stitch the opening shut.