MAKE IT AMERICANA

Fourth of July is coming up on us fast!! Can't believe the summer is going by so fast. Time has already turned around so that means the days are getting shorter. Oh no!!!! So what do all of you have planned for the holiday? Picnics, boating, etc??? We are just going to be staying home, but the following week we are going to take the week off and go camping and riding our ATV's. Love to ride those machines.............best toys we ever bought!!


So in honor of the Fourth of July this year I thought I would share this Americana decorating idea with all of you. When you think of Americana, all things red, white and blue come to mind. Bringing the patriotic spirit into your home can be as easy as hanging an American flag. Incorporate a few of these ideas to give your home warmth and style this summer. :)

 

Early American décor, such as spinning wheels, vintage quilts, historical documents and presidential portraits will give your room a historical look and patriotic feel.

For a rustic/country-inspired look, add primitive folk art – flags, stars and folksy motifs in red, white and blue. Amish barn stars, rusty star garlands, a rustic wooden flag and small American flags tucked into crocks or baskets will complement any room and add instant flair. Place a potted red geranium in a small crock for an instant pop of color.

 

If the traditional colors of red, white and blue do not flow with your décor, try using slightly different shades like burgundy instead of red, antique cream instead of white or country blue instead of the traditional blue.  Use coffee stained table runners, linens or other items in patriotic themes to tone down the colors. This will give them an antique or primitive look.

Showcase your items against a neutral backdrop. Displaying them against a wallpapered wall will only create a busy scene. Your collections will already be colorful by themselves. Put them up against a neutral background so they can take center stage. Americana is based on the simplicity of country. Keep it simple.

Remember, patriotic décor does not have to be just for the Fourth of July. Our love of the past goes hand-in-hand with celebrating our country’s birthday. Hope some of these ideas inspire you to get busy decorating your home to celebrate the wonderful holiday of our independence.
                                                                               Reprinted by permission from The Country Register of Minnesota


 I hope all of you have a great 4th of July and enjoy! Thanks for visiting. :)
                                                               
 

GOOD BYE GOOGLE READER

Well as usual in the techy world they always seem to want to change things that are working just fine!! I get so frustrated at this!!!! So with Google Reader going away in just a week I wanted to remind all of you that follow me on your Google list this will be going away on July 1st. I have read a lot about this and I am not very techy so it gets a little confusing to me, but I think Bloglovin is a good way to go. A few months ago when I first learned about this happening I added a "Follow Me On Bloglovin" (on my left side bar) button for all of you to be able to continue to follow me. I appreciate all of you that have done this so far. I really don't want to loose any of you faithful followers so I am posting a little tutorial here to help you move all of your blog list to Bloglovin.

You can import the blogs that you follow on Google Friends/Google Reader by going to this page now. Click on Here.

From here you can create an account. You can use Facebook to sign up with, but I am an email person so I use that.




After you put all your information this screen will come up. Just click on the "Import from Google Reader" button.



 

On this screen click on the "ACCEPT" button.






Then depending on how many blogs you follow it will only take a moment for this step.





Then whalla.........you are finished! Easy peasy!! If I can do it all of you can also!! It was very easy so I hope you will continue to follow me and all of your other blogs with Bloglovin. Once you have an account set up you can have your list sent daily to your email, which is what I do, so you can keep up on the great post from all of your blogs. I am sure there are several other sites that you can use to do this I just use Bloglovin as that was recommended to me and it seems very easy to use and I am all about "user friendly"!  :)

CELEBRATING THE FIRST DAY OF SUMMER!!

 

Well summer is finally upon us!! We made it!! It has been busy as usual. I can't believe it is just clicking right along....oh where does the time go. I have been busy with my local market, praying for the fire victims in Colorado and enjoying the sun. Yes.....we even have sun up here in Alaska the last few weeks and temps in the 70's which is unheard of where I live!!

 

 

I love to quilt and I just don't get much time to do that so I thought in celebration of the first day of summer I would do a treasury of summertime quilts! So here it is. Hope you enjoy and enjoy your first day of summer!!
 

 

 



                                                      

Celebrating the first day of summer!

Summer Time Flip Flop Quilt QuiltsbyLaTany... $300	Handmade Pinwheel Lap Quilt ... PatsPassionQui... $180
Original Contemporary Art Qu... LauraGlassArtQ... $325	9 Country Quilt Design Folk ... Taiga91 $10
Beautiful Handmade Girl'... LindsayJanesCo... $28	Bucket List Quilt Pattern SeaQuiltsShop $8
Bold Colors Quilt, Lap or Ba... PatsPassionQui... $135	Vintage Quilt Cover Butterfl... MOJEART $55
Baby Quilt Sale - Daisy Fiel... RobinsonPatter... $69	On SALE 50 Percent Off Origi... FlowerPatchDes... $49.95
A Narnia Summer Evening 15 1... RebeccasRabbit... $16	Flowers, Robins, Butterflies... QuiltMix $75
Garden Whimsy (Summer) Art Q... HartworkQuiltC... $60	Watermelon Tablerunner Kit kimsbigadventu... $23
MAGNIFICENT Vintage 1940 ... TextilesandOld... $325	Sunflower Quilt LaurasQuiltsan... $185

Sponsored by send bulk email from excel.

WHAT A SON WON’T DO FOR HIS DAD

I read this the other day and thought it was pretty cute. Thought you all might like to read it. Good for Father's Day! Happy Father's Day to all you Dad's out there!!

 

  

An old man lived alone in the country. He wanted to dig his potato garden, but it was very hard work and the ground was hard. His only son, Fred, who used to help him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament.

 

Stock photo

Dear Fred,

   I am feeling pretty bad because it looks like I won’t be able to plant my potato garden this year. I am just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. If you were here my troubles would be over. I know you would dig the plot for me.

 

                                                                                    Love,

                                                                                    Dad

 

A few days later he received a letter from his son.

 

Dear Dad,

   For heaven’s sake, don’t dig up that garden! That is where I buried the BODIES!!!

 

                                                                                    Love,

                                                                                    Fred

 

 

At 4 am the next morning, FBI agents and local police arrived and dug up the entire area without finding any bodies. The apologized to the old man and left. That same day the old man received another letter from his son.

 

Dear Dad,

   Go ahead and plant the potatoes now. That is the best I could for your under the circumstances.

 

                                                                                    Love,

                                                                                    Fred

 

 

Hope all you Dad's have a great day!!

 

 

BACK TO WORK

Did you miss me??? I was gone for a week and you probably didn't even notice me being gone. :)  We took a week off from all the hustle and bustle around here and spent a few days down in Las Vegas. My oh my it was HOT!!! One day it was 111 degrees. I thought us two polar bears from Alaska were going to die!! Did get to visit with my niece and finally meet my little great niece. What a cutie she is. She has had a rough road so far. She was born with a serious heart condition and  has several other issues, but what a trooper she is! Glad to be back home to the cooler weather for sure.

Volcano in front of Mirage Hotel

Well my summer market season has started. Have had a couple of weeks of them and it hasn't been too bad of a start. They weather has been wonderful which is out of the ordinary. Usually it is cold and raining, but we have lucked out....knock on wood it continues.

Hey guess what??? I have been asked to do guest blog articles for By Your Hands Blog! I am so excited to contribute to this blog. They have some really good posting so I am honored to have been asked. Now I have to come up with some good articles for all the followers. YIKES!! Hope I can do this. :)  Come on over here and join me. :)

Also wanted to let all of you know that the Old Farmhouse Gathering is having an Americana Challenge where you can vote for your favorite shop and you have a chance to win a prize so when you get a chance just hop on over here and check them out.

 

 

Well I better get busy and get to sewing to be ready for the market again this week. Hope everyone has a great week! I have a new recipe for you to check out. Just in time for those summer BBQ's. :)