Okay, here it is…finally. Once again I got caught up in things with life and forgot to post this re-post from last year. I just glanced over this post and it took me back to that time and I realized that the summer cold I was writing about down below turned out to be a Hurthle cell thyroid tumor. Way down deep pressing on my voice box, no one knew. It wasn’t a summer cold after all.
Thank you God, it turned out non-cancerous but I did loose my voice for awhile and that was no fun. Now I just have a scar across my neck but I am okay. So please, get your thyroids checked. I am terrible at that stuff because I have a deathly fear of anything medical. Okay, I am done writing about that, so I will add a little extra about this old post from the past. I had a giant pile of my kid’s old jeans they out grew. I wanted to post something for 4th of July celebrations and thought it would be fun to do something with the jeans and our flag.
I think my favorite project was the little block houses. Which reminds me, I have a whole box of blocks I still need to up-cycle. Oh how I wish there were more hours in the day. Anyway, hope you guys get a chance to do some of these projects.
Repost-
Happy fourth of July everyone. This post would have been better a few days ago to give you all time to decorate for this holiday but I was out for a while with a summer cold. Better late than never. At least Americana can be displayed throughout the year.
I got this idea after watching a morning show one day when they had an old pair of jeans on display and were talking about how much the jeans went for at an auction…lets just say it was a crazy amount, I think it was in the six digits.
So before you recycle those old jeans please make sure you didn’t accidentally pick up some old cowboy jeans second hand that Doc Holiday wore or whatever gunslinger out there owned. Here in Arizona who knows what you will come across when out junk shopping.
Supplies needed:
Old jeans
Needle/thread
Fabric scraps in red and white colors.
Glue
Assorted embellishments.
Cotton stuffing (you can use an old pillow you buy second hand for stuffing)
Yarns and threads in red, white and blue colors
Coffee and vanilla extract (optional)
Old wooden blocks
Mod podge or water down glue for decoupage.
Wooden skewers or dowels
Small terra cotta pots
Acrylic paints in red white and blue
Green felt or fabric for flower leaves
Moss
Styrofoam
Star templates
Twine
Red dye
Okay I think that just about covers it in supplies. This is one of those projects that is a lot funner when you work in a group. I love seeing what others come up with when designing their own art. Folk art has always been one of my favorite subjects and I have several pieces of folk art in my collection of crazy things I collect.
Americana decorating is anything patriotic, country farmhouse or primitive. Old board games like checkerboards, baskets and old quilts are also great Americana items. Even old advertising can be used in Americana decorating.
Pioneers back in the day had to hand make a lot of their items like rag dolls and table runners with dried flower arrangements in tin cans. They had to put that homey feeling in their houses. I can’t imagine what it was like back then to not have a giant home store to buy linens from or the Internet to shop. You really did have to be creative back in Great Grannies day.
First project- pincushions. You can use your jeans to make pincushions, like these chubby little denim pincushion dolls below.
Because our family has so many different nationalities in us I thought it would be fun to include little flags with the dolls. Adding buttons, little charms and miniatures to your pin cushions adds character. I even made a whimsical rodeo clown with one of the dolls.
I always joke with my family that we are American mutts. I was inspired by the Swedish side of my family and my kid’s Italian Nonna for this doll. kind of a combination of both.
I love all the traditions passed down from my ancestors. Americana is all about those folk art traditions that grandma and grandpa taught us.
Click here for detailed instructions on how to make pincushion dolls and here for a free coloring page of the flags.
I also made some tomatoes pincushions by dying some of the jeans a scarlet red. Then I added a tree branch as a stem. Tomato pin cushions were very popular back in the Victorian times. They were given as gifts to new brides for their homes to help ward off evil. A real tomato was originally used but sometimes they were hard to come by and they weren’t in season. That is when they started making little fabric tomatoes to add to their mantles.
Next project- up-cycled wooden houses. There was nothing wrong with these houses, but me being me, thought these homes needed a little update. You can do just about any design when you come across these little wooden wonders. I have a bunch of these tiny homes up in the window at Our Little Red House up north.
I repainted them first, then added fabric scraps to cover them with. For a rustic and folk art look just paint coffee over them. Add some vanilla to your coffee to cut down on the coffee smell. You can also use watered down brown acrylic paint.
Bookmarks- this is fairly simple. Use a sewing machine to add stitches to your scraps or sew little designs by hand. Cut out scraps of fabric to add to your bookmarks (example-the flag). Add pom poms or tassels to the ends.
Fabric flowers- These are fun to make and have been around for ages. Fabric flowers are a great way to introduce sewing to kids. Glue your flowers to a skewer and paint it green, then add green felt leaves. Buy different sizes of Terra cota pots and have the little ones paint and decorate the pots in the Americana colors of red, white and blue. Add embellishments like buttons and beads to the center of your flowers. For instructions on how to make fabric flowers click here
Fabric star banners- another fun project and easy sewing project for beginners. I thought this star banner would look pretty hung across the big picture window up north. Just draw out a star or use templates to trace all different sizes of fabric stars. Sew, Stuff, then string together using ribbon or twine.
Hope all these projects keep you busy. You can use your jeans for other flag colors too. I loved the Canadian project that dandelionbouquet worked on. Happy crafting everyone and please remember to include all ages and skill levels when crafting.
May you all have a safe and wonderful 4th of July celebration wherever you may be. Special thanks to all our military and their families’…thank you for your services and please stay safe and healthy out there in the world.
The toilet paper embroidery photo is from my cousin out in Arkansas. My cousin opened a little shop out there called Heavenly Stitches where they do the most beautiful embroidery projects on baby things, blankets, hats, and just about anything you can think of. I am so proud of them following their dreams and going for it. I am not getting anything for promoting their business, just wanted to let them know I am proud of them MarDean that is so cool what you did, love it. Happy 4th to all of you out there in Oklahoma and Arkansas.
Very cute! Love the dolls and flowers the most. But those houses what a great idea!
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Thank you.
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So cute!
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Thank you.
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Wow! These are really amazing
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Thank you, so glad you like them and they are pretty easy to make, especially the bookmarks.
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So cute!!! What an adorable 4th of July decoration!
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Thank you.
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Oh my gosh! How cute is this?!? I just posted today about Disney Americana and you’ve inspired me to do one of my next Mickey ears in blue jean!!
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I bet it will be so cute. I never thought of denim Mickey Ears…how cool. If you get a chance send a photo and have fun making them too. I love fabric there is so much we can do with it.
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Pin cushions are a great idea – I’m thinking those little cowgirls would be great for the Calgary Stampede – different flag for each country entered in the rodeo events. (Have to have all white hats thought – its tradition 🙂 Thanks for sharing. Super creative.
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Thank you. Love to see your Calgary Stampede when you finish. I get my little cowboy hats from a little mom and pop hobby store in our area. I bet Amazon has them. The white cowboy hats would be perfect as wedding favors too. Hope you are able to find some, I love your idea of the flags for the rodeo event as well.
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Wedding favors are great idea! I love you creative ideas and inspirations
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Thanks so much, just got back from a trip to that hobby store. I will be making some cute little DIY’s for my 12 days of Christmas crafts in December because I am trying to get a head start on posting. We will see what I can get done and prescheduled. I love the holidays with pumpkins, ornaments and handmade gifts…I can’t wait.
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I am so happy to read that you are ok!
Love the stars……..they look so amazing!
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Thank you Wendi, hope all is well in your part of the world and you are having a wonderful forth of July. The stars were so easy to make. I have them up north, not here in the city. Sometimes it is so relaxing to grab a needle and thread and sew up little things while watching a good movie.
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i completely agree!
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All are pretty amazing I love, love, love this blog! That is awesome that they opened an embroidery shop! I love the pin cushions I need to make me one! I always keep any extra material from anything. Fireworks are going off here like crazy! You are so creative I just love and enjoy it and I could learn a thing or 2 from you or a bunch! I come on to write a blog and then I get lost in reading happens every time! That’s so neat how when you dyed the denim material it came out striped! All these are great work I wonder where you find the time! I need to squeeze some in myself to create. just received my new crochet kit and knitting needles today!
Happy Fourth of July!
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Happy 4th too.
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I love those tiny red white blue buildings and the stars banner, super cute!
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Thank you Mel.
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Such great ideas. We’ll have to keep this in mind for making some DIY decorations for next 4th of July. We’re always looking for inspiration as we try to live a self-sufficient lifestyle. Happy 4th of July to you and yours!
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Thank you, have a fun Happy 4th of July.
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SUPER CRAFTY IDEAS!!!!!! I HOPE YOU ARE FEELING ALL BETTER SOON!!!!! HAVE A SUPER GREAT WEEKEND!!!!!
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Thank you Kathy, you as well. I am feeling a lot better too.
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happy belated 4th. we are so busy with family time and on the days we are not I am so tired I barley make it on to blog. hope July is off to a great start in your neck of the woods
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Thank you, I know what you mean. Summer time is always slow in the blogging world. I will be taking the whole month of August off from blogging, so I won’t be online but I will have several pre-posts scheduled and some repost from last year. I really need to catch up on stuff and blogging can take a lot of time. I will be back in September from my August break with fun Fall DIY’s and hopefully recipes and Arizona adventures to share with everyone. It is good to take breaks now and then.
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Thank you, so fun turning old clothes into other things.
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