Stars and Stripes – The AmeriCows

 Uncategorized  15 Responses »
Jul 042012
 
Happy 4th of July everyone!
I’d like to introduce you to the Americows  (America + Cows = AmeriCows).

These two lovely ladies were offered to me by a friend who felt I could give them a second life. Of course I wanted them. Who wouldn’t want wooden cow cutouts?! (You? Ok, I can accept that, but only if you agree to send me any and all cow cutouts you are offered)

*Update: There seems to be confusion about the size of the cows, they are only about 8 inches tall.



They have been kicking around the craft room for a few months a little while. I had originally planned to paint them and hang them outside on the barn somewhere around the barn quilt. I’ll be honest, they lacked vision. They wanted more than just a coat of paint.

They wanted personality.

So when I saw this Patriotic Rooster:



(First I fell in love) then I had my A-HA moment.

First I glued the leg back on the black cow (she had a boo-boo) and pried the hanger off the back of the white cow so the back could be the front. Then they each got one solid coat of paint. The right facing cow is Valspar La Fonda Deep Blue, the left facing cow is apple barrel white acrylic.

I cut a slightly wonky star out with my Slice on paper and used it as a stencil for the stars. The white is more apple barrel acrylic, I more or less dry brushed it.

The stripes are intentionally wavy, I free handed them with a small brush with Valspar Fairmount Penthouse Garnet. For those of you keeping track this is the THIRD project I’ve used these little jars for and I still have more than half left in each jar. I wasn’t paying attention as I worked and ended up with 14 stripes, oh well!

These ladies are destined to live on a shelf I haven’t put up yet. I’ll be curating their environment and getting up new pictures asap!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see you tomorrow for the party!

Summer Blog Challenge:

July 3rd: No big plans for summer travel, possibly a short trip to a water park or two with the family

Fourth of July Faux Mantle

 Uncategorized  6 Responses »
Jun 222012
 
Are you sick of my rustic, country chic Americana yet? No?

Awesome! Cause I’ve got another round for you!

I re-fanicificated the newly painted bookshelf for the upcoming holiday. You might recognize the Firecrackers and the 1776 embroidery from earlier in the week.
The newest projects are the woven burlap runner and the picture frame twine star. 
For the runner:
A piece of burlap for the base, a scrap of woven fabric, a safety pin and scissors.
Rip the fabric into strips. I used 3 strips about 3/4 in wide. 
Decide where you want the strips and pull out the burlap threads. Using the safety pin weave the strips through the burlap. I went over 10 and under 5 for the middle round and eyeballed similar spacing for the outside strips
Come back Sunday for a tutorial on the picture frame star!

Summer Blog Challenge:

Day 20:
Day 21: Recent words of wisdom: “Even if it breaks your heart” 
It’s my new motto. Kinda like Nike, Just Go For It
Day 22: When I was a kid I wanted to be a vet. Or a fashion designer. Or an artist. Or an equine massage therapist. 
I wanted to be a lot but there was always a theme of creativity and love of animals. 
I guess not much has changed :-)

4th of July Primitive Embroidery

 DIY  18 Responses »
Jun 192012
 
It seems that my country style is taking a primitive slant this summer. My fingers were itching for something fast and fun to add to the patriotic spirit in my home. I spent about 4 hours in the garden so I knew it had to be easy and my craft room is over flowing so it had to be a stash buster.

This is what I came up with:



You need: A small embroidery hoop
A scrap of burlap bigger than the hoop
A scrap of tightly woven fabric for behind the hoop
A scrap of blue print fabric for the star
Thick red string (I used crochet cotton)
A sharp needle with a large eye

Start by placing the out side hoop on the table, make sure it’s loose
Layer on the burlap and woven fabric. Sandwich tightly with the inner hoop.

Cut a star from the blue print. I highly recomend drawing out a quick 5 point star on paper and making a pattern. My first star looked like a wide, fat man with a really long inseam.

Pin the star onto the burlap closer to the top than center.
Stitch around the edge with a wide straight stitch.

Free-hand (stitch?) “1776″ below the star.
Trim and fray the burlap until you’re happy with it

Hang it up with next your Firecracker centerpiece and you are on your way to celebrating like its 1776!


Linked up at Funky Junk Interiors

Summer blog challenge:

Day 18:  I love this recipe for Cabbage Strudel  – if you follow this recipe you will end up with an excess of filling. But it’s still really good!

Day 19: Something I’m proud of? How about the progress I’ve been making in the garden (finally!)?
I’ll get some pictures up tomorrow but I’ll just say I planted squash, beets, carrots, cucumbers, beans, dill and melons. I also finished transplanting the tomatoes and excavated weeded around the kiwi, current and gooseberry bushes.