4th of July Decorations

Carol said she had missed my post of 4th of July decorations - well, she didn't because I never posted them.  :)  I got them out early and threw some up, but never really tweaked it the way I normally do.  Actually, I supposed I still put out more than the average person (not you fine holiday lovin' blog readers), but "normal" folks. 

So, here's a rundown.

I did put out my feather tree for the first time for the 4th.  I had this resin Uncle Sam holding a watermelon that was always a bit odd, but I still liked it.  It occurred to me that it would make an excellent tree topper - and it did.

I decorated it with Japanese lanterns and a garland I made out of blue baker's twine and silver foil stickers.  I planned on making some crackers for it, but never got around to it.  (That would explain the basket full of TP rolls sitting on the floor under the tree.  Classy.

The famous holiday shelves packed with all sorts of Patriotic and Americana stuff.  I realized that I packed away the Miss America Chocolate Covered Cherry box, which I consider to be the holy grail, in my Valentine's decor.  Sniff.  This year, I scrounged up the leftover fireworks after we blew them up and added them in.  I picked out the Yankee Doodle Dandy firework based solely on it's name and graphics, but it was the hit of the show. 

 Of course, Hazel has to get in the show.  She is wearing her 1970's vintage sundress and bloomers with a white sweater.  I put some of my red, white and blue vintage jewelry on her (since I won't actually wear it) and gave her a bucket to hold with a flag in it.  I normally cannot put a hat on her due to her molded hair, but, I decided I could get a paper hat on her.

I decorated it with a big glittery star, poker chip and a gummed star with some sparkly chenille trim added in for fun.  I think this is my favorite look for her so far.  She will be wearing more vintage jewelry in the future!

I rescued this little girl at a sale one day and sat her in the very location when I got home.  Now, I have to incorporate her into the holiday decor too!  She is wearing Hazel's matching necklace and holding a tiny banner I made.

I bought this little house last summer, so this is the first time I have gotten to use it.  I know the photo is blurry, but I wanted to show how it lights up and the fireworks go off above it.  Oh! It looks like there are some very important Presidential guests arriving!

The cloche with a few of my favorites. 

The Bean when he was three, a box of vintage poker chips, an eagle and Ben Franklin's Autobiography.  (The Bean is a collector of BF things, since he is our cousin.)

A mish-mash of things - I found the red, white and blue star material mixed in with my Great Grandfathers WWI Navy uniform - I am wondering if it came off the ship or something.  It is different and I love it.

In a perfect world, I would have a banner here every day of the year, but I only have this Patriotic one.  I think that even with my limited needle and thread only sewing skills, I may have to try to make one.  They are just so cheery.  (I have got to get rid of those rooster curtains...)