4th of July: Home Decor & More! 2014

The fourth will be here soon, so I'm addressing all of my holiday happenings in one post! 

*****Holiday Decor*****

 Most of my holiday items are photos of the kiddos celebrating in their red, white and blues, but here are a few I can share.

A jar of sparkle, a couple of pin-wheels in the garden, and wind socks at the front door.

 Of course we have a couple of patriotic ducks in the kids bathroom!

 *********Hand & Footprint Art*********

I like to do hand or footprint art for each season/ holiday.  It's another item I can switch out (along with my photographs) that reminds us how much the kids have grown and brings back fun memories.  They are framed and displayed with my holiday photos.

(Inspiration found on Pinterest)

 This one belongs to my Baby Girl.

 And this one we just did for the Little Guy.



 *****Holiday Quilting*****

 My 4th of July 'quilt'

A few of the patches I'll be adding this year.



Here's the thing about my 'quilting', they aren't really quilts..heeheehee!  They are called 'cheat quilts' and I learned about it on Pinterest.  All you have to do is find a quilted comforter to use as your base and hand stitch your patches on top.  Once you fill it up, you can sew through all of the layers to give it  a more quilted look, or leave it as it is.

I started these because I really wanted to keep many of my Baby Girl's baby items, but didn't know what to do with them.  A quilt was the perfect way to keep all of the adorable fabrics (and the memories that go with them), however I was very hesitant.
I was even considering hiring someone to put it together for me, but then Aunt Jan said, "Oh I know you can do this yourself".  That was it, I found the Pinterest idea and jumped right in! 

Once I finished the baby quilt I started making one for each holiday season as well.  Now we have one for the 4th, Halloween/ fall, Christmas, Valentine's and the beginnings of one for the Little Man.  It's memory madness, I blame Aunt Jan!  ;)

Since the kids are still growing the quilts are by no means filled up yet, but that's ok.  I like having them as 'patchy' throws on the back of the couch.  Especially since each patch is a different memory from a different year.

Here is something to consider:
In a standard quilt each piece of the top section is stitched together before being attached to the middle and bottom sections (sort of like a sandwich).  When you make a 'cheat quilt' the way that I do, the patches are added one by one, over time.  This means that there are raw edges of fabric exposed, which over time will fray.  I am ok with this look (when quilts are made this way intentionally they are called rag quilts I think), but if you desire a more finished looking piece you should sew all top pieces of your quilt together first.  This will require that you wait until all of your patches have been collected before you can finish and begin using your quilt.  I suppose you could also hem each patch if you wanted to make it over the years and avoid fraying.  Just something to consider. :)

That's it for now, hope you enjoyed!

-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2014