4th of July Decor | Occasionally Crafty: 4th of July Decor

Thursday, June 24

4th of July Decor

So, I wanted to make something I could use for both Memorial day and the 4th of July.  It took me awhile to get to it, but I finally came up with this.


This was pretty easy, and the best thing is you could use any variation of patriotic words.

Materials:  3 pieces cut from a 2x4-  7.5 inches, 5.5 inches, and 3.5 inches.
                 Stain or paint  (I used maple)
                 Scrapbook paper in red, white, blue, and yellow for the star
                 Mod Podge and brush
                 Button and thread or floss
                 Vinyl (if you don't have vinyl, I'll discuss other options below)

I simply cut my wood into the measured shapes, stained all the sides except where I wanted the paper, cut my scrapbook paper to fit, then Mod-Podged it on.  I sanded the edges of the paper for a more worn look.  For the star, I used my Silhouette to cut a primitive star shape, but you could just as easily cut it out freehand or trace it from a pattern.  I attached it to the block with 3-D foam tape so it would stick up a little.  I tied a little bow with floss through the button and hot-glued it on.

For the letters, I cut them using the Architect font on my Silhouette.  If you don't have vinyl, you could easily stencil it or use letter stickers.  Sometimes I have even just trimmed the scrapbook paper to fit my printer and used Microsoft Word to align the words where I wanted them on the paper, then printed them directly on the paper itself.

Oh- here's a hint.  If you are a digital scrapbooker, or even if you aren't- there are amazing free "papers" to download online.  I just made a document with strips of my digital paper, then printed it out and cut it to fit.  It was perfect!  I have "papers" for every occasion, all downloaded FREE, that are perfect for crafting.  Talk about a money saver!

This project took me about an hour and since I had all the materials on hand, it was FREE!

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5 comments:

  1. So great, love all the hints you provide, I am going to have to keep this in mind!

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  2. Thanks so much for linking your project up to Fab Finds for the Fourth!

    I just learned about the Silouette. How does it compare to Cricut? Do you like it better? I'd love to get one or the other soon and make some fun stuff.

    Hope you'll stop by again this Thursday for another Fab Finds!

    Enjoy your Sunday!

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  3. The thing I like most about the Silhouette is that there are no cartridges- you can download images for as low as 14c from their online store, or you can import any image or truetype font from your computer or online. So I find it a huge money saver in that way- though I understand Cricut has some software out now that performs in a similar way.
    Also Silhouette cuts 8 1/2 x11, whereas Cricut, I think, goes up to 12x12.
    And, Silhouette needs a computer, where Cricut is self-contained. So if you don't have a laptop and do a lot of scrapbooking away from home, that might be something to consider.

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  4. That is super cute!!! So simple but so cute!

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  5. Valerie,
    Simple and cute! how fun. Thanks for joining the Patriotic Parade!
    have a safe and happy 4th!
    Linda

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