Last Minute Ideas for Your July 4th Celebration

Good Housekeeping

If you're running short on plans for your July 4th celebration don't panic, there is plenty of time to put together some fun ideas to make your party.

Create individual servings of chips or pretzels using a free downloadable template from Martha Stewart.

For a simple patriotic dessert, dip strawberries in melted white chocolate then roll in sugar that's been colored blue. (*Tip:Make your own colored sugar by adding a few drops of liquid food coloring to plain white sugar.)

Everyday with Rachel Ray




Use your leftover colored sugar to add a festive touch to the rim of glasses.

While you're at it, add a patriotic drink stirrer crafted from a bamboo skewer and metallic pipe cleaners. (A good project to get kids involved in the planning.)

Hostess with the Mostess

Create a patriotic centerpiece for you table using red, white and blue flowers

Via My Home Ideas

Finally, use what you have. Scour the house for anything in the colors of the flag. Ribbon, candies, marshmallows, craft supplies...Use your imagination. Sometimes the simplest decorations are the most charming.

All of You

Have a great holiday!

Finally Airborne!

Sometimes all it takes is a little persistence (and a whole lot of patience) to figure out the solution to a problem. Yesterday I shared my dilemma regarding my inability to get some floating shelves to, well, float.

I bought 3 of the Pottery Barn Crown Molding Shelves for a project and try as I might, I couldn't get the shelves to engage with the brackets.




Many floating shelves use brackets where the shelf is positioned on the bracket straight from the front but the PB shelves require you to slip the shelf on over the top of the bracket. I figured out that the problem wasn't the shelf/bracket combination, but that my walls are not level in some areas. Simply loosening the screws on each bracket slightly more than I had done to adjust for the wall's texture did the trick.

Sadly, my walls took a bit of a beating during the process and a little repair work is in order, just a few nicks, nothing major.

I'll be sharing this and a few other projects in a future post.

Project Interrupted

Who would have thought that a simple project like hanging a few floating shelves could be such a pain in the bootay, but for me it has been just that. Last Tuesday I bought 3 of the crown molding shelves you see above from Pottery Barn thinking that the job would be complete by day's end. The brackets were hung (That was supposed to be the hard part, getting them level and all.) but we could not managed to get the shelves to slip on. After two phone calls to the store for advice and a trip to the store for assistance, we still can't seem to get the shelves to engage.

Keep in mind that my husband was able to fit the same shelf on the bracket at the store but we can't seem to make it work in our own home. We tried loosening the screws as suggested by the store manager to adjust for the very slight texture on our walls, but that didn't make a difference either. I'd rather not return them as my entire design plan for the space would have to be adjusted if they weren't included. Not to mention that I would have 9 holes in my wall if the screws were removed. (Let's pause here while I scream out of frustration.)

Please, please, if you have these shelves and can offer some suggestions I'd be eternally grateful.

DIY Candle Lampshade

I had to share this super easy DIY candle lampshade project that I found at Good Housekeeping. The "shades" are made from scrapbook paper using a template that you can find here. Pop an LED tea light in a wine glass and top with the shade and you have a glowing addition to your table. I'm already imagining a good size grouping of them on a holiday table.

The best part about this project is that you probably already have everything you need to whip up a half dozen: wine glasses, scrapbook paper, scissors and double sided tape.

Any suggestions for where you'd use these?

Grocery Store Decor

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Looking for some unique ideas for accessorizing your home? Look no further than the aisles of your favorite grocery store.


Look in the produce area for potted herbs to add a natural element in the kitchen. They last for months and can be added to your dishes for flavor. Another bonus-they smell great. Basil is my ultimate favorite.

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Get a classic, beautiful look by arranging a single type of flower in a clear glass vessel. I'm partial to white or red roses myself. A dozen roses can be as little as $9.99 when purchased at stores like Costco.








A simple, but elegant arrangement of green apples on a white pedestal would work on a kitchen table or dining room sideboard. Decor today, apple pie tomorrow.

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There is a good reason why bowls of fruit are often the subject of still life paintings, they are beautiful in their simplicity.

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Float limes in an apothecary jar filled with water for a last minute centerpiece.

Create a vignette for an empty corner in the kitchen by displaying various types of pasta in clear glass containers. Choose colorful pastas or ones with unusual shapes.

Wine lovers can display their bottles before opening and then use their empty bottles as candle holders.

via Shamrock Candles

Don't forget throw out the corks, instead try this fun idea I found on Pinterest, a DIY wine cork monogram.

Let me know if you get inspired on your next trip to the grocery store.

The Simple White Frame

Move over grocery store bouquets, I have a new favorite low-cost accessory, the simple white frame. Garage sales and thrift stores are loaded with frames. Concentrate on the shape when shopping, just about any frame can be sprayed white. Adding a white mat to your frame adds to the finished look.

Filling your frames without adding to the cost shouldn't be difficult. You no doubt have a few things you could use right under your nose. I used a print that I bought earlier this year and a few fabric remnants to fill the frames you see above. Old art books, a child's drawings or pictures from a favorite vacation are all good choices.


Placed in simple white frames and clustered together, these flashcards from The Land of Nod would make a charming statement in a back entry hall or guest bath.





Frame a few favorites from an interesting set of playing cards, your friends will think you're so clever.




A grid of simple white frames with crisp white mats is a timeless look. Lakeitha from Home to Three Duncan Boys filled frames with pages from a book that she found for just $2. This is a great spring/summer look, but she could easily replace the pages in the fall for an entirely new look.




Prop a couple on a floating shelf or fill them with colorful greeting cards or pages from a child's picture book for a fresh look like the one below from Pottery Barn Kids.





Alone or hung in a group, a clean lined white frame is a classic accessory that will never go out of style.

Can This Piece be Saved?

Along with matching nightstands and a desk, this piece moved with my husband from his childhood home to his first apartment and then to our first home. The nightstands and desk got discarded as we moved from our first home to our second and then our current home. I almost threw this piece out with the trash pick-up this week, but something stopped me. Could this piece be saved?

The veneer has peeled off in some areas and there are chips in other spots.

The back of the bookcase has a major crack.

Still, I'm wondering if there is hope for this worn little guy. Some kind of filler for the cracks and gouges? Paint?

Any thoughts?

Hidden Treasure

$99? Sorry Pier I, I can do better.

A couple months ago I saw a turquoise garden stool at Pier I that I thought would be per-fection in my great room, but I wasn't ready to fork over the $99 to make it mine. Glad I waited, yesterday I found a pretty great alternative at TJ Maxx hidden beneath a display of chairs. Had I not bent down to see if there was anything below the display I wouldn't have spied this little guy with a price tag of only $34.99.

Come to Mama!

I love a hidden treasure, don't you?

White and wood

Via House Beautiful

If there is one combination that I never tire of in design it's white and wood. This perfect pairing provides an ideal foundation in any room of the house regardless of the owner's style preference. From rustic to coastal to traditional, white and wood can work in any room of the house.

Via Decorpad

Via Decorpad

Good Girl Gone Glad

Via Decorpad

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Via Decorpad

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Alone or coupled with pops of color, white and wood is a timeless design choice.