Fourth of July Vignettes

Decorating with small vignettes is a great way to add a festive feeling to your home. This year, I’ve added several small Fourth of July Vignettes around the house to add a patriotic touch.

We don’t really have any real plans for the Fourth of July this year. It’s a strange year with all that’s going on… the majority of the typical town celebrations in our area have been cancelled, most of the kids are working, and so is Mark.

Maybe we will be able to catch some distant fireworks over the pasture like we have in past years, or maybe one of our neighbors will put on another great display like they’ve done before…. who knows. We’re just planning on playing it by ear and staying flexible, which is how we’ve had to conduct most things in our lives lately, right?

But even though we aren’t having a big family gathering, I still like having a little bit of seasonal decor out. I already showed you my July 4 Tiered Tray earlier this week. I also decorated my entryway table with very simple Fourth of July Vignettes, using things I already had.

This is my favorite way to decorate–putting groupings of various things I own into new arrangements. It’s a great way to save money, but even better, it allows me to use things that have sentimental value that I might not ordinarily have sitting out. Plus, it just keeps things fresh and interesting in my home.

Fourth of July Vignettes for the Entryway Table

I found the fabric flag banner in my mom’s holiday decorations last week while my sister and I were sorting through my parents’ house. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do with it when I brought it home, but it works perfectly here.

I made the vintage-looking books using brown paper grocery bags and my mini stamping set. You can see how I made other versions HERE and HERE. I keep using this idea over and over, because it’s so easy and works well with so many different vignettes.

The vintage keys are from Hobby Lobby. They came with a green key too, but I just took that one off to make this work in my color scheme. It can go back on later if I want.

I found this 100-year-old book on our trip last summer to the West Bottoms in Kansas City. I fell in love with it the minute I saw it. I was so excited to get it out again this year.

The little hobnail milk glass creamer is from my mom, and the white flowers inside it are the toss bouquet from my daughter’s wedding last November.

Fourth of July Vignettes for the Three Season Porch

The three season porch is where we spend most of our time. For the majority of the months of the year, it’s where we drink our coffee in the morning, relax in the evenings, and even eat our meals. These past few months while I was working from home, I used it as my “office”, and even now, it’s where I work on my grad class work. Outside of the kitchen, it’s the most used room in our house.

When I saw that Cindy from Country Road 407 was hosting a Pinterest Challenge to recreate your own Patriotic Coffee Table Vignette based on an inspiration photo, I knew my three season room coffee table was the perfect place to create my own display.

Here is the inspiration photo from the Liz Marie Blog…

Isn’t it lovely? Not only did it make my heart pitter-patter a bit when I saw it, but also I knew I had several elements already that could work to make my own version.

Here’s my interpretation….

The tray came from a store on the Plaza in Kansas City called “re:” We picked it up on a little weekend getaway to K.C. while our home was still being built. I’ve used it on this table since the day we moved in, and just redecorate it with different items for the season.

The lantern is from my wedding. We got married in a rustic little lodge and we used these lanterns throughout the room, and on all the dinner tables, so I have several of them. I keep 3 or 4 of them in the screen porch all the time with battery operated flameless candles on timers inside them. We used real candles at our wedding, but I love how these just come on all by themselves in the evening and give the porch a cozy glow. Then, they turn themselves off a few hours later. So convenient and charming!

Oh, and can we talk about this view for just a minute? This is the sole reason we bought this lot, and the reason we spend so much of our time in this room. Pasture, pond, and miles and miles of Iowa farmland.

I debated about using one of the vintage postcards that I got on our antique excursion last weekend, but I was worried about the heat and humidity out on our porch. These cards have survived more than 100 years, so I didn’t want to damage them now. Instead, I just snapped a picture of one of the cards and printed it out on regular paper on my computer, then popped it in a frame. Now the original postcard is protected inside the house, and I can still enjoy this version of it outside with no worries.

The flags I’ve had for years. I used to stick them into my outdoor flower pots for July 4. I wanted to use them for this vignette, but they were a little too new and bright looking, so I tea stained them to give them a more vintage look.

How to Tea Stain

I filled a glass baking dish about half full with very hot, but not boiling water. I added 6 tea bags because I wanted to make sure I got a nice dark tea color. You want a black tea, not an herbal tea, or it won’t be dark enough. I used this French Vanilla Black Tea because it was just about past its expiration date for drinking, so I decided this would be a good way to use it up. A bonus is that my flags now have a very nice light vanilla scent to them! 😂

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Submerge the flags in the tea and let soak for at least a couple of hours, or even overnight.

Rinse the tea from the flags under cold, running water and then allow the flags to dry. I placed mine in a mason jar to hold them upright, and then set them out in the afternoon sunshine. They were dry in a couple of hours.

I love how they turned out! They have a slightly aged look to them, instead of the bright, clean white. This is a much better fit for my vignette.

This was a fun Pinterest challenge and a nice seasonal update to my porch and entryway for at least the next few weeks.

Hmmmm, when it’s time to take down my Fourth of July Vignettes, I’m wondering what to do next ? That bit of summer after July 4 and before Fall is tricky to decorate for. Suggestions? I’d love to hear them in the comments!

Happy Deocrating,

Check out these amazing patriotic ideas from several other talented bloggers:

Resources:

Flameless Candles with Timer & Remote

I have several sets of these exact candles, and use them inside the house and on all three of my porches.

Wooden Bead Garland

Green Tinted Glass Jug with Twine

Mini ABC Stamp Set

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