Patriotic Coffee Filter Wreath

I wanted to add a little patriotic flair to the house - and wreaths are a fun and easy way to do it!
This one took me an hour or so (not including dry time).  And I love it!

I got a package of 100 coffee filters and dipped the ruffly ends in Rit dye that I had from last year's 4th of July project :)  Some of the dye I watered down a little, which gave me some subtle color variations.
I intentionally left the middles white, so that I could see some red, white and blue in the wreath.
Looking back, it would have been nice to leave some completely un-dyed so that I could use the white coffee filters as a section of my wreath, but this is fun too!

I don't like spending a ton of money on a wreath form, so I often use these foam plumbing tubes, and make my own!  (They are super cheap!) In the above picture it is wrapped in white fabric (secured with hot glue), but you can see a picture of the tube before it is wrapped in this other wreath post I did.  

Once the coffee filters are dry (which might take a long time...even after a day, I still got dye on my fingers), take 1 filter and pinch it in the middle...
Keep pinching up from the middle until it forms a cute little bundle with the ruffly ends.

Sometimes, I cut the middle off (below), so I could glue the puff down more easily.  Sometimes I left it on and hot glued the whole thing in the position I wanted.

Be liberal with the hot glue, and squish each coffee filter puff next to another one to achieve the look you want.

Here it is half way through...

And here it is all filled with coffee filter puffs!

I hot glued a loop of ribbon on to the back to hang it by.

I also added some sparkly stars to create a focal point, and add some of that white I thought was missing at the end.  I printed star shapes onto cardstock, Mod Podged over them with sparkle Mod Podge, and then cut them out and glued them on.

I finished it with only a week and a half until the 4th, but I will probably keep it up all summer - I feel like summer is just a patriotic season :)

Card Table Rehab

Isn't this little card table so bright and cheery?

I've been wanting a card table for a while.  Not enough that I was going to go out and buy a brand new one, but enough that I've been keeping my eye out for a free one that someone wanted to give away.  Enter this little number....

You betcha, this card table was in someone's trash pile, and I stopped and picked it up...with a ten foot pole.  I didn't take a picture before I ripped the vinyl off the top, but I can tell you: it wasn't pretty.  It had tears in it and dirt all over it.  I still figured I could figure something out :)

It is easy to take apart a card table.  There are a few screws on the underside that attach the top to the frame.  This one was was missing all but 2 of the screws anyway.  (I was able to find suitable replacement screws at the hardware store.)
Once the top was off I ripped off the covering, carefully pulling out as many of the staples as I could that had held the covering on.  Then I got to work on the frame.

My week of Antique Shopping

Have you heard of the legendary Brimfield Antique Show in Brimfield, Massachusetts?  This show boasts that it is the largest in the country - and it is truly spectacular and overwhelmingly huge!

My mom and I went on 2 different days, and walked until we were sore (mostly from the heavy backpacks we had on our shoulders.  Yes, we bought a lot.).  It was a blast - definitely an amazing experience if you love antiquing (or as some would say, finding and saving junk ;) )

Between my mom and I, we spent more money than I will admit to, but we did come away with some really fun things.  This collage shows a few of the things my mom picked up.  Some pulleys for hanging old wood for shelves, antique Chinese baskets, a bunch of bells, a butter churn, vintage doll clothes, European enamelware and some of my favorites: Quilt tops and quilt squares.  She is an amazing quilter, and takes antique squares to make really cool quilts with vintage fabric and modern flair.  

I also picked up a few fun things - and here they are (in no particular order):

This bench was a steal at $40 - solid wood, with storage!!  As you have heard me say in previous posts, I live in a tiny New England house.  Storage space is a hot commodity.   I had this little space available, and now I can store my blankets and quilts, and still have some necessary seating!

Adding some serious charm to my vintage style kitchen wall is this antique bell.  I can ring the kids in for dinner (not that I really need to in my tiny house, but still!).  I love it!  And yes, it came with an old key as a clacker.  Funny, hu?

This metal pie plate got a good cleaning and a hole in the middle to become my new kitchen clock!  I used the clock workings from the clock I used to have in the kitchen, drilled a hole right in the middle of the pie plate, and voila!  I love that is says "New England" and also goes right along with the other antique things I have on the walls.

This was one of my mom's purchases, but I have already decided that I will inherit it someday;)  (Hear that sisters?).  I LOVE this quilt top!!!!

It is a 1930's hand stitched "grandmother flower" style quilt, and the detail is amazing.  This thing must have taken hundreds of hours to hand stitch, and I have serious appreciation for that.  And who can resist those colors?!  Oh yah.  It has a little of my drool on it.  

Thought this might be funny in the laundry room...

This (below) is a sweet little item.  My 6 year old came with us to the antique show one day, and was on the lookout for a bell for her teacher.  She is still in Kindergarten for a few more weeks, so we had not gotten a teacher appreciation gift yet.  She told me that her teacher has to clap when they come in for recess, and wouldn't it be so cool if she had a bell to ring instead?  I thought it was an excellent idea.
Mom mom spotted the bell first, and the dealer refused to sell it for less than $15 dollars to her.  When my mom told us to go back and look at it, my daughter fell in love, and with her sweet little voice, asked the dealer if he would take $10.  Would you believe it, he took it :)  "You're a hard bargain," he said, "but okay."
I could have died she was so cute.  And so excited.

My mom was in town for a little over a week, and I think we will always remember this visit as the antique shopping trip.  We had so much fun - and we are very happy with our great finds!