Prim American Flag Centerpiece/Under $10 On The Tenth

Hi Friends,
Welcome to Under $10 On The Tenth.

A group of lifestyle bloggers get together every 10th of the month to share ideas under $10.00.

Today we are posting about Patriotic decor since 4th of July is just around the corner.
It's not too late for you to get some festive decor going to spruce things up for the holiday.
You do not have to be "crafty" to do my idea and it is very inexpensive.

I love the look of flags in a vase of some kind. I've used some antique pitchers. These are always on the table.  You could use a jar. Just grab it from the recycle bin and remove the label.
The Prego spaghetti sauce jar has a really nice shape in my opinion.

I filled my vase with free clipped greens from the yard.
Don't have a yard? Look for greenery at the grocery store. A big bunch of greenery costs around $5.00 and it lasts for a few weeks. You could even forage for greens but check your local laws first.

 I thought my flags looked too new. I wanted a primitive, vintage, antique look to our centerpiece.
 Ace Hardware is a great place to get flags in all sizes. I paid less than a dollar each for mine.

I used an old primitive crafter's trick and aged the flags with coffee grounds.
Just brew a cup of coffee. Let the grounds cool. Grab a little and smudge away.
The more you use, the grubbier and grungier your flag will be.
I didn't want them too grubby.
I wanted them to be a little more off white than pure white.
It was messy but fun on a hot afternoon.

I rubbed grounds on the dowels  too. 

The flags fit in with that vintage antique vibe that I adore,
An 8in. X 12in. flag at Ace is only $1.99.
4in. X 6in. is only 59¢ on line.
They were 79¢ in the store for some reason.
I like grouping in odd numbers.

I styled my flags with some crafted boxes resembling sparklers and fireworks.
These are just printed graphics on some scrap wood from the garage.
I used Mod Podge to glue them down.

For a different look, I styled them with Little Miss Liberty.

This bisque doll belonged to my mom.
I draped a flag motif ribbon around her and made the Liberty tag.  She is a cutie. I don't know what happened to her arms. She hasn't had them since I've had her.

Some vintage Christmas picks in blue are tucked into the pitcher. They were a dollar at the thrift store,  They look like fireworks to me. I thought about digging in the Christmas closet for other blue Christmas balls but I got over it. Haha. The Christmas closet is a nightmare.

I love the dried rose buds. They are a small nod to the sacrifices made by our heroes.
Years ago, I saw an image of a collection of antique and vintage little flags.
I hunted for some but they are scarce. This is a great solution and kind of gives that same look.
I also love flags set in flower pots. Flags are a fun and poignant tribute to our country.
I hope that this has inspired you to decorate for the coming holiday.
Little flags are so much fun. Prim them up if they look too new to you.
Stop in to see my other blogging friends.

Carol at Bluesky at Home
Jemma at At Home with Jemma
Barbara at French Ethereal
Jodi at The House House
Terri at Decorate and More with Tip
Ann at Apple Street Cottage
Tammy at Patina and Paint
Patti at Pandora's Box
Katie at Let's Add Sprinkles

Katie

Spring Putz Style Cottages/Ten On The Tenth

Good Morning! 

I hope you are well. 

Welcome to Ten on the Tenth where lifestyle bloggers join together to share ideas under ten dollars. 

I'm so glad you are here. 

I want to thank Terri of Decorate and More With Tip for hosting this month. Terri keep busy and always has fun ideas to share. 

This month we are talking about staying busy while we stay at home. 

I don't know about you but I know how to entertain myself. 

I was the only girl with five brothers. I didn't go to the local school so I didn't know the other girls that lived near us. 

My days were spent with my Barbies unless the boys were able to cajole me into doing what they were doing. One of my favorite activities was the construction of roads and cities in our front gravel driveway. The boys had a great assortment of fun cars and trucks. 

I had a pink jeep with a fringed top. See it here. 

The fun came to an end the year my dad got a new load of gravel. It was too deep to dig in. 

That memory came to mind as I created a community of Putz cottages. 

I am an introvert and a homebody but this sheltering in place has me going a little stir crazy. 

"I want to go to Hobby Lobby!" I said in whiny voice. 

For some reason the 911 operator didn't think that constituted an emergency. 

Since law enforcement wouldn't let me in to the craft store, I decided to make my own fun. 

I want to make the most of this time by doing stuff that I've wanted to do for a while.  

The construction of darling glitter cottages has been on my list. 

Now was the time to gather my supplies: 

I didn't spend any money and used what I had here at the house but all these basic supplies can probably be found at Dollar Tree, Walmart or CVS. All of these stores are considered essential for a shelter in place order. I did list prices even though I didn't shop for this craft. 

 Thin Cardboard - Free

Craft Paint - I used what I had on hand but craft paint is usually $1.00 a bottle. 

Glue Sticks .32¢ (I used 5 to make 10 cottages)

Assorted flower bits from Dollar Tree or Walmart.  

4 oz. Iridescent Glitter $2.82

Elmer's School Glue $1.97

Supplies: 

Glue Gun

Exacto knife 

Cutting board 

Tray or old cookie sheet for glitter abatement. 

Pinterest is a great source for inspiration and templates. 

The simplest template was chosen to start out. 

Here is a collage of the process. 

Cut the template out onto the cardboard. I used cereal, pizza and cracker boxes. 

Use an X-Acto knife to cut windows and door. It also worked to score the cardboard for folding. Toward the end my shutter process changed.

Paint the cottage. This is addictive and I wanted one in nearly every color of the rainbow. 

To make pastel colors, use a larger amount of white with very little of the base color. Make sure you make enough of your pastel or you will be trying to match with each coat. 

Most of the colors only took two coats. Let these dry completely before glueing on the base. 

My base was made from cardboard covered with moss but you could paint a base. 

Make window grids, flower boxes. Glue houses to the bases. 

Add roofs.

Embellish with flowers as desired. 

The embellishment was my favorite part. 

My husband's favorite part as well. 

Dilute Elmer's Glue with a little water and lightly paint over the cardboard. 

Sprinkle with iridescent glitter. Shake off excess glitter. 

All the occupants of my community are sheltering in place. 

Be sure to visit my other friends to see what they are doing to pass the time. 

If you like it- Pin It! 

Follow me on Pinterest. 

You can join my link party now because it's open until next Tuesday. 

Thanks for stopping by. 

Katie 

Decorate And More With Tip

Bluesky At Home 

Apple Street Cottage 

Patina and Paint 

At Home With Jemma 

The House Blog

Pandora's Box 


Common Ground

The Nest Maker/Ten On The 10th

Welcome to Ten on the 10th. Where a small group of home decor and DIY bloggers share ideas under $10.00.

Last year during an antiquing jaunt, I came across a spring issue of Jeanne D'Arc Living Magazine. 

I just fell in love with the shabby Nordic decor. 

I was perusing Pinterest for pins with the same sort of feel and was inspired by a contraption used to make nests. I thought it a perfect early spring Ten on the 10th. I hope you are inspired to make a nest maker and some nests.  

It was easy to do and it works. It was also way under the $10.00 required for this challenge. 

We had the perfect square scrap of wood. It's about 4.5 inches square.

Bill's antique protractor came in handy for this project. 

Of course, it made a perfect circle.

I felt like I was back in school.

Eight holes were drilled around the circle. I chose a drill bit a tad bigger than the nails I had.

I had some 16 penny bright steel smooth shank common nails. They call them 16 penny nails because you could get a 100 of them for 16 pennies. One pound equaled 48 nails. A box of 48 nails today costs about $4.25 or about 9 cents a piece.
Inflation!
 Most of these nails slipped right into the holes.
A few needed to be tapped in with a hammer. 

Bill says it looks like some sort of torture device. He's worried that I'm going to put it under his pillow. :)
I would never!

A forage in the yard yielded some perfect nesting material. 

Honeysuckle vines were woven in an out around the nails in a circle. Be careful to get around alternating nails with each pass.  

I decided to weave some of the Honeysuckle back and forth across the bottom of the nest. I wove it back and forth through the different layers of wall.

The dried sweet pea vines were perfect for this. They came next. My bewick wrens love the sweet pea vines for their nests too.
 At this point, I used a few pieces of wire to reinforce the walls of the nest.  

A bag of mixed moss adds a whimsical forest floor feel. It is such a woodsy element characteristic of spring Nordic decor.
A mix bag of moss was $3.29 at Joann's but a little goes a long way. 

Finally, some sweet faux flowers and a faux robin's egg were hot glued onto the nest. 

Nests are such a sweet, romantic and precious decorating motif.

The great thing about the nest builder is that it is reusable. The nest slipped right off of the nails. 

This would be such a great thing for crafters that resell their items.

I adore nests. They are one of my favorite spring decorating elements. 

They are lovely at Christmas too.

There you have it.
If you like it, Pin It!
Every pin helps. 

Be sure to visit a couple of friends to see what they are up to. 

Katie 

Decorate and More With Tip 

Pandora's Box 

Patina And Paint 

My Five Best Garage Sale Finds/Ten On The Tenth

Welcome to Ten on the 10th where ten (sometimes more/sometimes less) bloggers get together and share ideas for under $10. This month we are all sharing about garage sale finds. A big thank you to Carol from Bluesky At Home for hosting this month. 

See the list down below for the other ladies on this hop. The creator of this hop was Stacey of Poofing the Pillows. She doesn't blog anymore but you can follow her on Instagram. 

Garage sale-ing was a part of my Friday morning routine for years. 

I love garage sales. 

Over the years, I have found some great stuff - baby stuff, toys, clothes, furniture, rugs, and some darling vintage perfume bottles. 

I went to a lot of garage sales after we bought this house because we needed some furniture to fill it up. 

Here are my top seven garage sale finds. I thought of two more but it was too late to change the title of this post. Think of it as a bonus. We can all use a bonus. Right? 

The buffet in our dining room wasn't priced when I walked up to a sale. 

 I couldn't get my money out fast enough when he said it was only $5.00.

The drawer was a little wonky. If I remember correctly, one of the doors was off. 

The pulls that were on it were all wrong for the piece. 

Bill fixed the drawer and the door. We found pulls at an architectural salvage shop in Ft.Worth.
They were 10 times more than the price of the buffet but they were worth the splurge.
The finish and the veneer on this was damaged. I had no qualms about painting it white. 

Antique oil paintings are a favorite find at garage sales, antique malls, estate sales, and thrift stores. 

This charming garden wall painting was an unbelievable find at only $8.00. 

I think its from the 1920s or 30s. 

I have never had luck trying to research the artist but if we ever go to the Antiques Road Show, this is going with us. 

I even dream about garage sales. 

Early, one Friday morning I dreamt that I found a quilt. In a sea of 80's and 90's homes, there is a darling 1930's cottage down the street from me. They were having a sale (the only one they have ever had) and there was the quilt for only a $1.00. 

What? 

They also had this cute oil painting. It was also only $1.00.
The cows have my heart. 

It's painted on a piece of cardboard. I think it to be from the 20s or 30s as well. Painting on cardboard seems like something a Depression Era artist would do. 

This adorable spool table was only $3.00. 

It needed stripping because it was green. 

This was years ago, the green might be cute now. 

This is absolutely one of my favorite pieces. The lettering is just precious.

 I replaced the knobs on this piece too. 

A beautiful French chair was $3.00. It was also green. This time the finish was crackle or something. It was not a good finish for this piece.

The patina on this chair is lovely. 

I did a deconstructed upholstery look with drop cloths. 

Garage sales were a great place to get toys for the kids or for my school. 

You might have heard of the Star Wars movies. ;)

Star Wars toys came out in the 70s when the movie was first released.
At some point they were all re-released and my boys got into them - big time. 

Some of the bigger ships were a little beyond our budget at the time but I found quite a few original 70s characters and ships at a garage sale. I was particularly proud that I found the Millennium Falcon for only $3.00. 

I wrapped it up and gave it to my son for Christmas. 

I'd take a picture of it but it's buried behind all the Christmas stuff under the stairs. 

These days, I don't go to as many garage sales. Estate sales and thrift stores are more common stops for me now. 

It does seem like the days of the good deals are gone. 

Maybe but maybe not. 

It takes patience and time but garage sale finds were well worth it.
Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to visit my friends. 

Katie

Carol at Bluesky at Home

Ann at Apple Street College

Kim at Exquisitely Unremarkable

Patricia at Pandora's Box

Tammy at Patina and Paint

Susan at Homeroad

Katie at Let's Add Sprinkles

Terri at Decorate and More with Tip

Linking with,
A Stroll Thru Life
All About Home 
Knick of Time