I showed you in a previous post the cool swap goodies that I got from my swap partner Lottie of Sweetpeasprimitives, well here's what I sent to Lottie.
Of course a patriotic sign was in order. Of all the new ones I just recently completed, this is the one I liked best.
I enjoy painting on these metal star votive holders. The previous ones that I have purchased have all been black. This whitewash was a refreshing change and it meant that I could just paint right on the holder without having to basecoat.
Don't know if you remember those little rusty taper holders I showed you in a previous post, that I picked up while wholesale shopping. Well here's what I did with the one I included in my swap. I love how it turned out...just wish I had more time to grubby the candle more.
I had two of these little wire baskets left...just sitting there waiting for something to be done with them. Nothing says prim to me like some pip berries and a barn star, so I added some red, cream and blue pip berries to the front and attached a small barn star. I added a homespun and cheescloth fabric bow and a coffee stained metal rimmed hangtag to the handle.
Here's another thing I had just laying around! Why do I buy these things and never get around to making them? Anyway, I probably bought about a dozen of these little wispy wreaths with the intention of putting berries on them. Anyway, still looking for more things to include in this swap, I took the wreath and added some red, cream and blue pip berries to it. A blue homespun bow and a small barn star were added.
This is the prim patriotic plate and plate holder that I purchased while wholesale shopping. It was too cute to resist and for the price, I couldn't pass up the chance to include it in my swap box.
This little flower bobble was a last minute idea. I had just received my Create and Decorate magazine in the mail. I fell in love with the fabric pinwheels. So off I went to Joann Fabrics, magazine in hand, so as not to forget anything. Well, picked the perfect patriotic fabric, the coordinating fabrics and off to the check out line I went. There in the $1 section was this little pink bobble flower note holder. So inspiration struck and I thought, why not? I can paint it americana. Of course, the sad part is that Lottie's box was suppose to have those pinwheel flowers, but I forgot the darn buttons...so much for taking the magazine with me to ensure I didn't forget anything! Sigh!
This was a last minute addition too... Char of The Pickled Pepper Patch had a tutorial on her blog to make these little wooden firecrackers out of a dowel rod. So since Home Depot was in the same shopping center as Joann Fabrics and I was already stopping there to pick up some more trex for my flower beds, I picked up a dowel. I came home and cut the rod into 4 pieces and set about painting the stripes and stars on the dowel firecrackers. After some shading and antiquing they were perfect and included in the box.
This was such a fun swap to do. I love painting americana and usually at craftshows you will find a large americana section in my booth.
