Summer Buntings

I've had fun making "Summer" buntings for my family room. I'm hooked on them!

I know I have already shown you a couple of them, but I thought I would explain how I made them and show you a couple of more.

You've already seen my "Summer" bunting on my "Ode to Summer" beachy mantel.

I think this is my favorite bunting. And so simple to make.


I knew I wanted to make a bunting out of maps. Problem was, I didn't have any maps. I looked at thrift stores for a couple of weeks. But no maps!


I was about to make a trip to my local AAA office to see if they still gave out maps. But before I drove 20 miles, I thought I might check under the seat of one of our cars to see if I could find one.


But before I could unlock the door to the car, my neighbor Rox was walking by with her cute little doggy Bandit. We got to talking and low and behold, she says, "I have some old maps you can have".


So we hightailed it to her house and she gave me 3 or 4 maps. I used the California state map to make this bunting. Cause I live in California.

Now I just needed some letters to spell out Summer. I wanted the letters to be red. So I looked through all the images I have saved on Picasa. And lucky me, I found some that would work perfectly.


I cropped the letters I needed to spell "Summer" and saved them in Picasa. Then I printed them out onto card stock and used my good old fashioned scissors to cut out each letter.

I think my Silhouette machine would have been faster. But I still haven't gotten it out of the box to figure out how it works. And I've had it since Christmas. And now I hear they are already coming out with a new machine. Yikes! I better get mine out & use it before it becomes too ancient.

I cut six rectangle shapes from the map. I can't remember the size, I used the folds in the map to guide how wide I wanted each piece.

I then glued a letter on to each piece. They I cut the bottom in a dovetail. I almost cut it the wrong direction. Luckily for me, hubby was watching me make it & he helped me to avoid a disaster.

Punched 2 holes at the top (one at each end) and strung them onto some twine. And it was done.

But before I punched the holes & strung up the letters, I scanned them just so I could share them with you.

Now keep in mind, that I cut everything free hand. No fancy paper cutters. Just me and a pair of scissors. So they might be a little crooked. Plus I winged it on the placement of the letters. I'm not into perfection. So if you are, you might just want to make your own. This is for all the lazy gals out there, just like me.


And now for a bunting I haven't shared yet.

It hangs from the chicken wire frame that sits on this little cabinet at the end of my kitchen cabinets. Whew! That was a long sentence.



These are actually scrapbooking cards I found. They are from a company called October Afternoon. And this series is called "Seaside".

I love all the scrapbooking paper, etc this company makes. Everything has such a "Vintage" feel.


I used mini clothespins from Walmart to hang them from Dollar Tree string.

Here is the link to October Afternoon website and the "Seaside" papers.


And another bunting I have yet to share. This one is on my china hutch.


These flash cards came from the same company as the other cards. And are part of the "Seaside" series as well.

I just love flash cards.


Except they remind me of school. And you know how I hate school.


Maybe if we just learned about the beach in school, it wouldn't have been half bad.



Or better yet, have school at the beach. Now that's a great idea!

And finally I'll share one last summer bunting. I have already shared this one with you as well.

A triple layered one on my Gothic mirror.


All of these images (except for the bottom 3) I found on the Internet by Googling either Vintage Beach or Vintage Seaside.


The one on the left is a vintage photo of the Hotel Del Coronado. I Googled Vintage Hotel Del Coronado for this one. I grew up in San Diego County and have always loved "The Del". So I wanted an old photo of it to use in this bunting.

I made a "pdf" file of all these photos on one page. But I don't know how to put on blog. So my son made me a link. Click "here" to be taken to the "pdf" I made if you want a copy.

These last 3 images I found on "Pinterest" by searching for vintage beach. I'm still new to Pinterest, but having lots of fun. If anyone still needs an invite to join, let me know & I'll be happy to send you an invite.

And there you have my "Summer" buntings. They all were quick, easy & cheap to make. My kind of projects.

Are you still enjoying Summer? Or are you ready for "Fall" to arrive? I'm almost ready for "Fall" to arrive. Except the weather is telling me it's still Summer. And it will be Summer here in SoCal at least until the end of September. August and September tend to be our hottest months (at least where I live in the Inland Empire).

I guess I will just have to hang out at the pool and stay inside with the air conditioner on and pretend it is getting cool enough to decorate for Fall.




Linking to:

Sat Nite Special @ Funky Junk

Weekend Wrap Up @ Tatortots and Jello

"Ode to Summer" Mantel

I am so glad that I am not a kid anymore. Cause nowadays it would mean that Summer is almost over. Time to go back to school. Ugggh!

And since I am older, that means I don't have any kids at home that need to get ready for school. Whew!

I hated school when I was a kid. I still get a pit in my stomach when I see back to school supplies in the store. So I'm already feeling queasy.

Back in the olden days we didn't start school until after Labor Day. So for me, August was the month our family went on vacation or to the beach. So August was the highlight of my summers.

Plus it's the month of my birth.

So I decided I wasn't going to let some school supplies at Target ruin my favorite month of the Summer. I would make my own personal "Ode to Summer Mantel".

And what is more fun than a road trip? How about a road trip to the beach?

I made this "Summer" garland from an old map of California (thanks to my favorite neighbor Rox). And some vintage letters (thanks to Google).

My favorite things about Summer.

I knocked off this "Life is good at the Beach" sign. Cause you know what? Life is definitely good at the beach. Except for when you get sand underneath your contacts, then it sucks. Or when you get sunburned.

The sign is made from recycling some cedar fence planks.

Not only do I love the beach. I love mermaids, shells and books.

I found this rusty mermaid in Cave Creek Arizona of all places. You don't think of the beach when you think of Arizona. So of course I had to bring her home to SoCal where she could hang out at my pool. Not quite the beach, but a good substitute.

I found this piece of coral at my local thrift store a few weeks back for a buck. I've tried everything to get the brown off, but so far, nothing has worked. The brown is kind of growing on me now.

I grew up in San Diego County so my favorite beach was La Jolla Shores. And Mission Bay by the Bahia Resort Hotel if we wanted calmer waters.


Someday I hope to visit more beaches on the East Coast. Like Cape Hatteras.

I have been lucky enough to visit Cocoa Beach in Florida and Ocean City Maryland.

The Atlantic Ocean is much warmer than the Pacific. Especially at Cocoa Beach. But I never did see Major Anthony Nelson or a Genie bottle. I always wanted to be Jeannie when I was a kid. Can you imagine the fun you could have with such power.


The only thing I don't like about being the water at the beach is, "Jaws".

I can't even swim in my own pool after dark because of that movie. And it's been over 30 years. Some phobias we never outgrow.

I wanted a vintage beach bucket in the worse way. But I'm too cheap to pay more than a few bucks for one. And since the one I really wanted was listed for $115 on eBay (who would pay that kind of moolah?), I decided to just make my own.

I used a galvanized tin bucket that I got awhile ago from Target's Dollar Spot, or maybe it was Michael's dollar bins. Anyhoo, I found me a cheapo bucket. Painted it, used a Sharpie pen to write "Seaside", used sand paper to rough it up a bit and then slathered on some watered down burnt umber paint. And called it done.

Well, not quite done. After filling with sea shells, it was DONE.

This coral I've had for about 20 something years. I purchased it for my son's first fish tank when he was just a wee lad. I placed the coral & vintage knock off bucket on top of this cool old metal box I found at the thrift store last week for 50 cents. The box is missing it's latch, but I don't care. Love the patina on this box.


As you can tell, I've loved the beach since I was a small child. Yup, that's me in the hat and sun glasses. Just waiting to be found so I could become a star. I'm still waiting.


Doesn't this metal lantern from Ikea just scream summer?


I added a vintage looking beach print I found online to the back. I stole, I mean borrowed all my images from Google. Wrapped a shell necklace around the candle.

Added a tag I made from the map. Have you ever been to Yuma Arizona? Quite the vacation destination. NOT! Sorry to all you who may live in Yuma, or be from Yuma, but a vacation destination, you are not.


I even recycled some votive candle holders that were left over from my parents 50th Wedding Anniversary. I just pealed off the label, slathered on some glue & rolled in this course sand. I saw this idea somewhere online, but did I save it to Pinterest? Heck no. It seems that everything I used in this post that I wanted a source to, I didn't save in Pinterest.

I placed the updated votives on this wood thing a majig (it's late & I have no idea what you would call this wood tray. How about a wood tray?) I found the wood tray at the thrift store. Where else? Hubby said it reminded him of the wood stuff you bring back from Hawaii. Or us old timers used to bring back from Hawaii. I wouldn't know as I've never been to Hawaii. But it's on my bucket list.

And there you have my beachy summer mantel aka: My Ode to Summer


Now I think I will go have a dip in the pool. Since it's too late to drive to the beach. But then again, it's dark and Jaws might be in the pool. Are you hearing the Jaws theme too? I thought so.

I better play it safe & just go to bed and dream of laying on a beach in Hawaii. At least I'm skinny, tan & about 25 years younger in my dream.

Enjoy the rest of your summer and don't go near the back to school aisles, unless you really have to.




Linking to:

Tip Me Tuesday @ Tip Junkie

Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch

Sat Nite Special @ Funky Junk

Weekend Wrap Up Party @ Tatortots and Jello

VIP Party @ Designer Garden

Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Creek Cottage

{Re} Create into something new @ Not So Simple Housewife

Wow Us Wednesdays @ Savvy Southern Style

Tabletop Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life

It's a vintage Summer

Can you believe that it is almost August?

The summer is just whizzing by.

I decided to put away the patriotic decor and put up something more summery. I'm a vintage kind of gal, so I decided on a vintage beach theme.

I still haven't finished my mantel. I gave you a sneak peek last week or so, but I still haven't finished it. So you will have to wait a little longer. But I did get this shelf area done. Let's take a look.

I "googled" vintage beach images and came up with these fine specimens.

I don't think I would have wanted to live during these time periods. It seems all romantic and all, but I'm sure I would have hated not having all the conveniences we have now.


I had to use this vintage photo of the Hotel Del Coronado as I grew up in San Diego County. And besides, who doesn't love the Hotel Del Coronado? The sand at the beach at the Del is softer than any other beach in San Diego. They have "special" sand.


I made all these images "wallet" size on Picasa. Then used mini clothes pins found at Walmart to hang them from some Dollar Store twine. Cheap is my middle name.


These three images I actually found on Pinterest. At first I didn't see what all the fuss was about in regards to Pinterest. Now I'm officially "hooked". Just not enough hours in the day to surf around it.


These bottles have stayed on this shelf for almost a year now. I think that is the longest I've left something in my family room. But bottles say "Summer" to me. I should have put a message in the bottles. I might still do that. If I can remember it by the time I get home tonight.

I love this vintage image of all the beauties in their swim suits. I was going to put this image on a pillow, but I'm too lazy. I was even too lazy to frame it. Just plopped it on an easel.


Added some shells, a starfish and my vintage beachy vignette was complete.


So what do you think? Should I add a message or two or three to the bottles? Or leave as is?


And speaking of Pinterest, while cruising around I found my perfect mantra.





Linking to:

Sat Nite Special @ Funky Junk

Weekend Wrap up @ Tatertots & Jello