I'm adding touches of red, white, and blue to my cottage with the 4th of July just a few weeks away, and I wanted a statement piece for my mantel. I found a vintage photo of a sweet little guy holding a flag and some huge firecrackers, and I had it printed in a large 3 by 4 foot size at my local Staples store as an engineered print. (Costs just a bit over seven dollars here in the pacific northwest)
The print came out slightly digitized, but I was okay with that. (Tip: if you want to do an engineered print from a vintage photo in a huge three by four foot size, try and make sure the properties of the photo show that the DPI's are at least 75 or larger.) I thumb tacked the print over my existing chalkboard print on insulation board, and got out my colored pencils.
I lightly colored in the red and blue on the flag as well as the firecrackers, and placed the poster on my mantel.(It didn't photograph too well; you have to look closely, but in person it's a little more visible.) I added a row of repurposed Starbucks frappuccino bottles with little American flags in them, and called it good.
I'm happy with how it turned out, and now I'm working on adding a few more patriotic touches throughout the cottage. (I'll share pictures later!)
Do you decorate at all for Independence Day? I'd love to hear!
