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Home » DIY & Crafts » Easy Patriotic Decor & A Vinyl Giveaway!

06/17/2014 · 10 Comments

Easy Patriotic Decor & A Vinyl Giveaway!

DIY & Crafts

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Three easy 4th of July projects made with Expressions Vinyl's Independence Day Pack! #Silhouette #4thofJuly

I am over the moon excited to be a part of the brand new Expressions Vinyl Ambassador program.* As I mentioned in my June Goals post, each month a few other bloggers and I will all receive the same box of vinyl. We can make anything we want with it! Fun right!?! Make sure you check out the posts by Ashley from Simply Designing &  McKenzie from Girl Loves Glam as well.

Expressions Vinyl started month one off with a bang! We each received their Independence Day pack that comes with two reds, two blues, white, and silver.  Just think of all the things you could do with these colors!

Independence Day Vinyl Pack From Expressions Vinyl

It wasn’t until I starting thinking about project ideas that I realized I don’t have any red, white, & blue decor. I guess I always decorate for spring and then skip right to fall! Since my current 4th of July decor is non-existent, I had two goals with this project. Make more than one thing, and make things that had multiple uses!

I was also nervous about making something good enough to represent Expressions Vinyl. My spring vase has been my most popular vinyl project, so I used that as my launching point. But I couldn’t do just ONE vase, I made three! AND they have multiple purposes! But most importantly, they are just so darn cute 🙂

The round vases were both from Dollar Tree, and I found the tall flat sided one at a Goodwill store for $0.89!

Before: Three $1 Vases

I started with the taller round vase because it was the first one I designed in my head. I wanted red stripes around the bottom and blue stars up top.

You don’t even have to have a vinyl cutter to complete this project – a pair of scissors or a craft knife would also work well! I used my Silhouette Portrait since I don’t cut in straight lines very well on my own. I measured around the outside of my vase and then made rectangles in Silhouette Studio to become my stripes. I drew the stars in the software, but I’m sure there are stars available for download as well. The stripes were tricky and I should have used transfer paper for them to keep my lines straight. We’ll just call my slightly wonky bottom lines “character”. I wised up for the stars and applied them all at once.

Three easy 4th of July projects made with Expressions Vinyl's Independence Day Pack! #Silhouette #4thofJuly

Isn’t it cute as a vase?

DIY #Patriotic Vase

It also works as a candle holder/lantern. Using a 3″ candle allows the stars to reflect onto to the wall!

Three easy 4th of July projects made with Expressions Vinyl's Independence Day Pack! #Silhouette #4thofJuly

Vase 2 was crazy easy. I used glitter vinyl in ultra silver to cut out USA and applied it vertically. Easy peasy and it’s still a fun patriotic look. You could use the silver that comes in the Independence Day pack for this, but I went for a separate sheet of ultra silver to really make the letters pop.

Three easy 4th of July projects made Expressions Vinyl's Independence Day Pack! #Silhouette #4thofJuly

Vase 3 is my favorite! My husband calls it the Top Gun version. I started with a red star in the center, then used the inside offset button in the Silhouette software to make a smaller version in silver. It’s the first time I had used the offset button to layer vinyl and I was impressed with how easy it was. The star alone wasn’t quite enough, even after it was layered. I decided to add some coordinating stripes in blue and silver. That did the trick!

Three easy 4th of July projects made Expressions Vinyl's Independence Day Pack! #Silhouette #4thofJuly

I love it as a candle holder, but it can also be a vase…

Three easy 4th of July projects made with Expressions Vinyl's Independence Day Pack! #Silhouette #4thofJuly

or even a cutlery holder for a party!

Three easy 4th of July projects made with Expressions Vinyl's Independence Day Pack! #Silhouette #4thofJuly

Can you believe how cute these super cheap vases became with only a little vinyl?

Three easy 4th of July projects made Expressions Vinyl's Independence Day Pack! #Silhouette #4thofJuly

*I receive compensation as part of the ambassador program, however I was free to create whatever I wanted with the vinyl I received and I LOVE the service and quality Expressions Vinyl provides. My full disclosure policy is available here.

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melissa

Melissa George

In 2013, Melissa founded Polished Habitat to share her passion for intersecting style and function to make everyday life more beautiful and less stressful. She does this by sharing easy home organization tips, home decor tutorials, and creative ideas to help readers think outside the box, no matter their budget. Her work has been featured in print in Better Homes & Gardens and Room to Create Magazine, and online by HGTV, House Beautiful, Buzzfeed, & more. In 2018 & 2019, Melissa was named as a Style Maker by Better Homes & Gardens. In 2019, Polished Habitat was shortlisted for the Amara Blog Awards Best Interior Styling Blog - International. Read more...

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Comments

  1. Trisha D. says

    06/17/2014 at 11:33 am

    Simply fabulous Melissa!! If I had to pick a favorite, it would be the subtle sparkly silver USA one.

    Reply
    • Melissa George says

      06/17/2014 at 11:36 am

      Thanks so much Trisha! I like the subtlety of that one too. I wish the camera would show how amazingly sparkly that vinyl is from certain angles! It was the first time I had used glitter vinyl and now I’m hooked. 🙂

      Reply
  2. Kelly Hedgespeth of Simply Kelly Designs says

    06/17/2014 at 5:46 pm

    Hi Melissa. I love all three of these but my favorite is the stars and stripes vase. I have yet to use vinyl other than HTV but it’s on my to make list.

    Reply
    • Melissa George says

      06/17/2014 at 5:51 pm

      Thank you Kelly! Vinyl comes in so many options now, so I can’t STOP using it around the house. I love HTV too!

      Reply
  3. Karen Marie Kedzuch says

    06/17/2014 at 8:51 pm

    Melissa,
    You made some classy red, white and blue items there. I love the short vase/ container. candle holder. I am a dual or triple purpose girl all the way. Thanks for the opportunity to win the vinyl products. My imagination is working over time already. I have never used this company yet so it would be a great chance to tryout Expression Vinyl.
    Blogger love,
    Karen Marie
    Dragonfly & Lily Pads

    Reply
    • Melissa George says

      06/17/2014 at 9:08 pm

      Thanks for nice comment Karen!!! Expressions Vinyl is an amazing company to order from. They ship really quickly, have awesome customer service, and have a great selection. And I said all of those things BEFORE I was an ambassador too:) Good luck in the giveaway!

      Reply
  4. Laurie says

    06/19/2014 at 2:04 pm

    So glad I found your blog through EV. These vases are so simple and super cute!

    Reply
    • Melissa George says

      06/19/2014 at 2:17 pm

      Thanks so much for clicking over Laurie, I’m glad you like them!!! They really were simple & quick to make.

      Reply
  5. Shelly says

    06/23/2014 at 12:53 am

    These are SO stinking cute! Love how they turned out!!

    Reply

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Welcome!

In 2013, Melissa started Polished Habitat to share her skill of mixing decor & organization to add style & function to everyday life at home.

Her work has been featured in print in Better Homes & Gardens and Room to Create Magazine, and online by HGTV, House Beautiful, Buzzfeed, & more.

In 2018 &  2019, Melissa was named as a Style Maker by Better Homes & Gardens. In 2019, she was also short-listed by the Amara Blog Awards for Interior Styling, International Division.

Need to reach Melissa?
Email: Melissa @ PolishedHabitat.com

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