Hello Jacque. You sound like a great Marine wife feeling the way you do!
If you make things out of wood, you can get lots of pattern ideas to use from ideas on Ebay, the Internet, or even children's coloring books. Enlarge to whatever size you want something to do be. I'm always saving stuff I think would be a good "wood pattern" and easy to saw out. Otherwise eBay or Michaels Craft stores have neat stuff to buy. And sometimes get lucky at thrift stores in finding things as well. Also a lot of the catalogs like Terry's Village or Collections Etc have patriotic stuff that is nice for inside and out.

Karen

How about picking up an old wooden chair at a garage sale, preferably one with slats in the back. Paint the slats alternating red and white, the seat blue with stars. You get the idea.

Or get a large tub and paint it red, white and blue and plant it full of red and white impatients. Add some stars attached to long dowels and you have the beginning of a patriotic porch.

Add four small flags to your hanging baskets. That was in Martha Stewart's Living magazine years ago and I do that for the 4th.

I have a flag quilt hanging on my front porch. Written on the white stripes is the Pledge of Allegiance.

How's that for a start?

here are a couple of ideas....I painted one box americana...if you look closely the flag is very faint in the background of the shaker houses....and my other piece of art I found a pillow sham with the flag and pledge of allegence on it and attached it to an old window I had that had no glass....but anyway there are a couple of ideas for ya to use....one thing i do love about americana is your dont really need alot of painting skills lol
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Here is a link that might be useful: elegant relic

I used to be Navy (for real folks) and although it has nothing to do with the military I love to decorate country reds, blues and creams.

Try using the three colors in planters:
Last year I planted the planter on my front porch with red, white and blue flowers, with some vica vine and spikes in there too. Come the 4th of July it was looking pretty good and I added the medium and small size flags for show. It looked rather well if I do say myself.

Look around in your basement or what have you and see if you can repaint something. There is a website called "about.com" that has tons of ideas on everything if you're looking for ideas. Or, just type "red white blue decorating" in your web browser line and see wht you come up with.

At Pier One recently I saw they had large umbrella dangling things at each of the eight points. I didn't like the price but loved the look and decided I could come up with something of my own. At Joann's they have a long dangly red, white and blue wooden decoration, along the lines of a chime. It's light in weight as the ornaments are hollowed out with a bell on wire in each decoration (flag, star, heart and shield). I bought two (they were on 40% off sale) and took them apart, used a (very small in size) medium linked chain (at Michael's in beads section) and tied the already there string to the chain and sewed it to the eight pointed edges of the porch umbrella. They are light enough to sway in the wind. Last year I also made a grapevine wreath and amongst the decorations I stuck the small USA flags. Get some red, white and blue ribbon to tie around objects you have, etc, etc, just use your imagination.

Some GJ's had painted a section of a picket fence like a flag,and that's something I always wanted to copy. I'd go with the suggestion of red white and blue flowers,too. Mojo, I love your boxes,and that window,how cool it was the right size! very beautiful :)

These ideas are great. My mind is starting to flow and I jotted down all your ideas to use.

Going to take a picture this morning so you all can see what I have to work with and what is there already.

I did plant some ivy in a blue small roasting pan the other day and it looks just so cute....also found an old colander at the thrift shop that was bent up. I had to hammer it out. It's round and the hole pattern is stars. Was thinking of painting it red to sit on a table. Not sure what I want to use it for yet..was thinking a luminar (candle holder)...anyway..thanks everyone that has responded to my plea..lol...I just couldn't think of anything spectacular.

Check out ebay as someone else suggested. You could find ideas just by looking at simple things others painted or made. You don't have to paint on exactly what someone else did either. If you find something you like that they did on say a board, it can be put on a flower pot or something else.

I also like to look through catalogs. Terry's Villiage has a TON of red, white and blue things right now. I like to just look at things and get ideas and again paint on something else.

Look for Primitive or Americana decor. You'll find lots of what you're looking for :)

Here are a few things I have around the house...

A painted screen. I have two of these! The other one has a white frame rubbed with stain to look worn. This one is in the bathroom and the other hangs on the porch.

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Stepping stone from DG that I repainted.
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Checker board I made using a bar stool. It's an endtable on the front porch!
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Our small back porch decorated in Americana stuff...
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The wreath on the front door. The flag is made out of an old tin can that was cut open and painted :)
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heres a couple of things...

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thats a steppingstone made from a plastic jello mold.
and my infamous patriotic tub....

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First, please thank your husband for his service, Jacque. Whenever someone said this to me when our son was in the Navy, it meant so much to me, and truly, I am so very thankful for the heroes defending our freedoms.

I now have way tooooooooo many new ideas for patriotic decorating! Have no room for the beautiful tub, let alone the letter I would receive from the HOA! Love the window with the quilt piece. Just love it all!

In my yard, I have an old wooden ladder all painted red, white and blue with stamped stars, sitting next to the three old washtubs, with r-w-b petunias, and all that is in front of the shed, with red Christmas lights outlining the roof and a lighted flag thingy on the street facing end.

Facing the patio, along the fence, to the left is a Pink Peace rose, with the garden angel that my son gave me for Christmas on a shelf on the fence, that is my prayer daily. To the right is the Veteran's Honor rose, with a stained glass flag hanging from the fence above, and my son's combat boots that he wore in the Gulf on the carrier Carl Vinson in 2005. When I asked for the boots he kept saying that nothing would grow in them, since they were soaked in hydraulic fluids and jet fuel, but it sure didn't slow down the flowers last year!

I am planning on making "quilts" to go on the new white picket fence that is now officially finished, hanging "to air" all summer, just basic red-white and blue-white squares.

I decorate with flags all over, the little ones go in the tipseys, and all sizes on up just go somewhere.

The flag on the pole on the end of the garage has been flying since about 3pm on September 11, of course not the original flag, it has been replaced a few times! Not even the same house.

And my PT Cruiser is in the drive, cool vanilla color, red-white-blue pinstriping with small flags by the door hinges, and a window flag in the back window, it is that see-through stuff they put on buses. I do believe the National Guard flying over our house can see that, I stop and salute them always, their planes are the sound of freedom.

I have the r-w-b petunias all around in pots, they make quite a show by the 4th. Little hanging things I pick up here and there are around the yard, just little touches.

I don't know if all this gives you any ideas, it is just what works for me in our yard, I wish I had a big porch to decorate! Use my ideas freely, if they are of interest.

Once again Jacque, from a forever Navy mom to the wife of a Marine, thank you!

Lynne

Mojo~ Love your box and window! ~Anj

Check out my garden I just redid, with anything red white or blue and eagle I had, yardsales are great places to find americana themed items or walk around the attic and basement
my eagle lamps my husband took off shades, he curbshopped them for me!!

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I have a piece of stockade fence with 13 pickets on it I am going to paint, painted it white already , blue and the stars I have no idea how I am going to paint stars LOL

Jacque also tell your husband Thanks which does not seem enough and a OORAH to you for supporting him.

(HUGE SMILES)
OMG!!! You all are just so great!!! I can't even tell you how happy I am...thank you so much for your support not just to my husband but to all our armed services...I know they all appreciate it. And thanks for all the wonderful ideas!!! Oh my...my head is spinning now...LOVE LOVE LOVE...the ideas you all are posting. Now to just start collecting!!! LOL
Can't wait to start working on the front of the house....can already imagine the look on my husbands face when he comes home to find all this RWB stuff..LOL.

Thanks again everyone for the ideas ...keep them coming if you have more!!!

HUGGERS - Jacque

You could paint inexpensive terra cotta pots red, white and blue to fill with plants or fill with pebbles and stick in RW&B candles. RW&B Birdhouses, decorate a wreath with stars and ribbon for the front door, I've recently seen RW&B twinkle lights. Paint simple word signs like USA, America, Freedom, Liberty,or God Bless our Troops. Uncle Sam stuff. Anything else that's RW&B like a red wagon, a blue watering can or blue crocks, jars with RW&B candles in them, a white basket or chairs or a table with a red checkered cloth would be good to mix in. If you can use a saw, cut out a primitive Eagle to hang. Americana windchimes.
And of course lots of little flags stuck around. ~Anj

My flag bench (an old glider)
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So many fantastic ideas, I think a lot of us will be filing them to copy and do. I don't know what's bigger tho, my saved stuff files or my Too Long To Do List. Both are getting a bit scary. LOL

Karen

Hi -- Here's a very small RWB item i have on my porch:

Use a quart canning jar & fill it with 3 layers of flat marbles. I used cobalt blue first, then white/iridescent, then red. Punch a hole in the lid and stick a small flag in it.
Thanks for asking the question and I'm loving all the ideas.

loneweever

I have been doing hanging baskets at work with red white nd blue(light purple) million bells,they look great.Any area garden center should carry those colors.

What a great post!!! I have collected so many ideas here too. And a big thanks to your husband for his duty to our great country!!!! I am a huge fan of patriotic decor also. I have two rooms in my house done in a primitive americana. I love it. I have done several outside items as well. My most recent was my red and blue mirrored balls to sit on my front porch(-: I painted a chair also a couple years ago and planted it with succulents{{gwi:140271}}

I have seen the picket fence flag and I really want to make one of those. And like spudmom we have had our flag hanging over our garage since 9-11. Replaced several times but it was hung up that day and one has been there ever since!!!

Well, I read here most of the ideas I have/do. All my planters are red/white/blue and planted to match. All have flags in them. I have swags on my front porch, the big box stores have them. Collections etc. is a good place to purchase patriotic stuff.
I have a stepping stone flag like the one shown. Inside I have my beanie babies eagels, Army, Air force and Navy Bear, etc.
I have large glass r/w/b/stars in my fire place with r/w/b candles for summer. We like the pyrotechnics conventions so I have a picture of fireworks out on the mantle.
My Dad was 21 years in the USAF. He flew over Vietnam. People don't really "get" all that is sacrificed.

The flat marbles in a jar also made me think of what I did. You can cover BB's or anything with red, white and blue flat marbles. I used a bowl...in with the ivy bowls but I'm not sure which one I got now but it's got a flat edge and not fluted like the ivy bowls. Then I used terra cotta pots for the stand. I've had this for about 3 years now :)

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This photo is of our old ironing board (I don't use one much and there really isn't any room to store it in the trailer so I got a smaller one!) I have a few patriotic things sitting on it that I painted. (Don't mind the gray bee! LOL I sprayed him to work on repainting and there he still hangs!)

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Oh my gosh!! More great ideas!!! And I'm glad to see so many others are enjoying the ideas as well.

thanks everyone...I have added the new ones listed to my "to do" list..lol..man I sure hope I can find some goodies to start working on these next week. I did score some cool RWB colored glass and such at the thrift store this week. Was thinking maybe a Patriotic totem? Will have to see how it looks. Also want to get flowers this weekend...of course they are going to be Red, white, and blue and maybe some yellow thrown in. We have HUGE Oak trees here and all I can think about is the song "Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree"...lol..been singing it all week!!! We also have old apple trees down near the front of the drive way and mail box....Anyone else thinking about the Andrew Sisters yet? LOL...I'd love to find a cute boy and girl statue of some sort to sit under them..LOL.

- Jacque

Two of my sons are soldiers so I'm always searching for something to display thatÂs patriotic. The other day I was driving through my parents neighborhood and noticed a beautiful old concrete birdbath that had been painted red, white and blue. The base was done in red with a few white streamers on it and the bowl part of the bath was done in blue, they had painted white stars around the blue bowl part. I'm gonna be on the look out for a bird bath so that I can give it a try.
I had also recently found a few old fence slats that I'm going to have my husband cut for me so that I can make a wooden blue star banner to hang on my fence. And last but not least, I always have to do some red white and blue flower baskets each spring with a few small flags sticking out of them. this year I bought red and white periwinkles and some blue daze! Put them all together in one pot and they look beautiful!