Patriotic 4th of July Mantel

The 4th of July is such a fun holiday although it is a little bittersweet as it denotes the middle of summer.  It seems like once we past the 4th, the summer just whizzes by.  I have recently finished my patriotic 4th of July mantel and I wanted to share it with you.

When figuring out the title of this mantle I was not sure if I should call it a farmhouse mantel.  Can it be called farmhouse with this much color?  

I love the farmhouse style but only to a point.  I don’t think I could live in a totally white house with everything decorated in neutrals because I love color way too much.  But I do love some of the items commonly associated with farmhouse decor.

We found this crate at an antique shop.  I enjoy incorporating antique items in my decorating.  

It is so fun to find an item and imagine the history that it has to tell.  As I get older (ahem!) I am finding out that learning about history can actually be interesting!  🙂

Half of the crate is covered up but is says ‘Explosives’ on one side.  I think it is very fitting for the 4th of July.  We like to get together with friends or family for the holiday but we do not usually do a lot of fireworks on our own besides sparklers and bottle rockets.  However we enjoy watching fireworks.  

We have recently been using some diffraction glasses, similar to these, to watch the fireworks with and it makes it an amazing experience!  I am not sure how they work exactly but they diffract the light and turn a single point of light into a prism of colors.  As if fireworks were not enjoyable enough as it is, these make them even more so enjoyable.  There is so much more color with them on, it is almost psychedelic!

As much fun as this holiday is though, we always remember the importance of it too and what it represents.

Inside the crate is an olive bucket with some greenery tucked inside.  The olive bucket is not an authentic one but I think it is a darn good reproduction one.  It came from Decor Steals, if you are not familiar with it, this is a great site for farmhouse decor!  It came as a set of 3 so I can use them all around the house.  🙂

I love to read but these vintage books were bought for looks only.  😉  So I have no idea what Son of the Wind is about.  I wonder if it is worth reading.  Maybe I will read it someday….

This design on the chalkboard I found on Pinterest but I could not find a source to site, just the picture.  It fits in so well that I had to use it.  Check out my tutorial on how to make a chalkboard if you want to make one yourself.  It really is very easy, it just takes a little time and patience.  You don’t need any artistic talent, if you can trace a line, you can do it too!  🙂

The cotton stems, another farmhouse element, also came from Decor Steals.  I thought they seemed “summery” and they also fit in with the red, white and blue theme.

If you have been here before you will recognize this flip banner.  

I have used it previously on other mantels (here, here and here for example). It is so easy to change-up for the different holidays, and I love how versatile it is.  

I just used fabric to cut the pennant shapes out of and used a hole punch to make the holes to hang them on the rings.  Super simple yet super cute!

I recently got this quilt returned to me.  It was a gift that I made for my Dad and his wife for Christmas one year but he passed away 3 years ago.  It is nice to be able to use it in my own home now and remember him when I see it.  I loved the patriotic colors in it when I made it.  I still love it and it fits in perfectly with this decor.

The DIY patriotic pillows were some that I made last year.  I still like them now as much as I did then.  🙂

I hope you enjoyed my patriotic 4th of July mantel.  If you need more decorating ideas for the 4th of July, you can check out these 12 patriotic DIY projects.  I also hope everyone has a safe and wonderful holiday!