I do seasonal decorating around here. I am sort of undecided about home decor ideas- most things I really want to do require major renovations and a large budget. Instead, I do some smaller things to try to brighten things up around here. Seasonal decor fits in well with my "undecided look." I leave my patriotic decor up from late May to early September; it covers Memorial Day to July 4th. Then comes fall, which seems too early to start in the August heat.

My living room still isn't finished (is anything ever finished around here?) so the best place I have to decorate is a corner shelf in our dining room. I don't particularly love that shelf, but I don't have anywhere else to put our landline phone. I have to put something else on those shelves or it looks stupid.

I like to use a lot of family pictures when I decorate. I love pictures!!! Last summer I used masking tape to paint stripes on a $1 wood frame from Michaels. (See the tutorial for the dresses in that picture HERE!) I also cut out that number four from 2x6 scrap wood and painted it to match something I saw on Pinterest. (I made my own stamp for the stars from a foam sticker.) A little red and white baker's twine pulls it all together.

Use masking tapes to paint stripes on a wood frame!

On the next shelf, I added some rustic Americana decor I had hanging around from the early 2000s when that was really popular. I made another frame with scrapbook paper and tied on more baker's twine. (I have a tutorial for making the frames HERE. You can see the dresses in the picture HERE.)

Mod podge picture frames to make seasonal decor!

I can't take credit for this one. One of the homeroom parents came up with these fun handprint crab canvases for the Kindergarten picnic/fun day. I thought it matched nicely and added some of my 9yo's shell collection.

Adorable handprint crab kids canvas painting!

Finally, I made a chalkboard countdown block from scrap wood that can be used for various events. This is just an example. A few years ago, the girls and I made 3D stars out of cereal boxes so these added some red, white, and blue to this shelf.

Use chalkboard paint on scrap wood to make a countdown block for any occasion!

It all goes together nicely. I just need to do something about those phone wires.

I also have a few chalkboards in the dining room. One is above my desk and also has a wire basket I use to hold pens, pencils, highlighters, etc. (One jar broke and I didn't replace it yet.) I was super cranky one night so I redid the chalkboard patriotically as a way to relax.

Last summer, I taught a class to make these cute flag boards, so I have some July 4th decor outside, too. My daughter actually painted this one. (Pic from last year because my flowers are not so nice this year.)