Independence Day Fun: A Collection of Four Great Ideas!

I found some super ideas for celebrating the 4th of July in blog land this year, check these out!  These crafts can also be made with different colors for different celebrations..


Ribbony Goodness Decoration Idea

Courtney over at A Diamond in the Stuff has beautiful photographs of a Patriotic Ribbon Topiary she put together.  It is so fun to just look at the photos... but the skeptic in me thought it was probably way harder than she described.  Well, mine isn't as gorgeous as hers, but easy?  I finished the whole thing THE NIGHT BEFORE 4th of July.  And it looks even better "in person," according to my kindergartner (aww, shucks!).

I looked up a bunch of ribbon topiaries to get a better idea of how to do it, but it is really as easy as it seems. You need a foam ball (mine was large from JoAnn's), a pot (mine was from Goodwill), a styrofoam block to stick inside the pot (stabilize dowel) and moss to cover it, a wooden dowel (mine was 3/8"), bunches of ribbon in various sizes and textures cut up in 4" (10cm) pieces, and straight pins. 

When they say you need a lot of ribbon, phew, they mean it.  I used 6 rolls!  It was recommended to choose different widths and textures, which I ended up doing but Courtney's is all one width.  Either way seems great, another advantage of this project!  Then you just pin loops of ribbon into the ball, one at a time, until the ball is covered.  Twist the loops so they overlap in different directions.  Fun!  Ok, it gets a little tedious but my mantra was Courtney's "ribbony goodness" and the fun part was watching it come together.  I am darn sure I'll be doing another ribbon topiary soon!


3D Cardstock Wreath Decoration Idea

Here is another gorgeously photographed project that seemed too simple to come out so fantastic looking... a patriotic star wreath made from cardstock, no kidding!  Brandy at Gluesticks has a great tutorial on making these here.  With different seasonal paper, the wreath could work anytime! The catch was that Brandy used a cricut machine to make it. Oh sure, she said we could do it without a machine, but is that really so?

YES!  And I've put the star shape I used as my template below in case there is someone else who wants to try this without a machine... but do go see Brandy's as hers is a TRUE masterpiece.

This was a last minute project (of course) and I didn't have any navy paper for the blue stars, so  pardon the turquoise!  Here is the free clipart "Happy July 4th."

The stars are fun to make in themselves. I had one of our party guests making them last night (she was 9) just for fun.  We stuck hers on bamboo skewers with a coil of masking tape so she could arrange them in a vase when she got home. 


Tri-Colored Drinks

Here's another way-too-cool idea that is super simple!  The secret to making layered drinks is to 1) put the liquid with heaviest sugar content at the bottom, lightening up as you go, 2) making sure there is enough ice so you can pour the new layer on an ice cube rather than into liquid (minimizes mixing).

This recipe, from Family Fun, uses cranberry juice at the bottom, blue gatorade in the middle, and diet 7-up at top.  There was a run on blue gatorade in Willamsburg this year so the only kind we could find was "light."  It still had enough sugar to work as the middle color though, phew!  We served these with fancy star-spangled straws.


Flag Cake

This one you have to link to, really. Glory over at Glorious treats made a tutorial for this flag cake look so easy, it was another thing I had to try.  You use two cake mixes. Dye both rounds of one mix red and one half blue of the other mix.  Split the red and white layers after they're baked, cut a 4" circle from the blue layer (to make a ring), and fill the hole in the blue layer with 4" circles from the red and white layers.   Glory shows you how!  I found a bowl that had a 4" diameter and traced that onto cardboard to use as my circle template.

I hate to put a picture of mine up because it was, well... maybe I can blame it on the hot and humid Virginia weather?  I was too much in a serving hurry to get a good photo (frosting stuck to knife, you know how it goes). And make sure to thicken my lemon buttercream frosting!  Nonetheless, it was a favorite of our 4th of July guests...and there was NONE left.  :)

Watermelon Shark-Monster

You've probably seen photos of the way-cool watermelon carved sharks floating on the web, but I'm here to tell you, it's one of those projects that looks difficult but is EASY and fun.  I didn't get a photo until after the party, so all the candy fish are gone and his fin fell off.  It would have been better with a pointy melon, but this little guy started a lot of conversations!   I tried to find out who the original artist was but didn't have any luck... found this tutorial though.



3d Star Paper Wreath Template

Patriotic Window Treatment Idea: Fabric Wrapped Stars

Here is an Americana craft/decoration idea just in time for Independence Day!  This 4th of July window treatment is super easy, cheap to make, and gives the space where it hangs a subtle festive feeling.

Here is the spot I was looking to add a little seasonal color.... I usually wrap a plastic flower garland around the tension rod above my kitchen sink to add a little seasonal festivity to an otherwise hard to decorate room.  This is my REAL office, by definition of the place where I spend the most time working...

What I had available... some fabric remnants, ribbon, yarn, and stem wires in the right colors.

First, to make the stars, I bent the stem wires into star shapes. I overlapped the edges and twisted them together on some of the stars, and just overlapped the edges on others.  Cut the fabric into thin strips (< 1/2 inch or about 1 cm) and rough up the edges by running the strip through your hands until the edges start to fray (a great kid job).

 

Put a little tacky glue on the overlapped edges and start wrapping! 

 Wrap the entire star. Then, use a little tacky glue to secure the end of the fabric strip.

 I had some white feathery "yarn" to use for hanging the stars, but any sort of white ribbon would do the trick.  At this point, the stars could hang in a window as is, or be part of a garland or window treatment like below.

To cover the tension rod, I cut another strip of fabric wide enough to wrap around the rod to make a fabric sleeve.  I sewed two lengths together so that the fabric could bunch up along the rod.  Then, I cut a bunch of small pieces of ribbon to make loops for hanging the stars.  Turn the ribbon shiny side down and space them where you like (I used a ruler width).  My very fancy method of holding the ribbon in place was a small piece of transparent tape! Fold over the edges and sew together, inside out.

When you turnover the rod sleeve (outside in), you can remove the tape and admire your loops!

Here is the rod sleeve with loops, all done and ready for the stars!

Here is the finished product, with stars attached:

Happy 4th of July to you!

I've linked this project up with a whole bunch of creatively awesome crafts here:

Spreading Patriotic Cheer With Craft Foam: A 4th of July Decoration Idea

Looking for an inexpensive way to add some patriotic cheer to your yard or porch? Don't forget about craft foam!  Foam is easy to write on, cut out, and glue, is inexpensive, and will last through rain and sun for at least a few seasons (the color will eventually fade). 

Try simple star bangles to hang from a tree or hooks on the porch.  An instant splash of color and porch bling!

Free star template below.
Sloppy Stars
DreamHost promotional codes

Patriotic Leapin' Uncle Sam! An Independence Day Paper Craft

These patriotic leapin' fellas are sure to bring a smile any place they hang!  A free template follows the directions. Happy 4th of July, everyone! 


Materials
paper (red, white, blue, black)
poster board or other stiff paper for backing
white paint (eyes)
markers (for eyes and mouth)
scissors, hole punch, & glue (rubber cement)
ruler (optional, for making striped paper)
brass brad fasteners
embroidery floss
beads (optional decoration for pull string)

How to's
1) Print out template below and cut out pieces.

2) Trace template pieces to paper and cut out.

3)  I made striped paper by using a white sharpie marker and a ruler. However, it would certainly be easier if you had striped paper already!  The white marker has a wide tip which makes drawing stripes challenging.  Paint would work too, with a steady hand.  Of course, plain red pants would work fine. Or, a different pattern!  I had the pen on hand from trying different methods to trace patterns onto dark felt (a reject!).

 4)  Glue pieces together. My favorite glue for this kind of paper craft is rubber cement.  Use an eraser to rub off any extra!

5)  My favorite way to make eyes on paper crafts is to dot a Q-tip (cotton swab) in white paint.  You could also glue on white hole punch remains as an alternative.

6)  Use colored markers to add eyes (sharpie!) and mouth.  For the hat brim, I tried a ribbon on some and the red striped paper on others. 

7) Use a hole punch to put holes in places indicated on the template.

8)  Insert brass fasteners through body, then lower hole on legs and arms.  Don't push the fasteners too tight or the legs/arms won't move freely.

9) Align legs and arms in a relaxed/resting position. Tie arms together with a small piece of embroidery floss. Repeat for legs.

10)  Connect the leg string to the arm string, leaving a length of floss at the bottom as a pull string.  I  cut a length of floss and knotted it to the leg string first. Then connected that to the arm string.  Lastly, I tied red, white, and blue pony beads to the bottom of the floss for a pull "handle."

11)  Add a hole and loop of floss to the hat for hanging.  Pull on the string to make Uncle Sam dance!   

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY, EVERYONE!

Jumping Uncle Sam
I've linked here:

Fourth of July: Setting the Mood with Independence Day Picture Books

There's nothing like good picture books to set the mood for an upcoming festivity!

It is hard to top Michael Garland when it comes to great holiday imagery!  This is an all-ages book... my kids love searching for hidden pictures throughout the story.  And the feast of Americana graphics gets us all ready for some celebrating!

Fourth of July, Sparkly Sky, by Joan Holub and Amanda Haley is a touchy-feely board book.  We've held onto this memory of earlier days for its happy artwork and sparkly pages.

This list is too short!  We've been looking at library books but don't have recommendations yet... we'll be back!

4th of July Uncle Sam Felt Finger Puppets

No excuses for making 28 of these when the kids are not in school, no classmates to give them to,

just an idea that had to come out... Hope you all had a good holiday!

Liberty Eagles

Liberty Eagles