4th of July Shirts

I have a hard time MAKING shirts. You can buy shirts for so cheap all ready to go. Especially 4th of July shirts. They are everywhere for only $5.00. But, I must admit there is something fun about creating them the way that you want.

I saw a shirt that had the cutest saying on it, but the shirt itself was UGLY. Even for $5.00, I couldn't bring myself to put the boys in it. So, that was my reason for making a shirt.

For those of you that don't know..my husband is in the Army. We are so proud of him. What better way to show that than these adorable shirts.

I have been wanting to try freezer paper stencilling for a while now. I used the tutorial over at I Am Momma. I usually don't like video tutorials, but this one was pretty good & answered any questions you might have.







I can't wait to make some more shirts. If you have been thinking about freezer paper stencilling...give it a try!

4th of July Craft

Last year, my cute sister in law Val made this really cute centerpiece with her kiddos. So, here you have it!

She took a drink mix container (like Crystal Light).


Then she covered it with crepe paper. You could really use any kind of paper!


Then poked a foil fun pix (from the holiday section at Michael's) through the center of the lid. She cut off most of the toothpick after she poked it through and covered it so it won't poke anyone. Then cut out red, white, & blue stars & stick them on.


The finished product...


I made one similar, but used the supplies that I had on hand. I used craft foam & chenille stems. It was fun to make & they turned out pretty festive!



I love this idea! Thanks Val!!

{reposted from July 2009}

Fireworks!!

I found this craft in my July 2009 Parents magazine. Because of the glue & glitter this can be really messy (with a 3 & 4 year old)...so we did ours outside. The boys loved doing this craft & even shared their fireworks with the neighbors.



You will need:

*Red & blue chenille stems
*Scissors or wire cutters
*Red & blue glitter
*Glue
*Something to rest the chenille stems on to dry
*Containers for glue & glitter
*Thread or fishing line



Cut your chenille stems in half. You will need 5-6 whole chenille stems to make one firework.

Pour your glue & glitter into their own little bowls. Dip the end of the chenille stem half into glue & then into the glitter. I alternated colors...so blue chenille stem into red glitter. Set the stem aside to dry (I used a blueberry container to let mine dry...but it really wasn't big enough).

Once the stems are dry...get about 10-12 stems. Gather all of your stems together except for 1.




Wrap the 1 leftover stem around the center of your pile of stems



Then, bend & flare out the stem to resemble a firework. Tie your string or fishing line around the center of the firework...& there you have it.

Firecracker Centerpiece

My cute sister in law Val made this really cute centerpiece with her kiddos yesterday & she told me that I could post it on here. I think that we will make some today...SO CUTE!! So, here you have it!

She took a drink mix container (like Crystal Light).


Then she covered it with crepe paper. You could really use any kind of paper!


Then poked a foil fun pix (from the holiday section at Michael's) through the center of the lid. She cut off most of the toothpick after she poked it through and covered it so it won't poke anyone. Then cut out red, white, & blue stars & stick them on.


The finished product...


I love this idea! Thanks Val!!1

4th of July Flag

I came across THIS really cute flag idea from Family Fun. It is different than just gluing stuff on paper. I didn't have any paperclips or bells at home, but I had just about everything else...so we improvised a bit.

This is Preston's:



This is Kaden's:


Here is what you need:

*Craft foam (blue, red, white)
*Bamboo skewer (with the sharp end cut off)
*Paint (white)
*Star stamp (I just cut a mini star out of craft foam & stuck it to the end of a pencil)
*Glue
*Ribbon
*Paper clips or string
*Chenille Stems
*Regular scissors
*Decorative scissors
*Small hole punch

First, cut your blue craft foam 4 x 4 1/2 inches. Punch 4 evenly spaced holes on the top of the 4 1/2 in side & 7 evenly spaced holes in the bottom of the 4 1/2 in side. Stamp the blue piece with stars & let it dry.

While your stars are drying...cut the red & white pieces of craft foam with the decorative scissors. You will need 3 red strips 1/2 in x 8 in & 4 red strips 1/2 in x 3 1/2 in. Then cut 3 white strips 1/2 in x 8 in & 3 white strips 1/2 in x 3 1/2 in. Punch a hole in the top of each strip.

Attach the small strips (with either the string or paper clips) to the bottom of the blue rectangle...starting from the left with red & alternating left. Then, add string or paperclips to the long strips. Also attach the strings or paper clips to the top of the blue rectangle (in the 4 holes). Slide the rectangle onto the skewer & then add the longer strips starting with white & alternating colors left.

To make it so that everything didn't move..I put a bit of hot glue on the top of each string. I twisted 2 chenille stems together (blue & white) & hot glued them to the front of the skewer. Then, I tied my ribbon to the skewer/chenille stem.

The boys each got to pick where they wanted to put their flag. Kaden picked his bedroom door & Preston picked the front door.