Everyday Celebrations: fourth of july

Showing posts with label fourth of july. Show all posts

Friday, July 1, 2011

Finished Project: America Banner Using the Cricut

I know I've been saying this frequently, but I'm working on lots of different projects. All are in different stages of completedneess. Some involve sewing, some are Photoshop projects or other various home projects. I fully intend on sharing most as they get done, but in the meantime, please excuse my very infrequent blogging. (Actually, I don't think I've ever considered myself a 'frequent' blogger.) I will try and share more of how I did the projects instead of 'here is this great thing I made!' A little more exciting don't cha think? I sure do.

So here we go, not a tutorial by any means, but a little explanation of how I made this cute little 'America' banner using the Cricut. (I also made a Birthday banner using the same method and posted pictures here.)

I love making these banners because they are relatively quick. Cutting out the pieces on the Cricut takes the biggest chunk of time. However, just load and set to cut then you can go and finish more important things, like cleaning the bathroom. :) I used the Mini Monograms cartridge, the first and only cartridge I will ever get in addition to the ones that came with my Cricut. (It is a great one to get. I found mine for about $24.00 with no shipping on eBay.) I cut the scalloped circles at 5" and the inner circles at 4.25". If you use 12x12 scrapbook paper you can fit four scalloped circles or four regular circles on each page. I used the Smiley Monster font for the letters and cut using the Sure Cuts A lot program I purchased for my computer. (Sadly, you can no longer buy Sure Cuts A lot for the Cricut.) All the letters fit nicely on one 12x12 piece of scrapbook paper. If you have a Silhouette, you can do the exact same thing as I am sure they have similar shapes. Then it is just a process of layering and gluing the circles and letters together and stringing with tulle. I also threw in some left over star garland from another project instead of buying ribbon. If you are hosting a Fourth of July event, this is easy enough to throw together for a quick decoration.

I hope everyone has a fabulous and safe Fourth! I hope we all take a moment to remember this great country we live in, and those who have served and are serving to protect our great nation.

Happy Fourth of July!

LeAnne

Monday, June 20, 2011

Strawberry Jam and Fourth of July

So how did it get to be the almost end of June already? Wow.

The last week or so I've been up to my elbows in strawberry jam and other strawberry goodies. I ran out of my 2 cup plastic jars I typically use and decided to get a smaller size to give as gifts to friends/family. So I went to get those cute little size plastic Tuperwares, you know that you use for salad dressings in lunches, and Walmart had their version. Six for $1.67ish...you know the typical Walmart price...end it with a seven or a nine. I came home filled up the jars and I couldn't get over how cute they looked. Blue lids, yummy red jam...wait a minute. What a cute little Fourth of July present for neighbors/friends. The little size holds just about 1/2 cup of jam. So I just ripped up some festive fabric I had on hand and made some cute little tags. Talk about quick, easy, and inexpensive.

There are so may fun Fourth of July ideas out there in blogland right now. Some of my favorite are:

Patriotic Trifle

I love Trifle...making this for the Fourth

Fourth of July Subway Art

Hope you are keeping cool this summer!!

Happy Monday,

LeAnne

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Tutorial: Quick and Festive 4th of July Crowns

I love the 4th of July. I have many wonderful memories of this holiday from my childhood. My parents always hosted a Pancake Breakfast on the morning of the 4th. We made hats out of newspaper, decorated our bikes with streamers in the spokes, and of course had lots of blueberry pancakes! It was always a great morning. I remember one year we decided not to host a Pancake Breakfast so no formal invites were sent out. However, some families were so accustomed to coming that people still showed up at our front door!

Too bad this cute idea wasn't around back then because these fun and festive 4th of July Crowns would have been one of the projects at that Pancake Breakfast.

(This project goes way back. I have to give a shout out to my friend Katie who made similar crowns like this for us to wear to HS football games back in the day. We like to say she started a trend at our school with these crowns...they started popping up all over the place after she made them for us!)

A few weeks ago I found this festive garland at the Dollar Tree. I immediately remembered Katie's crowns and knew I had to make some. I made a bunch yesterday, they are a super quick and very festive.

Safety Note: The garland is wired and can be pointy on the end. Be sure that adults cut and twist the wire.

All you need is:
wired star garland (I found mine at the Dollar Tree, 25 feet for a dollar...what a deal!)
curling ribbon
scissors
masking tape

1. Measure around your head, adding some so you can twist the ends together. Cut your desired amount of garland.

2. Twist the ends together. I removed some of the stars from the ends so I could better twist the ends together. The ends of the garland can be pointy. If you are concerned about the pointy ends, you can cover the twisted bunch with tape. (Then cover the tape with the ribbons.)

3. Then, take a shorter length of garland, 6 inches or so, and twist it back and forth through the back covering where you twisted or taped.

4. I made three 'tiers' of ribbon length. (I really didn't measure how long they were, this is just an estimate. Your lengths may vary based on the age you are making the crowns for.)

For the 1st tier I made two bunches of the four colors measuring about two yards in length.
For the 2nd tier I made two bunches of the four colors measuring about one yard in length.
For the 3rd tier I made one bunch of the four colors measuring about 18" in length.

Tie ribbons on to crown so there are equal amounts on each side. Secure with a tight double knot. The last tier can be tied into a loose bow. I only lightly curled some of the ribbons that needed it. Most of the curling ribbon I did not curl.

Quick and so easy! These adorable crowns sparkle, glitter, and shine in the sunshine! Also, they can be made for almost any occasion. Imagine how patriotic these would look for girls to wear welcoming home a family member or friend that has served in the military.