Hot off the Grill Cupcakes

"I grill, therefore I am."

-- Alton Brown

I found these little babies on Pinterest a while ago

They looked like a lot of fun to make, and what better time than summer when you're having a cookout.  Just an FYI, these were NOT made on the grill, but in a normal indoor oven.  :-)

Upon further investigation, they were taken from a Taste of Home recipe called Cookout Brownies

(Sorry, not the best picture, but you get the idea.)

From my board "Cupcakes take the cake."

American Flag Tie Dye Shirts

"This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave."

--Elmer Davis

Okay, I'll admit it.  I really went all out this Fourth of July.  I guess because I haven't been crafty in a while.  And this is such a happy occasion to celebrate.  

Found these really cute tie-dyed t-shirts from Melissa A Photography.  Now I am going to tell you right here, right now, that I suck at tie-dying.  Either the colors wash out, or the colors come out wrong (red is pink, blue is turquoise, etc.) and it is time consuming and makes such a mess!  So I actually surprised myself when I decided to tackle this project.  And I didn't just make A shirt.  I made 7 - for my kids and their 5 cousins.  What I liked about these was the design - actually trying to make the tie-dye look like stars and stripes.  My older son wanted his shirt to have a target pattern to it

(As you can see, I easily could have put a lot more dye on them.)

And here they are wearing them for the Fourth of July bike parade!

If you read my earlier posts this week, these are my nieces who are sporting some of the goodies out of their Fourth of July goody bags.  #auntieoftheyear

From my board "You're a grand old flag."

Fourth of July Clothespin Wreath

"The red and white and starry blue

Is freedom's shield and hope."

-- John Philip Sousa 

I love being crafty, and I don't do it anywhere near enough.  I love the look of those burlap-type wreaths, but I don't think I have the patience to deal with the looping or whatever it is you have to do.  I like things simple.  So when I found this Fourth of July Clothespin Wreath by Missbutterbean, I knew that it fit my needs exactly.  

This was super easy to make.  The most expensive part was the wire wreath frame which I could only find at Michael's.  I went home and made it in a day (you have to allow drying time).  I was so impressed with myself and my finished product, that I made two more, for my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law.  I would have kept going but I ran out of paint and clothespins by the time the Fourth of July rolled around.

From my board "You're a grand old flag."

Fourth of July Parade Stick

"Let freedom never perish in your hands." 

~Joseph Addison

Happy Fourth of July!!!  I LOVE holidays!  I love decorating, eating, parties, eating, dressing up, eating, seeing the family . . . . . did I mention eating?  But seriously, holidays are for celebrating.  And what better thing to celebrate than our nation's independence?

So even though I have to work this Fourth of July weekend, I want to make sure that the kids are all well-equipped for the Fourth of July bike parade.  Although W & B might be getting a little bit too old for this kind of thing (although they did want their bikes decorated), the little girl nieces are totally up for this!!!!!  And of course I found THE perfect accessory on Pinterest.  A parade stick.  (Think of a way better and cooler pom pom!)  I saw it and thought - PERFECT!!!

Posted by eighteen25, these 4th of July Parade Wands will be on every little girl's wish list!

They were super easy to make.  Mine were a little pricey because I didn't have any ribbon at home.  I found a nice mix of patterns at JoAnn's, along with a bag of dowels.  DH was kind enough to drill a hole and put the eye hooks on the tops for me.  Then I spray painted them with leftover paint from some Pinewood Derby cars (I hope you guys weren't going to need it next year).  I cut the ribbons to different lengths (12 - 24 inches). Then threaded the ribbons through the eye.  I think I got about 6 ribbons through each one.  I didn't tie them or anything.  They were crammed in there tight enough that they stayed put.  My problem was that some of the eye hooks weren't closed tight enough and the ribbons slid out through the crack.  But once tightened with some pliers, everything was good to go.



From my board "You're a grand old flag."