patriotic hair bows

Ready to wear red white and blue?  Here is a quick tutorial for the patriotic hair bows we made this year.  I first started with some red ribbon with white polka dots.  I love polkadots!!!  Make your favorite bow.  I then wanted to make some blue curly (also called korker) ribbon to tie around the middle.

I started with some 1/4 in. dowels (can be found at Walmart, any craft or hardware store), 1/4 navy blue ribbon, and some mini clothes pins.

Clip one end of the ribbon onto the dowel with a clothes pin and then wrap the ribbon all the way around until you reach the bottom.  Cut ribbon and clip this end with another clothes pin.

The next step is to bake it in the oven at 275 degrees for about 20 minutes.  If I am just doing a small amount of ribbon like this I use my small toaster oven with smaller dowels.  You can do big batches in your regular oven with longer dowels placed on a cookie sheet.  Both will work.

When the ribbon is done it will look like this when you take it off the dowel.  I cut off three pieces to tie around each bow.

This is a quick way to finish the ends of ribbon so they do not fray.  Quickly pass the ends of the ribbon by the flame to seal them.  I use tweezers for small curly ribbon like this so I don't burn my fingers.  

Tie the ribbon around the bow and secure with a dap of hot glue. Hot glue on your favorite clip.  High temp glue guns work best for hair bows.  I used a alligator clip for these because I wanted to be able to put it on a hat or in  my girls hair.  Hopefully you can follow this ok.  If you ever have any questions please ask?

  

I think that these would look so cute with some of these star hair dos from Princess Hairstyles.  I tried some yesterday and it turned out cute but I didn't get a picture. 

flower bed flag

I love flowers and was on the hunt. I had this idea. Lets make of flower flag!

All you really need is flowers in red, white and blue and a little space for your flag.

I can't wait to see how it looks in a few weeks when all the space as filled in.

We had such a fun time doing this all together and take great pride in our family flag. We definitely feel more patriotic and are reminded of our blessing of freedom and grateful for the men and women who put their lives on the line for us daily. Thank you!!

fourth of july desserts

Every 4th of July I look forward to creating AND eating a Red, White and Blue dessert...they are so Patriotic! I always choose a simple, fun and yummy recipe that I can successfully create. I made these the other day for my family to try...they loved them and they were super-easy.



Red, White and Blue Parfaits

INGREDIENTS:
1 8-ounce carton vanilla low-fat yogurt
1/4 teaspoon almond extract or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 of an 8-ounce container frozen light whipped dessert topping, thawed
3 cups fresh raspberries and/or cut-up fresh strawberries
3 cups fresh blueberries

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large bowl, stir together yogurt and almond extract or vanilla. Fold in whipped topping.
2. To serve, in six 12-ounce glasses or dessert dishes, alternate layers of the berries with layers of the yogurt mixture. Makes 6 servings.
Make-Ahead Directions: Prepare parfaits as directed through Step 2. Cover and chill for up to 1 hour.

Today I discovered some perfect 4th of July recipes that are simple and that anyone can create...the possibilities are endless! Now to decide which one I will make for our 4th of July Celebration.

If you need to serve a really big crowd, a Cupcake Flag (pictured below) is a great option. You can make it as big as you need to, whether you’re going to serve 36 cupcakes or 136.



Dip strawberries or oreos into melted white chocolate and roll in blue-colored sugar and decorate with sprinkles. Definitely Patriotic!




Star Pound Cake

Pound cake gets the star treatment. Use star-shape cookie cutters, one 3-inch, the other 1-inch, to cut slices of homemade or store-bought pound cake and strawberries for serving. For berries, cut off the green tops, slice in half top to bottom, and use the 1-inch cookie cutter to form stars. Drizzle with a sugar glaze and serve.



Dipped Ice Cream Sandwiches require very few ingredients and they only take 20 minutes to prepare.



INGREDIENTS:
4 ice cream sandwiches
1 tablespoon shortening
6 squares (1 ounce) semi-sweet chocolate
Red, white and blue sprinkles

DIRECTIONS:
Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.
Melt the chocolate and shortening in a microwave or heavy pan and mix it until it becomes very smooth and soft.
Quickly dip ice cream sandwiches in melted chocolate with sprinkles.
Place on prepared baking sheet then keep it frozen.

If you want more ideas for Red, White and Blue Desserts...go and check out these websites...
Martha Stewart
Family Fun
Better Homes and Gardens

freedom wand

This cute little wand is a fun activity for kids at a 4th of July party. 

 

To make stars:

Cut out the star shapes from colored paper. 

For a free star pattern to print onto red, white and blue paper  click here.

Glue the stars together.  You will need two full stars for one wand.

Place a 12 inch dowel, chopstick, or popscicle stick between the two stars and glue together.

Add curling ribbon, glitter, star garland, etc.

summer strawberry shortcake

I love strawberries!!! Strawberry Shortcake has always been one of my favorite summer foods especially when the strawberries are fresh from the garden. My mom always made this classic biscuit like shortcake when I was little and I love it warm from the oven covered with strawberries and cream. I braved turning on the oven on this hot summer day for this yummy summer dessert and it turned out so good!!

2 Cups of Sliced Strawberries
1/2 cup of Sugar
1/3 cup of Butter
2 cups of Flour
1/4 cup of Sugar
3 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
1tsp Vanilla
3/4 cup Milk
Whipped Cream

Sprinkle the 1/2 cup of sugar on the sliced strawberries and then let is sit. The sugar will draw out all of the juices.
Heat oven to 450 degrees.
Place butter, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in food processor or blender until mixture looks like fine crumbs.
Place crumbs in a bowl and stir in vanilla and milk just until combined.
Place dough on a lightly floured surface and gently knead. I had to add a little more flour here because mine was still a little sticky. Knead about 20 times and then roll it out to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut out whatever shape you would like. You could use cookie cutters, the top of a cup, or just cut it into squares.
Place them on a greased cookie sheet about 1 inch apart. I then sprayed mine with cooking spray and added a dash of cinnamon sugar on the top.
Bake these for 8-10 min until they are golden brown.
Split shortcake and fill with strawberries and cream.
Makes about 10 shortcakes.