Red, White & Blue Holiday Crafts and a Frozen Treat

I really love the 4^th of July! Next to Christmas, it is one of my favorite holidays.  I know Christmas is pretty awesome, but I really feel like the 4^th is a spectacular holiday without all the pressure and stress of finding the right gift. And there are no hard and fast rules on how to celebrate. For me it has always been the perfect kickoff to summer.  Whether we are at the beach, in our hometown or traveling home to see family the formula for the day is the same. Eat, laugh and watch fireworks. It doesn’t get any simpler than that!

Here is a fun little recap of how the girls and I are preparing for our holiday of red, white and blue!

We made a sparkly art project using cookie cutters, paint, glitter, glue and construction paper. All items I already have at home. Ok, I had to go out and buy the construction paper because I was out. So really I spent a whole buck on this project!

Final Product

JULY 4^TH ART

• Red, white and blue construction paper
• Washable paints (we chose red, white, blue and yellow)
• Star-shaped cookie cutters
• Glue
• Any color glitter
• Paper plates
• Plastic forks

Squeeze some paint onto paper plate and allow kids to dip the cookie cutters in. Then help them stamp onto construction paper. We used red, white and blue for the stars. For fireworks we dipped a plastic fork into yellow paint and stamped on the page, and we used glue and glitter.  Nice effect either way!

Angle fork prints to make fire works effect

Glitter makes everything better

These are so cute! I think these will make really fun cards for some of our friends!

 

Hand prints are a cute stand in for the stars on our flag craft

“STARS” AND STRIPES

• 2 pieces of white construction paper
• 1 piece of red construction paper
• Blue paint
• Paint brush
• Glue
• Marker
• Scissors

Start by painting your child’s hand and placing print in upper left hand section of the white paper.  (Be sure to give them an extra piece of paper to continue stamping hand prints). Next, place stripes on page and have child help you glue one at a time. The top most stripes will be longer than the page as it borders the hand print. You can cut off the excess before or after you glue it. Tip: Before you bring the kids to the table for this craft have all the red stripes already cut. This saves wiggly kids from having to wait. Also, have plenty of baby wipes, or paper towels on hand! Makes 2 flag crafts.

 

No summer holiday is complete without icy cold treats! Anyone else remember eating bomb pops as a kid; those red, white and blue striped frozen treats on a stick? We made ours with berry purees and coconut milk.

Layer berry puree with coconut milk, almond milk or vanilla yogurt for a holiday look.

BERRY “BOMB POPS”

• Frozen ice pop tray
• 1 cup of strawberries, washed and hulled
• ¼ cup of coconut milk
• 1 cup of blueberries, washed
• 3 TBS grape juice

Puree strawberries and pour small amount into molds. Freeze. This is your first layer.

Pour small amount of coconut milk into each section, but do not fill. Place in freezer. You want the milk to be firm, but not frozen. This is your second layer.

Last, puree blueberries with grape juice for a more intense blue color (really a dark purple). Fill remaining space in your pop mold and place the sticks inside. This is your final layer. Place in freezer and allow to freeze until solid. Tip: Use a funnel to get perfect fill lines and for less mess!

All we have left to do is put out the flag and fire up the grill! Ok, maybe a few more frozen treats and one more cute craft.

 

What are some of your July 4th/Summer faves?