4th of July Decor on the Cheap: Garland

Talk about last minute...I know, I know.  It's pretty late to just be getting up 4th of July decorations.  But I saw these paper fireworks here and here and just couldn't help myself.  I typically don't change my fireplace mantle seasonally (except for Christmas) but this garland was such an easy thing to do, I just might start!

Instead of gluing the fireworks together like Landee did, I hung some twine and used cute mini clothespins to attach the fireworks.  Here's a closer look....

I also added some letters to spell out "July"...

I'm really pleased with how it turned out!

Argh to the fireplace insert.....someday I will have one that is actually inside the fireplace and has no bronze, but for now, I'll just imagine it.  What do you think about the old window?  It's the one I found dumpster diving back here!

And now the checklist...
Patriotic?  Red, white & blue....check.
Easy?  I seemed to have some issues with my firework making ability, but overall still relatively easy...check.
Cheap?  I had all the supplies on hand, so it was a grand total of $0....check!

I'm almost positive this will be the last in the 4th of July series, unless more inspiration hits!!  Hope you have enjoyed my other 4th of July ideas too.... the wreath, pinwheels, and patriotic breakfast.... check them out if you haven't already had the chance!

Linking this up to some of my favorites ~ go check them out!!

Patriotic Breakfast

I am literally up to my neck in berries.  Strawberry season is long gone, but this week I picked 4 quarts of red raspberries and bought 20 (yes, twenty) pounds of blueberries. 

 

We've eaten lots of berries.  I've made Banana-Raspberry Bread and Blueberry Muffins, and frozen a lot of blueberries to be used throughout the year.  But still, I have a lot of berries.  I'm thinking 20 pounds might have been going a smidge overboard.  (Although at $34, I'll have blueberries year round for a fraction of what they would be if I'd be buying them at the grocery store).

Today as I was searching blueberry recipes, I came upon one for Blueberry Sauce.  Super easy:  combine 1 lb blueberries, 1/2 c sugar, 3 tbsp lemon juice, and 2 tsp cornstarch in a medium saucepan.  Stir over medium heat until cornstarch dissolves and then boil four minutes, stirring occasionally.

The wheels started turning and I decided to use the last of my red raspberries to make raspberry sauce.  I used basically the same recipe, just tweaking things as I went along.  Since the 4th of July is almost here, I used the two sauces for a patriotic breakfast-for-dinner tonight.  French toast with red, white (Reddi-Whip), and blue toppings!

Both sauces were delicious....Jackson especially loved the blueberry sauce and also put some on his ice cream for dessert.  I still have quite a few blueberries left, so I'm planning on making more of this sauce to freeze.....I'm imagining it on pancakes, cheesecake, angel food cake, there are tons of possibilities!

Anyone have any favorite blueberry recipes to share? 

Linking up to a few of my favorites!

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4th of July Decor on the Cheap: Pinwheels

Like I said in yesterday's post, I haven't typically decorated for the 4th of July and I wanted to show a little patriotism this year, but I wanted to do it CHEAP.  Here's another super easy, super frugal idea to add a little 4th of July spirit to your home....Dollar Store Pinwheels.

I bought 2 packs of red, white, and blue pinwheels at the Dollar Tree.  I used one set outside as planter decorations on my front porch....

Need a closer look?

With the other set of pinwheels, I grabbed a metal tin from Target's Dollar section, stuffed it with some cotton batting (the foamy stuff for floral arrangements would be a much better solution, but I didn't have any), topped it with a little red burlap and just stuck in the pinwheels!

It's sitting pretty in one of my latest yard sale finds, our new 7-Up Crate, keeping one of the remotes company (the other is still missing.)

On to the checklist...
Patriotic?  Red, White and Blue....check.
Easy?  Buy pinwheels.  Stick them in something.  Check.
Cheap?  $1/set, for a total of $2...(plus $1 for the bucket, but I already had that).  Check.

I think it's cute, but next year I'm definitely going to "splurge" and get some of the floral foam!

**Don't forget...tomorrow is the last day to end my first ever giveaway!!**

 

4th of July Decor on the Cheap: Wreath

For some reason, I have never decorated much for the 4th of July, and this year I wanted to start remedying that.  Since I don't exactly devote a large portion of our budget to seasonal decorating, I needed to come up with some cheap ideas to make our home a little more festive and patriotic.  I turned to the blogosphere and found this cutey wreath from The Creative Imperative.

I loved the idea, wanted to come up with something similar, and here's what I ended up with....

Looking back, I think I should have made the stripes a little thinner so they looked more American Flag-like and not so much like a candy cane, but that's ok.  Please note there are exactly 13 buttons ~ how very colonial of me!

Patriotic?  It's a wreath version of an American flag.  Check.
Easy?  A little time consuming, but my 5 year old probably could have done it, so Check.
Cheap?  I already had the yarn and buttons, so all I needed was the wreath form.  I bought a straw wreath for under $3 at Joann's ~ Check!

As a bonus, I finally took my Spring Wreath off the front door!  Yep, now that it's officially summer, bird's nests were officially starting to look weird and out of place.

**Don't forget to enter my very first giveaway, ending 6/30......check it out ~ there's new stuff in Katie's shop!**

Linking up to a few of my favorites!

It's always such an honor to be featured!  Thanks to the following...

Summertime Sprinkler Fun

When I first started this blog, I had good intentions of it being a great way to keep friends and family updated on our family.  Then I started following crafty DIY blogs and the family posts and updates haven't been as frequent.  I know there's friends and family out there who probably couldn't care less about what wreath is currently hanging on my front door, so this post is dedicated to you......filled with pictures of the kiddos in all their summertime glory!

Oh how I love them!!!  We are so blessed!

It's Strawberry Season!

My favorite thing about June?  Fresh strawberries!!!  Each year we love to go pick a bunch, and then I spend the next day making freezer jam.  I also freeze some strawberries whole, for smoothie making throughout the year, and also freeze some sliced, for strawberry shortcake or to eat over pancakes or french toast.  We save the rest and for the next few weeks I make a LOT of strawberry dishes.  Jackson and I met a friend at the strawberry patch last night and together picked 24 quarts of berries (at $1.75/quart).

We picked 2 kinds...can you tell?  The small dark berries are the best for jam!

Over the next week or so I'll be sharing a few of my favorite strawberry recipes, but for now the most important:  freezer jam.  Our family is pretty big into good ole PB&J, so we go through a lot of jam over the course of the year.  Nothing beats homemade strawberry jam, and it is very cost effective and easy!!

Here's the heroine of the story (or recipe, as the case may be)....

Ball Instant Fruit Pectin....the "no cook" version.  Grab a pack of this, mix it with 1 1/2 cups sugar.  Stir into a bowl of 4 cups of mashed strawberries for 3 minutes, and then ladle into jars.  Allow to set for at least 30 minutes before putting into the freezer.  Seriously.  That's it.  Repeat as desired, until you have a freezer full of jelly!

Coming up later this week.....the BEST Strawberry Pie EVAH.....hint:  it involves chocolate!

What are your favorite things to make with strawberries?