make it: 4th of July Party Banner

4th of July Party Banner

This banner is perfect to string across your front porch, patio or picnic table. The soft sparkles from the extreme glitter are sure to please and shine in the summer sun.

Materials:

Folkart paint – 436 Fire Engine Red
Extreme Glitter – Red
Folkart paint – 643 Azure Blue
Extreme Glitter - Turquoise
Extreme Glitter – Silver
9 large wood circles
Foam paintbrush
Felt Stars – red,white and blue
Hot glue
Chipboard letters – BOOM BANG
Wood Star
Tulle – red, white and blue 1/3 yard each
Scissors
Red, white and blue ribbon – 6 yards
9 small wood disks
Scrap ribbons

Steps:

1. Paint 8 of the wood circles with the red paint and 1 of the circles with the blue paint. Allow to dry. Paint each circle with 2 or 3 coats of Extreme Glitter. Use the red over the red circles and the turquoise over the blue circle. Allow for dry time in between coats. Paint the wood star with the same technique using either red or turquoise.

2. Topcoat the chipboard letters with silver Extreme Glitter.

3. Hot glue a felt star to the center of each wood circle. Next, hot glue a chipboard letter to the center of the star. (For this project I spelled Boom and Bang, but you could spell anything related to the 4th of July.)For the blue circle, hot glue the wood star in the center.

4. Cut the tulle into 5 X 5 squares and layer the tulle by color. Got glue a stack of 6 layers of tulle behind each wood circle. Trim the tulle to a semi round shape and slice around the circle to create a fringed effect.

5. Line up the tulled wood circles across the red, white and blue ribbon. Place the “star” circle in the center to separate the words “BOOM” and “BANG”. Hot glue the circles to the ribbon (it is best to glue towards the top of the circle). Hot glue a small wood disk over the glued section for extra security.

Make it: 4th of July Crafts and Recipes

July 4th recipes!

Mango Salmon, Grilled Corn & Spiked Lemonade
Smores on a Stick & Cherry Cheesecake Pie

Star Painted and Stitched Napkins& Cookie Cutter Napkin Rings

These are so easy to make. The cookie cutters were Mod Podged with fabric scrap strips to give them a little extra pop. I picked the napkins up from Target and jazzed them up with a little Folkart fabric paint and embroidery floss. Click for complete instructions.

Recycled Denim Table Runner

This is the perfect project for recycling an old pair of jean and for using up scrap fabrics. Click for complete instructions.

Quilted Star - Made with fabric and Mod Podge!

I picked up the star from a shop call Big Lots, a discount store that always has seasonal merchandise. The star was painted with a "not so hot" stars and stripes design - so I painted over it and Mod Podged some quilting fabrics to the points. Click for complete instructions.

New babies will want to join in the celebration! Jazz up some $dollar store items with a little fabric paint.

Firecracker Bean Bag Toss

Build your own backyard carnival game with old coffee cans and a piece of plywood. Kids will love playing this classic game of toss.

make it: Flower Cake!

Grandma Oleta Rosie Bush

Grandma Oleta Rosie (Hinton) Bush
Feb 5, 1918 - June 9, 2009

This past week my Grandmother passed away. She lived to be 91 years old. Grandma was a tough as nails farm wife and mother who raised my father (Gary Bush) and his sister (Sally Bagwell) in rural Warren, Oklahoma.

Grandpa, Sally, Grandma and my dad as a baby.

My grandfather, Oran Bush, married her on October 3rd in 1936 - the same year she graduated from Warren High School, she was only 18 years old. They made a modest living of $100 the first year they were married.

I have so many stories about grandma and grandpa - I would not even know where to begin. I can tell you they loved to play dominoes, they used camphophenic as a cure all and I once saw my grandma wash a mouth out with soap and water.

Grandma and Grandpa's House.

This is where my dad grew up. The house was much smaller back in the day - this is with the extension.

1967 - Grandma in front of the house

The front door.

I have never seen anyone come through this door. The only door used was the one on the back porch that opened into the kitchen. Grandma was famous for her cooking and they always ate their main meal (dinner) at lunch time. She always stocked Cool Whip for her Mississippi Mud dessert and never scolded us if we dipped a finger in early.

The garden deer outside the front door.

a real deer - just passing by

The barn.

So many memories and so many good times. My older sister and I spent many hot summer days playing in the barn and in the fields. We would ride on grandpa's tractor and hunt for arrowheads.

Fire ants - a staple of rural Oklahoma.

The wheat fields.

My cousin Dirk and his son Kader are planting wheat in the fields. We are hoping for a bumper crop this year. Dirk and Kader will continue to look after the land.

Dad, Eldon and Dirk


Old equipment waiting to be used again.


The old mailbox.

Grandpa's old truck - still in the garage.

Scorpions...watch out!

The Dirt Road.

This is the road where every member of my family learned how to drive. Dad would prop us up on his lap and let us steer as he controlled the foot peddles. As soon as our feet could touch the peddles, we were allowed to give it a go on our own.

Erin and I after a walk to the dirt road where we learned how to drive.

This is were grandpa would take us for shooting pratice. He was not really a hunter, more of a fisherman, so we mostly shot at coke and coffee cans. This is a tradition that still holds strong at my dad's farm. Even my "city boy" husband fired a few rounds at a can or two.

Lake Altus - Grandpa liked to fish here.

The car ride just outside Warren, Oklahoma.

Grandpa and Grandma's final resting place in Warren.

Make it for DAD: football Table

Astroturf Football Table

Pics from the Top-Secret shoot today!

My hair piece - oh la la!

Peach pearls and red lipstick.

For my 1940's costume I wore a dress that I picked up at the thrift shop for $14.00. I wore shoes and pearls from my closet. I added shoulder pads to the dress to make it more 40's.

To make the hair piece, I used the material I cut off from the hem of the dress. The dress was shortened 6" to be close to knee length. I stitched a gather/running stitch up the cut side and pulled the thread to gather into a circle. I folded the circle in half (so the print would be on both sides) and hand tacked the circle closed. I sewed a simple hair clip to the back.

To add extra pop, I hot glued 3 strips of looped ribbon, 2 velvet leaves and some small paper flowers to the center of the circle.

Judy Statts did the hair and make-up - THANKS!

Kelly setting up shots.

Steve working it out with Marc and Marylin.

RJ and Marc waiting in the wings.

Jon my "on camera" husband.

Morgan all wrapped!

Father's Day Gift Ideas

Father's Day is just around the corner - don't wait to make Dad something special. You still have time to whip up a handmade gift for your Pop, Grandpa or Hubby. Have a peek at the projects below - they are all from our TV show Creative Juice or Plaid. Follow the links for step-by-step instructions and have a Happy Father's Day!

Pipe Part Candlesticks from Creative Juice


DIY Freezer Paper Tie designed for Plaid

Comic Book Laptop Case from Creative Juice


Rustic Plaque for Grandpa designed for Plaid


Hex Nut Coasters from Creative Juice


Painted and Stitched Shirt designed for Plaid

Poker Time Party Plates from Creative Juice

Trophy Dad Tie designed for Plaid

Kids Stepping Stones from Creative Juice

Painted Doormat from Creative Juice

Reverse Applique T-shirt designed for Plaid

Modern Etched Wine Glasses from Creative Juice

Rock and Roll Skull Tie designed for Plaid