Every Girl Link-Up || 4th of July Decor

 

Welcome to another installment of the "Every Girl Link-Up!" Today, I'm really excited to share with you a few ways that we decorated our home for the 4th of July! I haven't done much with red, white, and blue touches in the past, but this year seems like the perfect time to start the tradition because of Nolan. He is a little sponge and soaks up every little special thing we do. I have a feeling he will talk about July 4th for weeks to come. It's always fun to spruce up our mantel for different seasons and holidays, so why not America's big summer birthday? :)

 

It's not a holiday in our house without some colorful bunting over the fireplace. I was at JoAnn's looking for patriotic fabric when my eyes fixated on this stars-and-stripes burlap. It was beautiful and rustic, and I knew it was meant to come home with me. All I did was cut out the bunting shape, fold the top over some jute twine, and attach it with a few staples. If you look closely at this photo, you can see the red crayon that was recently introduced to the bricks by a certain three-year-old. ;) (By the way, we're thinking of painting our fireplace white--thoughts or advice?)

Steve and I have been indulging in Dove dark chocolates lately, and the shiny red wrappers were right in line with our color scheme. I picked up some flags from Lowe's for a little over a dollar each. The white milk glass sits on our mantel year-round, and it goes with everything!

I found two gorgeous vintage blue Masons to add to my collection. They were waiting for me at a flea market, and are dated July 14, 1908. They work perfectly as candy jars (or vases)!

The two "Shining Sea" prints in the frames are from PagingSupermom.com. The blue backgrounds look pretty on our newly-painted gray walls. I like having the tune of "America the Beautiful" pop into my head when I see them.

A fresh bouquet of white baby's breath really made everything come together for the look that I wanted.

For the dining room, I found a classic white and blue striped tablecloth at TJ Maxx. The blue crate with white stars was an impulse buy from Walmart, and I love it!

My mom generously brought over some sugar cookies that she baked and iced. They're almost too pretty to eat!

Join Astleigh and me in sharing your 4th of July decor! Grab our button and link up below. I always get inspired with new ideas from these link-ups, and I can't wait to get a peek into your homes!

In two weeks, we are sharing our favorite mocktail or cocktail recipes, so mark it on your calendars :)

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An InLinkz Link-up

happy fourth of july!!

The Fourth of July is one of my very favorite holidays. Several memories pop up in my head from when I was younger: watching bright fireworks in Chicago, laying out on a picnic blanket under the sky with my family. I also remember boarding a pontoon in a boat regatta on Lake Michigan--waving tiny silk flags with my cousins at the shoreline full of people in Door County, Wisconsin. And most recently, I remember the sweet little parade of children at our summer camp, who walk laps outside the dining hall, decked out in red, while, and blue. They paint their faces with stars and stripes, throw candy, and cheer and wave at the crowd of parents who agree that they are the most special people in the world. That's where we are today, in fact. And I hope that this is a tradition Nolan will remember!

I didn't have any Fourth of July decor, or traditional treats until this year. I made this popcorn cake--the same idea as a Rice Krispy treat, but with popcorn pressed into a bundt pan, and sprinkled with red and blue mini M&Ms.

 

I love this "Land of the Free" print I found. It hangs in our living room, where I can be reminded of the privilege it is to live in this country.

These patriotic pinwheels were easy to make!

Completely adorable cupcake wrapper printables with USA outline toppers. 

I really like the chevron, stripes, dots, and geometric patterns!

 

I made a little 5 x 7 print to add to my Fourth decor. Feel free to take it and print it for yourself. Simply right click the image below and save it to your computer.

I hope you have the most wonderful Fourth ever! 

What are some traditions that you look forward to every year?

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our family room & easter decor

Welcome to our family room, decorated for Easter!

To start, I want to share that we are renters. Steve is in his fifth year of post-college studies (working hard now on his doctoral dissertation), so we aren’t in our forever-home yet. We moved in last summer, and we are in the unique position that we’re allowed to make changes and updates to the house while we are here to increase the house’s value :) Oh, and it was built in 1920, so it has a TON of character.

I’m linking up with Andrea for the “Come On In” series. I can’t wait to share more of our house over the next several months!

We love these bay windows. They are beautiful when the morning light comes streaming in!

We haven’t done much to this room since we moved in. Steve sanded and refinished the hardwood floors, as he did for the whole house. Last week, he did a little bit of electrical work by the TV. The house still has some knob and tube wiring, so replacing that will be a big job. Someday we will have to give these walls a fresh coat of paint. :)


I cut this fabric bunting from a large piece of white eyelet cotton. I left the strips unfinished to give them a frayed look, and then I tied them onto a piece of jute twine. The white fabric reminds me so much of the Easter story and the linens that Jesus’ body was wrapped in. Peter and another disciple went into the tomb on Easter morning and found the strips of linen lying there, and they then believed that Jesus had risen from the dead.
 

Pastel Easter candy makes for an easy, colorful display :)
My Christ is Risen free printable 

The paper straws are from Target.


My favorite Easter candy—(extra delicious when baked as Cadbury mini egg blondies!)

I’ve started collecting these white glass pieces from Goodwill. The vases I just picked up on Saturday. :)
 
Spring has Sprung free print


We have Ephraim’s dresser in the room (and a changing table not pictured). It is SO helpful to be able to change him on first floor. Also, I love how many windows this room has!

We have our DIY Resurrection Eggs displayed on the dresser, as well as a table runner I sewed last year.

  I made some Easter gift bags with these adorable Shabby Chic Bunnies.

Hope you enjoyed this little tour :)

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resurrection eggs

I pulled these Resurrection eggs out of a box in my mom’s garage a few weeks ago. My sister, Hannah, put this set together—making it extra meaningful to me.  It also means the saltine cracker below is at least 14 years old. Still looking good, no? ;)

Feel free to use this idea for your children, grandchildren, Sunday School class—as a teaching tool for the stories of Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

All you need is an empty egg carton, a dozen plastic eggs, and 11 little items to put in them (most of which you can find around the house).

1. A cracker to represent bread at the Last Supper.

Matthew 26:26: “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take and eat; this is my body.’”

 

2. A dime to represent the 30 pieces of silver that Judas received to betray Jesus.

Matthew 26:14-15: “Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, ‘What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?’ So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver.”



3. A piece of rope to represent the soldiers whipping Jesus.

Mark 15:15: “Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.”



4.  A piece of purple cloth to represent the purple robe put on Jesus to mock him as “King of the Jews”.

Mark 15:17: “They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him.”



5. A cross to represent Jesus carrying his cross, our cross.

John 19:17-18: “Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull . . . There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.”

 

6. A nail to represent that Jesus’ hands and feet were nailed to the cross.

John 20:25: “So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.’”



7. A dice to represent the soldiers casting lots for Jesus’ clothes.

Matthew 27:35: “When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots.”



8. A piece of sponge to represent the sponge used to give Jesus a drink of vinegar.

Matthew 27:48: “Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink.”



9. A toothpick (with one edge cut off) to represent the spear that pierced Jesus’ side.

John 19:34: “Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.”



10. A piece of gauze or white fabric to represent the linens that they wrapped Jesus’ body with to bury him.

Matthew 27:59: “Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock.”



11. A rock to represent the stone rolled in front of the tomb.

Matthew 27:66: “So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.”

12. And an empty egg to represent the empty tomb on Easter morning!

Matthew 28:6: “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.”

Easter Peeps S'mores + free printable

 

If you've been reading this blog for long, you know I have a thing for s'mores. I've made these s'mores kits a few times, and I think they are the cutest idea! You can make them to pass out to friends and family this Easter!

To make these s'mores kits: Put a halved graham cracker, a mini Hershey bar, and a bunny Peep inside a plastic bag. Then print the image on cardstock, fold it in half, and staple it to the top of the bag.

 

 To eat the s'more, just pop the Peep in the microwave for 10 seconds until it's warm, and place it in between the graham crackers with the chocolate bar.  :)

Right click image below and save to your computer:
(I printed them as 4" by 4")

 

To print four on a page, right-click and save the image below:

 

Enjoy!!