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- July 4th Glitter American Flag Kids’ Art
  June 27, 2022What says Fourth of July sparkler better than gooey globs of glitter? The weather is finally warmer and my family has been going through popsicles like they are – well, candy (but, aren’t they kind of like candy anyway?). Instead of tossing the sticks, I’ve been saving them for this holiday craft. Gather together a handful of popsicle sticks (or you can buy craft sticks if you don’t have any popsicles around) and get ready to help your child craft a sparkly patriotic flag. Although I personally am game for anything involving glitter and really don’t care much about the mess (well, I kind of mind picking sparkles off of the floor, table and my son’s clothes weeks later), prepping for this project means covering your work surface with something suitable to catch the teeny tiny shining specks. Use a garbage bag, newspaper or a sheet of scrap foam board. Here’s What You’ll Need: Cardboard – Reuse the side of an old box. Popsicle or craft sticks Clear drying school glue Scissors Red, silver and blue glitter A paintbrush Star stickers Here’s What to Do: Line the craft sticks up horizontally on the cardboard to make the flag’s stripes. Glue the sticks to the cardboard. Let them dry. Help your child to cut the cardboard around the sticks. Typically I prefer to have the child do all of the art-making for herself. But, in this circumstance the cardboard may be too tough for little hands to slice through. If your child is struggling, give her a hand with the cutting. Paint a layer of glue over the craft sticks. Have your child squeeze a few quarter-sized dabs of glue on the top left side, spreading it out into a rectangle shape. Sprinkle blue glitter over the glue. I find this best to do over a piece of paper. When your child is done crafting you can fold the paper and the left over glitter into a plastic baggie to use later. Paint glue over the rest of the sticks. Alternating red and silver, have your child sprinkle glitter over the stripes. Shake off the excess. Let the glue dry. Add star stickers to the blue area. Paint another layer of glue over the entire project to seal in the sparkles. You can use the artwork as a display piece for a July 4th get-together or even as coasters for cool drinks at a barbeque. Are you looking for more art activities? Follow Savvynana on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for more ideas!... Read more...
- Easy DIY Patriotic 4th of July Table Decor
  June 24, 2022Need an easy 4th of July decorating idea? This little idea is super simple and came up in no time! With just a few supplies (some of you might even have everything in your decorations/craft stash) and a few minutes, you can have some holiday patriotic decorations perfect for a quick table setting! Isn’t it cute? Super easy and cheap! It all happened because of our upcoming family reunion. When we got to Nebraska, I learned that the decorating department needed my help. No one wants anything special, just festive on the table. So I came up with this little idea. They are actually cuter than I thought! Hope they add a little fun to the family reunion! To make some, here’s what you’ll need: Tall Vase(s) Red, white, and blue tissue paper 2 small flags per container 1 pinwheel per container 3 small pieces of styrofoam (or floral foam) per container Directions: Start by stuffing some red tissue paper into the bottom of your vase. For these vases with such a small width at the bottom, we actually only used 1 sheet of red tissue for all three decorations combined. We just used the pinwheel stick to push the red tissue paper down. On top of the red, put one small piece of white tissue paper (not enough for a full layer). Then, stick the pinwheel and flags into small pieces of styrofoam. Wrap those with pieces of white tissue paper and stick in to fill out the white layer. This keeps the flags & pinwheel in place, while also hiding the styrofoam! Then, fill in the top with a piece of blue tissue paper. And, that’s it! You can get these done at about 5 minutes or less per centerpiece! Inexpensive, quick, simple, yet festive– that’s a winning combination in my book! Wishing you a happy & safe 4th of July!!! ... Read more...
- Tissue Paper Sparklers
  June 22, 2022Hi! It’s Nana from Homemade Ginger again, and I’m here to share the easiest party decorations you’ve ever made! These tissue paper sparklers are perfect for a quick and easy 4th of July decorating. But the good news is that you can make these guys for any occasion, even if you don’t live in the US! I don’t know about you, but now that I’m a mom, the fireworks are kind of driving me nuts. My parents used to live outside the city limits where fireworks are allowed. Every year we go to a giant fireworks tent and stock up on fireworks big and small. Then instead of watching the big fireworks show, we sat outside and filmed it ourselves. It was fun until everyone started having a lot of their own kids. Kids run around, firecrackers go off, and I have a heart attack almost every 4th of July. My parents recently moved back to town so our fireworks celebration will be more modest this year. However, I love these tissue paper fireworks because there is absolutely no fire! They look lovely in a mason jar and make a quick and easy centerpiece. Or kids can wave them in the air. They are super easy and affordable to create! These tissue paper fireworks can be made in any color combination, so they’re not limited to the 4th of July. Make a bunch for your next birthday party or even graduation! I was inspired by these tissues but wanted to try making a bigger version for a bigger impact! Tissue Paper Sparklers The full printable instructions are at the end of this post but here is what you will need: Tissue Paper White Glue Straws or Skewers Scissors These festive sparklers are the perfect craft for 4th of July! Experiment with all different color combinations! Tissue Paper Sparklers An easy way to celebrate the 4th of July this summer! ACTIVE TIME: 15 mins TOTAL TIME: 15 mins Equipment Pair of scissors Materials: 3 large sheets tissue paper (3 DIFFERENT COLOURS) glue 1 straw or skewer Instructions: 1. Cut each of the 3 colours of large tissue paper sheets in half. Stack each of the half sheets together. 2. Fold the stacked sheets in half, lengthwise. 3. Using scissors, make small vertical cuts into the bottom edge of the stacked and folded papers, stopping a few inches from the folded edge. 4. Apply a thin line of glue to the folded edge. 5. Place your straw or skewer onto the start of the glue and begin rolling it up, twisting the tissue around until the end. 6. Dab a small amount of glue to the seam and press to seal it shut. 7. Leave to dry, then fluff out the tissue paper to form your sparkler! ... Read more...
- Easy DIY Rustic USA Wood Sign
  June 20, 2022What do you do when you need a break? I like to build things! Not necessarily big things, those take too much brain power and concentration. When I need a break, I build simple decor things. Since I needed a break today after trying to get the kids to do their chores and I needed a little something more for my patriotic summer mantle, I decided to take the day to build this easy DIY Rustic USA Wood Sign and I love it! I knew I needed a plaque or sign on my mantle for summer. I have started working on a patriotic mantle, but so far I have only put up this printable 3D stars & stripes banner and this printable from How to Nest for Less. But I still needed a big WOW piece. I love the look of wood signs, someday I will even have a scroll saw so I can cut out all different letters myself. But for now I went for a super easy option and bought some 9″ wood letters from Michael’s. And since I have a few of the reclaimed wood boards I snagged from my parents dilapidated fence I knew I could put together a rustic wood sign for my patriotic mantle pretty fast. It was seriously so easy! The hardest part was being patient enough to wait for the paint to dry. If you want to make your own sign, it’s really easy! I only used two tools: miter saw and battery powered nail gun; 6′ of reclaimed 1×4 boards, 1 8′ 1×2 board, and the 3 9″ letters. I used a coupon to get my letters so the whole sign cost me less than $10! I started by deciding how big I needed to cut my reclaimed wood boards. My boards were 1x4s so they were about 3 1/2″ long. I chose to do 3 boards stacked horizontally so they measured just under 10 1/2″ total. Then I chose to do 24″ long on each board. After cutting the reclaimed wood boards, it was time to cut the frame. I had to use new wood to frame out my sign because I didn’t have any small reclaimed boards. But I made the frame out of a $1 1×2 board so I figured it was totally worth it! I cut the frame by cutting two pieces of the 1×2 at 45 degree angles on both ends with the center of the board being 24″ long and two pieces at 45 degree angles on both ends with the center being 10 3/8″ (the measurement of all three of my boards lined up next to each other). I dry fit the frame to make sure I cut everything right, and admired it cause it looked so good already! Then it was time to finish the frame. Since I was using reclaimed wood I didn’t want to finish the frame after it was all put together because the stain could get on my pretty reclaimed wood and that would make me mad. So I hurried and put a coat of stain on all the frame pieces. I used Minwax Jacobean stain for my frame. After I let it dry for a little bit (cause I am impatient and wanted to finish my project now), I started assembling the frame. I added wood glue to the corners and then clamped them tight while I used my nail gun to put three 1 1/4″ nails into the corner to hold it tight. After assembling 3 corners, I put the pieces of reclaimed wood into the center of the frame before I closed up the 4th corner because it was a tight fit (which is what I wanted). Finally, I used a few more nails with my favorite nail gun to put some nails on either side of the frame into the pieces of reclaimed wood to secure them. I was careful to make sure the back of the wood was flush with the back of the frame. I put 2 nails into each side of each piece of reclaimed wood. Now it was time to un-pretty up my letters. I wanted rustic, chippy paint letters not super clean, bright white letters. So I had to rough them up a bit. I started by hitting the edges a bit with my sander. The finish came off really fast with my electric sander. Then I used some Vaseline before painting like in this tutorial from Sincerely Sara D. Now I had to wait for the paint to dry. I hate waiting! And I didn’t wait long enough before rubbing off the paint over the Vaseline. But after a few tries, I did manage to get the paint to look cute and chippy. Then I just needed to attach the letters to the sign and frame. I used my trusty nail gun again (cause I really do love this thing) and carefully nailed the letters on from the back. I used 1″ nails so they didn’t poke through the front of my pretty letters. And then it was ready to put on my mantle for the 4th of July. The only problem… I am in the middle of a fireplace remodel trying to get ready for new carpet. Oh well, when the fireplace is done this week I will have my beautiful rustic sign ready, and it gave me the break I needed today! If you don’t have access to some reclaimed boards, you can make this sign with regular 1×4 boards too. If you don’t sand the boards, and put your stain on it will still give it a rustic look, just not as rustic as the reclaimed boards. So I had to take my cute new sign outside to get some pictures since my fireplace is under construction, but I think the tree in my front yard works well with the rustic look of the sign. And even though this picture doesn’t really show off my new rustic USA wood sign, I thought it was so pretty so I’m sharing it! Sometimes I just like pretty things So do you decorate for the 4th of July? If not, what kinds of decor do you like for the summer? ... Read more...
- 4th of July Clothespin Wreath
  June 17, 2022I can already hear fireworks at night going off through the neighborhood, the colors red, white and blue are showing up everywhere and the planning of BBQ’s is in the air; this going to show that the 4th of July is right around the corner! Take if from me, it’s not too late or very hard to get festive. It seems like the last few days I have either been preparing for Sara and her family to come stay with us (cleaning, shopping, etc.) or working on up coming things for this blog. This has left the 4th of July as a major after thought! However, after seeing this clothespin wreath floating around Pinterest I knew I wanted to at least do that. I scoured Pinterest for the original link to the clothespin wreath and never found it so I decided to go ahead and make my own and share the exact “what ya need” and “how to” with all of you. The supplies for this project are pretty basic and cheap; all of which I was able to get a the one-stop-shop of Walmart. – 12 in wreath frame – 2 packs of clothespins (This wreath takes 60 clothespins to make but there are only packs of 50 at Walmart which are $1 each.) – Glitter Stars foam stickers – red, white and blue paint (acrylic or spray) – paint brush Start by dividing out your 60 clothespins. For mine I painted 15 blue, 22 white and 23 red. Next step is to paint them. I did it the hard way and painted each one by hand using acrylic paint. Surprisingly and a little bit to my embarrassment I didn’t even think about spray painting them until afterwards. It would have been MUCH easier. But if you are going to paint them by hand I’ll let you know what I did. I used the foam brush and painted everything but the back and part of the sides. Then I took a smaller brush to get the inside of the clothespin where it would show. In the picture above you can see kind of how I went about the “lazy” way of painting them. Once all the clothespins are dry stagger them on the wreath frame doing all the blue clothespins together then 4 reds followed by 4 whites. Lastly, at the foam stars to the blue clothespins and hang! To add a little more to my 4th of July decor I spray painted some stars on our front lawn using some white field spray paint and hung up our flag. See! Three very simple and easy ways to get in the patriotic spirit; all which can be done in an afternoon for under $20! Sara and I hope you all enjoy your 4th of July! We know we will be and are SO excited that we get to be spending it together!... Read more...
- American Flag Paint Stick Project
  June 15, 2022Looking for a summer craft for the 4th of July? Head to your local craft store and pick up supplies to make a paint stick American flag. Designer Dawn is on our blog to show you how. Time: About 1 hour (without dry time) Level: Intermediate Here’s what you need: Glue Dots® Advanced Strength Dispenser or All Purpose Glue Dots® 10 old paint sticks (or 1/4″ board stock cut to size) Wood stars Acrylic paint (red/white/blue) Twine Saw Drill Sponge brushes (one for each color) Ruler Pencil Acrylic fixative if hanging outside Here’s what you do: Cut the handle end off of 3 paint sticks so that they measure 8″. Note: If you purchase the 1/4″ board stock from your local hardware store, most will cut your pieces to size for you. On another paint stick, drill two holes at 3″ and 9″ using a small drill bit. Arrange 7 paint sticks into rows, making sure the top one has the two holes drilled in it. Lightly sketch a pencil line at 4.75″ for the top 4 sticks. Use a sponge brush to paint this section blue. Let dry before adding another coat of paint. Using a sponge brush, paint the first stick red, then use a new brush to paint the next stick white. Allow each stick to dry before adding another coat of paint. Remember to paint along the edges, but do not paint the back. Continue painting the sticks until they are all painted with the appropriate colors. Use a new sponge brush to paint the stars white. Again, do not paint the back. When all of your pieces are dry, line up your flag and flip each stick over, as if you were turning a page in a book. Spread the sticks slightly apart. Three 8″ sticks will lay across the long sticks. Once everything is in place, use Glue Dots Advanced Strength Dispenser (or All Purpose Glue Dots) to adhere the sticks together, pressing everything firmly into place. Then, flip the entire flag back to the front. Use more Advanced Strength adhesive to adhere the stars onto the blue field in the upper left. Thread twine or sisal through the drilled holes and tie off to hang. *Note: If you are going to hang this flag outside, spray it with an acrylic fixative to protect it. Display with American Pride and have a happy 4th of July!... Read more...
- 4th of July Yarn and Wood Star
  June 13, 2022You know I honestly and willfully tried not to do another yarn craft. I truly did. But yarn is in my crafty DNA makeup and if I can wrap something with yarn I am just gonna. And honestly, I thought this was not going to make my heart as happy as yarn usually does because I don’t typically associate yarn with summer…but THIS SO WORKS. I needed something for the little wall area next to my front door since I can’t possible leave a spot un-decorated. I am thankful for a husband that lets me do this each holiday without flinching. All you need is red, white and blue yarn, 5 pieces of wood (mine are 1.5 ft long), small wooden stars, white acrylic paint, paint brush, hot glue gun, hammer and some nails. The first step is to take your five pieces of wood and arrange them into a star shape. Then I marked off where I wanted the blue yarn to start for the blue background and white stars. I wrapped the blue yarn first and alternated red and white yarn the rest of the way hot gluing the end piece on the back. You will end up with 4 wood pieces with blue on the ends with red and white stripes. The 5th piece will just alternate red and white. Once you are done, arrange them back in your star shape ensuring that all your blue pieces form the 2 left points. Using a hammer, nail all 5 points of the star together as well as some of the middle parts that intersect if you want it to be extra sturdy. Try to hammer each nail between the yarn strands so you can lift the yarn to cover up the nails underneath. If the nail is too long, bang it flat on the back. Like I did after realizing I nailed it to my craft table. Now for the little wood stars. I grabbed a bag of these at Joann’s and chose the smallest stars in the bag. The kids and I painted them white and hot glued them on. Obviously, it’s not 50 but just enough to cover the blue yarn portion of my star. Now hang it somewhere where it makes you happy. Hope y’all yarn it up with your 4th of July projects and other summer fun stuff. It works…I’m telling ya. Oh and I’m officially declaring yarn a year round craft medium. Not that I’m anybody but still.... Read more...
- Uncle Sam Decorations from Scrap Wood
  June 10, 2022If you have some scrap wood around, you can make some Uncle Sam decorations for your porch or patio. This quick and easy craft kicks off patriotic Craft Lightning where we are going to share a week of 15-minute patriotic crafts that you don’t want to miss. We are starting with this wooden uncle sam decoration that will look great by your front door or even on top of your mantel. Supplies to make an Uncle Sam outdoor decoration: Scrap wood Paint in red, white, blue, black, and a skin tone Wood stars Paintbrushes Wood glue Nails How to make a wooden Uncle Sam decoration: Start with a large scrap board and cut a spare 1×1 or other small board to length. Glue or nail it on the front at an angle. Take some other small scrap pieces and trim them to be your eyebrows and nose. You can just glue these onto the “face” of your Uncle Sam yard decor. Feel free to draw on eyes with a pencil for positioning of your features before adding glue. Allow the glue to dry then paint your creation. Start with white and a skin tone. I painted everything white except for the nose, face, and hat brim. Be sure to use a paint that is rated for outdoor use if you will be using your Uncle Sam decorations outdoors. Don’t forget to paint your wood stars white as well. Allow the first coat of paint to dry then paint red stripes on your hat as well as a blue brim. Add on black eyes as well. Use additional glue to add your stars to the wooden Uncle Sam decoration once the paint is completely dry. Once the paint and glue are dry, your Uncle Sam outdoor decoration is complete and ready for display! So easy and oh so cute! Everyone could use a patriotic decorative Uncle Sam in their summer decor whether it is indoors or out. Those eyebrows and nose are what really make this one complete! Remember that this is a rustic decoration and a bit primitive so things like the stripes on your hat do not have to be perfect. Uncle Sam yard decor is a great way to use up any scrap wood you might have around your home and turn it into something completely useful. For me, that means adding this and my plywood American flag to my summer mantel. ... Read more...
- 4th of July Firework Blocks
  June 8, 2022I enjoy doing crafts but I am not the best at making them. I try to stick to quick and easy crafts. With having 4 young kids I need to be able to start and finish my crafts in a short period of time so I can do it without too much hassle from the kids. These 4th of July Firework Blocks fit my requirements and are super cute! I recently decided that I loved these block so much that I am manufacturing them to sell in a craft kit! Make it yourself: Red, White and Blue acrylic paint 3 paint brushes drill Firework Blocks Craft Kit (has everything else included!) In the tops of each block of wood drill a small hole about 1/2 inch deep into the block. This will enable you to easily place the wire “wicks” into your fireworks. Paint each block and the star the colors of your choosing. While waiting for the blocks to dry, take your wire and wrap it around a pencil 4-5 times to create the “swirly” tops. Once blocks are dry insert wire “wick”. Place star in the location you want it and then tie it onto the blocks with the twine several times. Tie a knot in the back to keep the twine in place. **TIP: To keep the blocks secure and in place you can glue them to each other. You can also glue the star where you want it as well.** Want to skip the hassle of buying all the individual supplies and having to the cut the wood to size? Buy my already assembled Firework Blocks Craft Kit here: I have a plethora of 4th of July crafts, recipes and fun so visit my 4th of July section. If you are interested in a quick and easy 4th of July craft FOR your kids, check out these Popsicle Stick Flag Magnets. Want to make a cute new sew flag shirt? Check out this tutorial. For more 4th of July fun, check out this Pinterest board for craft, recipes and party ideas! ... Read more...
- Red, White Blue Mason Jars
  June 6, 2022A tutorial on how to make American flag red white blue mason jars. Did you ever invite yourself to a party? And I’m not talking about some coy, roundabout way of trying to pull an invitation out of someone. Listening with rapt attention as they regale you with tales of their past parties. Gasping and laughing and expressing with great enthusiasm about how much fun it sounded … … letting your voice trail off as you look longingly at the storyteller. Hoping an invitation would be forthcoming. I mean, you did laugh at all the rights spots, didn’t you … No, not that kind of inviting yourself. I’m talking about the brazen-put-someone-on-the-spot-with-a-direct-invitation-invite-yourself invite. Yeah. I did that. It was about seven years ago. At a party with the full extended family. And my husband’s nephew’s wife’s mother (got that?) and her family were talking about their annual Fourth of July bash. And all could think is that I needed to be a part of all that crazy fun. About how I needed to be included. So I did it. I asked if we could could get an invitation … And the rest, as they say, is history …. So in honor of our wonderful, annual Fourth of July hosts, I decided to make a appropriately themed gift to properly thank them for overlooking my rudeness and welcoming us into their family celebration … … with some red white blue mason jars. Of course. This time painted and distressed with stars and stripes. And put together to make an American flag. How to Make American Flag Red White Blue Mason Jars I started by painting two jars white and one blue using craft store acrylic paint (Americana Snow White, Primary Blue, and True Red) … Then I moved on to the stripes … Followed by the stars … And then I distressed them using sand paper. I also used an emery board on the smaller spaces around the raised lettering … After a coat of clear enamel spray paint … They’re ready to party! For more mason jar project ideas, check out my mason jar project gallery by clicking here … And for even more inspiration, check out my mason jar blog … ... Read more...

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