4th of July Wreaths

Today I'm sharing a bunch of patriotic wreaths (from my link party) to inspire you for the 4th of July.
What's on your front door for the holiday?  I'm guessing it's not licorice?

Cassidy from Fit, Crafty, Stylish & Happy has done it again. 
Remember her gumball wreath that I copied here?
This time she hot glued Twizzler bites and spray painted them blue for her
Fourth of July Candy Wreath.

Next up is Ginny of Organizing Homelife with her Patriotic Wreath.
She made this wreath with red, white and blue felt squares.

I love how she wired on the stars.  How fun it this?

Sharon from Crafts 'n Coffee shared her July 4th Stars and Stripes Patriotic Wreath.

I wonder if my son would let me cut up his bandanas?  Hmmm.  Probably not.

Here's another wreath made with bandanas.
Bandana Rag Wreath 
This one is from Kristin of Homespun With Love.
Don't you love how these wreaths look hanging on a white door?!

Take a look at Shannon's wreath from Fox Hollow Cottage.

Patriotic Summer Pool Noodle Wreath

Yep, she made the wreath out of a pool noodle and some jeans!

Look what this wreath is made of...tulle.

Lindsay from Artsy-Fartsy Mama crafted her 4th of July Wreath
with stryofoam and red, white and blue tulle rolls.

And check out this Patriotic Pinwheel Wreath from Tara of Tales of a Trophy Wife.

The entire wreath is made with fabric.  I love the pinwheels!

Did you see the Firecracker Wreath that I made?  Click here if you missed it.

I've had lots of comments asking if I'm setting it on fire...I'm not.
(I'm trying to decide if that's a positive comment or not?)

By the way...I made this wreath with used fireworks from last year.

 

Don't forget to check out and link up your Red, White & Blue Projects!
There's so many fun ideas!

Red, White & Blue Desserts!

It's that time!

Time to plan what red, white & blue treats you're making for the 4th.
What? You're not making anything red, white or blue?
Well you will be after reading this post...guaranteed!

The above treats were made by Beth of Hungry Happenings.

Red, White & Blue Creamy Coconut Stars,  Patriotic Cheesecakes, and Red, White, Blue Gumdrops
Everything she makes turns out spectacular!  I can't believe she actually made her own gumdrops!

How precious are these Patriotic Mini Fruit Pizza Cookies?
Keri from Shaken Together crafted these.

Homespun With Love made these sweet Mini 4th Yogurt Pies.
Strawberry, Blueberry Pie and Vanilla yogurt...mmmm!

Here's another idea from Homespun with Love,
Fourth of July Pretzel Sparklers. 
I'm thinking I can pull these off this year?  Maybe.

Check out this Firecracker Cake from Jamie of Love Bakes Good Cakes.

She made it from a boxed white cake mix.
Be sure to look inside the cake...

It's red, white and blue!

Jenny from The NY Melrose Family made her
American Flag Cupcakes with red and white cake batter (the stripes!), topped with blue frosting.

Lindsay from Artsy-Fartsy Mama made these yummy S'more Stars.
I know...they're not red, white and blue, but they're star shaped and adorable!  (That counts!)
They're made like a rice crispy treat, only using graham cracker crumbs instead.

Look what Whitney of Home Delicious made.
Jello Infused Red, White and Blue Cupcakes. 
She poured red Jello into the middle of her blue and white cupcakes.  Sneaky!

Jamie from Love Bakes Good Cakes made this similiar version.
Patriotic Poke Cake
I love the festive blue frosting on top!

 

Speaking of festive...check out these Patriotic Pops from
Dorothy of Crazy for Crust.  What a presentation!

Also from Crazy for Crust...
Red, White and Blue Spiral Cookies.  I love these!

And finally, a Red, White and Blueberry Smoothie
from Dawn of Not Just a Mommy.
She made these with blueberry pie filling!  Wow!  Wouldn't you like a sip of these?!

And just when you think you have enough ideas to choose from...
Ami from AliLilyBlog posts 50 more Patriotic Desserts!  Yi, yi, yi!

Now, let me ask you again...what are you making for the 4th?

Don't forget to link up your Patriotic creations to my Red, White, Blue & You Link Party!

Fireworks Wreath

Okay...I've sort of recovered from our trip,

(click here if you missed hearing about it)

and now I'm ready to jump into the 4th of July Festivities!

Today I'm sharing my

Fireworks Wreath!

This is a super simple wreath to create...

the only hard part is remembering to save your fireworks!

These fireworks were from a TNT 'party popper pack'

I had saved from this post on New Year's Eve.

Supplies Needed:

-Used fireworks.  (The small ones work the best.)

I also used a few party blowers and the paper shreds from the party poppers.
Note:  You could make this wreath with new fireworks if you wanted.

-One wreath form.  (any size, big or small)

-Ribbon to wrap the wreath.  (my ribbon came from the DollarStore.)

-Hot Glue.  (every wreath requires hot glue, right?)

Secure the end of the ribbon to the wreath with a dab of hot glue.

Wrap the ribbon around the wreath form, overlapping and covering the form completely.

To keep the ribbon secure, use a bit of hot glue as you go.

Make a big loop with the ribbon to create a hanger.

Hot glue the end to the back of the wreath.

 Now the fun part!

Arrange the fireworks on the wreath. 

Once you like what it looks like, start hot glueing each piece on.

After everything is secure, go back and glue the paper shreds

into any gaps in the wreath.

(I also glued some paper shreds coming out of the poppers.)

And there you have it!

Your very own

Fireworks Wreath!

I know it's a little flashy and a bit loud,

not my usual decor style...

but hey, it's the 4th of July and I'm celebrating!  Aren't you?

Don't forget to stop by my Red, White, Blue & You Holiday Link Party!

I'd love you to link up your 4th of July projects!

Linking up to: Uncommon, HouseOfHepworths, HappyHourProjects, AtthePicketFence, FrugalGirls,
Whipperberry, SassySites,  IHeartNaptime,

A Trip to the Dominican with COTN

Hi Friends!
I've been missing from 'blogland' for awhile...
why, you wonder?

My family and I have been having some fun

in a beautiful country,

playing with precious children,



surrounded by severe poverty,


in hot, humid weather!

We've been in Barahona, Dominican Republic with Children of The Nations International. 
Children of the Nations (COTN) is a wonderful organization that shares Christ's love, educates and provides care to the poorest nations of our world. 
Their focus is on the children:  Raising Children who Transform Nations.


We packed up our family and traveled close to 24 hours
(due to delayed flights and bus rides)
to reach Barahona, Dominican Republic.

Our 11 person group included church friends and family. 
[brother in-law, sister in-law, a cousin and friend.]

To say our eyes were opened, would be an understatement.
The poverty was like none we had ever seen.
The heat and humidity was very uncomfortable, yet
the Dominican people were delightful!

Their culture is so different than our fast paced, high pressured lifestyle in the States. 
Sad to say that it was actually hard to adapt to this slower pace.
However, by the end of the week we were loving 'Dominican time' and siestas...

not to mention the dominoes--a favorite of the Dominicans!


We came to serve, and we did.
My AH (Awesome Husband) and part of our team poured cement floors for three families in the 'barrio' (neighborhood) of Don Bosco, Barahona.

Nearby, my kids and I were part of the group that worked on painting
three classrooms in the Don Bosco COTN school.



Our favorite part of the trip...playing with the Dominican children!
So much joy, so many smiles and lots of laughter.

Of course, I should mention that much of the laughter occured from us trying to speak Spanish to them.  Thankfully the COTN provided us many translators.

Both our kids friended a 'special' Dominican child that they wanted to sponser through COTN.
They are excited to start writing letters to each other.

Want to learn more about COTN? Click here.
Want to sponser a COTN child? Click here.
Want to read my brother in-law's day by day (& often comical) account of our trip? Click here.

Sooooo...now we're at the hardest part of this experience...  Being home.
Laundry, kids arguing, grocery shopping, appointments, errands, etc.

I'm praying that our family will be able to take this Dominican experience
and let it change our hearts and our minds and our actions. 
I'm praying that we can allow the things we saw and felt
to really 'take hold' in our lives.

{...I'm not asking for too much, am I?}