How to make red, white and blue 4th of July pom poms to top of a bottle of party wine

I love pompoms and dressing up a bottle of wine with a big one when when heading out to a party makes a fun decoration to give to a hostess. This red, white and blue giant pom pom will be fun to bring to a 4th of July picnic.

Gather up red, white and blue yarn along with your pompom maker and a sharp pair of scissors and plate.

This pom pom will consist of 2 pompoms sewn together.  For the first side of the pom pom wrap with red primarily and then a bunch more white. As much as you can get on your pompom maker.

Trim off the pompom maker and set aside.

Make the second one with a base of blue and again cover it with white wraps.

 Stitch the two pom pom halves together with the white section together.

Hold the pom pom over the plate and trim the pom pom round.

Tie the pom pom on a bottle of wine.

How to transform a plain tank top for 4th of July with Simply Spray fabric paint

This could not be any easier!

I rarely wear white because I am always making something and some part of it inevitably gets on me. So when I have a white garment I see it as a canvas and what goes better on a canvas then paint!

Like last week's post I am in full on 4th of July decorating mode so I thought I'd try painting a tie die style flag on this tank top with a bit of red and blue Simply Spray fabric paint. I just free formed it! I love how the wrinkles add to the tie die effect.

How to make a decoupaged 4th of July wreath

 I'm having so much fun making new decorations for each holiday and this is my latest creation inspired by the book  Mod Podge Rocks!: Decoupage Your World I made for 4th of July.

This wreath was one I originally covered in tiny pine cones and it had lost a few so I decided to recycle it into a new one for summer.


It didn't take long to peal off all the pine cones. I went to the fabric stash and gathered up some red, white and blue fabrics. This wreath project featured in Mod Podge Rocks! was my inspiration.

I liked how cheery it was and the wrapping and decoupage seemed like it would work great with fabric.

I pinned my fabric strips in place and then spread on the Mod Podge to the front and sides. The pins had the added benefit of keeping the wreath elevated. Talk about a crafting twofer!

After the Mod Podge was dry on the 3 sides I spread it on the back taking the pins out as I went and smoothing down the fabric ends.

All that was left to do was glue a few toy army men on and wrap the wreath with a bit of star spangled wire.

If customizing your world by decoupaging with Mod Podge is your thing you will truly be inspired by the book:

 Mod Podge Rocks!: Decoupage Your World
by
Amy Anderson

More about the book from Lark:
"Since 1967, crafters have entrusted their most treasured creations to Mod Podge--the number one, all-in-one glue, sealer, and finish product that's water-based for easy cleanup and totally non-toxic. The popularity of Mod Podge continues to grow, as does its product lineup that now includes Sparkle, Outdoor, Dimensional Magic, and Fabric formulas.

Mod Podge Rocks! features over 40 simple, inexpensive decoupage projects that showcase the versatility of this celebrated product.  Contemporary, fun, and welcoming--just like author Amy Anderson's popular Mod Podge Rocks! website-the book includes everything from home accessories and holiday décor to wearables and jewelry.  Joining Amy herself as guest project designers are some of the hottest names in crafting, such as Cathie Filian and Candie Cooper. A basic section outlines the simple techniques, and each project features beauty shots, easy-to-follow instructions, and how-to photos."

American Flag 4th of July decoration made from Christmas Ornaments

I'm in the process of doing a big clean out. While going through my stash of stuff I tend to get ideas. That is just where today's project came from. I didn't plan it, it just happened.

I was going through boxes and one contained Christmas ornaments. Rolling around in the back of my mind was the need to do some 4th of July decorating. My eye happened to catch red, white and blue ornaments and the light bulb went off! Or is it on????

So I grabbed the ornaments, some wire and wire cutters and off to the front gate. I was planning on wiring the ornaments in a wreath shape but as I realized that the ornaments dangled so nicely in the openings of the chain link I thought of doing an American Flag motif.

As I was beginning to wire the ornaments on a neighbor walked by and said, "Christmas in July?" and I pointed out the beginning of my flag motif and he thought it was a great idea!

This ornaments hanging in the spaces of a chain link fence has an added bonus-it shimmers and sparkles like the back of a Sparklets truck!

Have a Happy 4th of July ya'll!

Crafty link-olas 4 U

Cathie Filian

Cathie shares a template and design ideas for creating snapuit themed baby shower invitations.

Crafty Princess Diaries
Tammy has her fourth earrings kit and tutorial up, and it has a lovely vintage feel to it.

Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter
Turn your 'worst' traits into positives, Madge shares how in this post about The Tao of Success.

Mixed Media Artist
Cyndi shares the results of her needle felting experiment.

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
Read a book recommendation (and not just because I am included!) Craft Corps by Vickie Howell.

The Artful Crafter
Yikes! Eileen learns she can't doodle.

The Crochet Dude
Drew is giving away two copies of the new book "Crochet Prayer Shawls" that features ones of his designs! Just leave a comment on his blog to enter!

About Family Crafts
Have even more fun doing painting projects with kids by whipping up one or more batches of paint using free recipes.

Aileen's Musings
Aileen is excited to announce 4 new videos uploaded. Stop by and check them out, and share them with your friends!

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi uses a stencil to silk screen this faux necklace t-shirt.

The hand that holds the sparkler.....

I hope you all had a safe and fun 4th of July. Here is my hand holding a sparkler. We all commented that they didn't "write" in the sky like they used to.

The Artful Crafter
Look how easy it is to personalize a canvas tote bag with Quick Fuse fabric sheets.

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
Craftside's got the cutest retro style fawn softie pattern and how-to, a free pop-up staircase template download, a bunch of beaded bling inspirations and throw in a bit of fashion with a redo spin all for your crafty pleasure.

The Crochet Dude
Drew reviews the new book "Crochet Prayer Shawls" and reveals the design that he contributed to the project.

About Family Crafts
Are you planning a trip that will keep the family confined to the car or airplane for a long amount of time? If so, these travel games and crafts might be just what you need!

Aileen's Musings
Aileen shows you how to create a faux aged metal look on Anaglypta wallpaper.

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi coats some paper with resin to make these pretty wired pendants.

Crafty Princess Diaries
There's more, more, more to do on the jewelry making book! When will this process end?

Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter
Madge gets some much needed inspiration from the divine Cecil Beaton and Gigi.

Mixed Media Artist
Want to get your feet wet with altered books?

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
See 2 fun mixed-media altered book techniques I tried from the new book Collage Playground by Kimberly Santiago.

Crafty Blogger link Monday!

Crafty Blogger link Monday!
And mixed in are a few pictures from the 4th. Note the revelers are donning their flag clips that I showed how to make on Friday (scroll down)

I know Ginny and I are out of focus but our illicit sparklers are in focus!

About Family Crafts
Is it time to start planning your Christmas crafts?

About.com Cross Stitch
When do you do the back stitch on your needlework projects? Vote in the poll and let us know.

Aileen's Musings
Visit Aileen's Musings to find out what Firecracker Martinis and Christmas have in common.

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
Kicking off the summer Craftside brings you a password for 15% of Voyager Press titles through July 8th, a funky woven lamp project, the Making Designer Jewelry with Hardware, Gems. and Beads contest extended, a quick and easy party banner idea and some fun pictures from Swap-o-rama rama.

Crafty Princess Diaries
Tammy is "so" learning the ropes over at Etsy.com with her new jewelry making supplies shop. Is it too much of a hodge podge? How big of a learning curve are we talking about here?!

Layers Upon Layers
Cyndi has DVDs to giveaway from "Beads & Beyond" Magazine!

The Impatient Blogger
A link to three fabulous free projects on the Simply Beads website and some thoughts about inspiring creativity from a professional designer.

Flag craft for the 4th

Happy 4th of July!

This is the flag at The Burbank Airport, well actually I believe it's the Bob Hope Airport now.
This is a super easy and quick craft project for today. I simply cut the flags off of a garland and using a glue dot adhered them to little hair clips. They can be worn in the hair or clipped to just about anything!
And on another celebratory note, I would like to wish Mickey and Ann of CraftTv.com, The Scrapbook Lounge and Plum and Verdigris a Happy Anniversary! Here they are goofing around on a shoot day with their walkie talkies and ear pieces, a commentary on successful communicating????