Happy Independence Day!

Have a safe and fun July 4th!

Happy Fourth of July!

Paper Plate Patriotic "Banner"

Aren't these just so cute! There are four of us in our family and we each made our own design to hang up at the cabin. All you need is one paper plate for every 2 you want to make. Cute them in half and have fun painting. We made these while at the cabin and while we are there we like to get crafty but don't have quite the arsenal of craft supplies there like we do at home, so fun and simple things with minimal supplies is definitely something we can do while we are there. Try these out!

Cheers to Labor Day Weekend

It is our final holiday weekend of the summer. Happy Labor Day!

It's easy to make your drink look festive by throwing in some blueberries and raspberries in some white wine, or some lemon-lime soda and you'll have a fun red, white and blue effect.

Wordless Wednesday: Aitkin Community July 4th Celebration

Aitkin, Minnesota

Happy 4th of July

Patriotic Pie

I didn't go quite the easy route on this desert like I did and some of the others I have shared with you the last 2 months but I did use canned pie filling. I made homemade pie crust because I think there is nothing better in the world than having a homemade pie crust made with butter. It is so buttery and Flaky and just tastes divine.

Typically 1 can of pie filling may fill up a fight in depending upon the size of your by 10. But for this one I wanted to have two colors underneath so I bought a can of both blueberry and Cherry Pie fillings. I filled in three quarters it with cherry pie filling and one quarter with blueberry pie filling.

I did make a double pie crust recipe but you could buy the ready-made pie crust that Pillsbury makes to use for the top stars and stripes and you could you use a frozen pie crust for the bottom.

If you have a small star cookie cutter that would work great to make the stars but I didn't have that so I did them free hand. It gives them a quirky look.

Simple Patriotic Candle Display

By now you probably have noticed that I have come up with a variety of simple crafts and foods to make for Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day that are simple and use a minimal amount of supplies or ingredients. This idea is no exception.

You will need to make this at least a day in advance so the rice has time to dry again. To make the colored rice you need to mix rice and food coloring. I used 1 C of rice for each layer. Put the rice in a ziploc baggie then put in 3 or 4 drops of one color  and squish around until until well blended. Then spread out the rice in a single layer on a cookie sheet. It will need at a day too dry just to be sure it if fully dry.

Obviously, you need white rice you just leave it without dying it. I used a funnel to put the rice into the jar. Just a note that you should not put a lid over the top of this when storing it because the moisture will stay inside and it will mold. Then you can place a tea light on top. I did not have any problem with the rice scorching or anything, but you should always exercise caution when having anything with fire or flames.

Easy Patriotic Non-Alcoholic Drink

I have to admit, this was what I came up with AFTER a pinterest fail. I was trying that drink where you use Gatorade and Hawaiian Punch and Diet Sprite. I failed so many times with that one. I read about tips and making sure that you have a big enough difference between sugar contents (most sugar on the bottom) and adding ice at different times. Mostly I got purple drinks and one time I kept 2 colors separate, that's it. It was time to come up with something easier with what I had on hand.

Ingredients:
Carbonated clear water or soda
strawberries
blueberries
Ice

I decided to layer ice in between the fruits to keep the separate, So, ice on the bottom, then strawberries, then more ice, then blueberries. Pour you clear carbonated beverage over the top.

Simple and easy and a little snack too!

Flag Waffles

Just a fun idea to have a patriotic theme to your breakfast for the upcoming summer holidays of Memorial Day and 4th of July and Labor Day. I made homemade waffles and have a waffle maker that makes two waffles this size at a time. You could possibly even use frozen waffles if you wanted that are square as well. Just slice up your fruit to fit in the size hole that is available on the waffles you are using. I used blueberries strawberries and bananas but next time I think my kids would love to have me use raspberries. They love this and it got us to eat more fruit that day.

Happy Fourth of July