Fourth of July

We celebrated the Fourth of July with Suzzi, Larry, Dawn, and all of our kids... none of whom are kids anymore! We had a delicious meal with festive drinks that were tasty if hard to drink and hung out by the pool. We saw a beautiful sunset and many (illegal) fireworks. We had a wonderful time. 

Fourth of July 2026 (affiliate link)

The pictures I took around the table inspired this page. Because there was so much empty space above and below the smiling faces, I cropped all that off before printing my photos. The six photos you see were printed as two 4x6" photos, which I then cut into thirds and separated with a journaling block.  

Creating The Star-Spangled Banner

I've done a number of US flag kids' crafts over the years. (My favorite is this flag magazine mosaic.) Without exception, my projects have been of the modern version of our flag, with 50 stars and 13 stripes. This time, I made a project based on the 1814 version of the flag, with 15 stars and 15 stripes. This is the flag that was raised over Fort McHenry in September 1814 following the Battle of Baltimore and Francis Scott Key's inspiration to write our national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner. 

I saw the actual Star-Spangled Banner for the first time in 1988 when I was 16. At that time, it was hanging in the Smithsonian with a moveable panel in front of it. Every 15 minutes, the panel would lower, the music would play, and visitors could view the flag for a few minutes until it was covered again. I remember being shocked at how large it was (30 ft x 34 ft). I was even more surprised to learn that the flag had originally been 8 feet longer, but approximately 20 square feet and one star had been cut away for people to keep as souvenirs. This website is an excellent source for information. 

Here's my version of this remarkable piece of our history:

To make your own, start with a 5" x 7" piece of chipboard. I used the insert that comes when you order US stamps. The original Star-Spangled Banner was 30' x 42', so the proportions are perfect. Use the ruler and pen to make fifteen stripes on the flag, each 1/3." Most rulers don't measure thirds of an inch, so mark just slightly more than 5/16" and it will work. The blue field is the height of 8 stripes, which is 2 2/3". Make a vertical line to create the rest of the field 2 2/3" from the left of the flag. For these purposes, 2 11/16" is close enough. 

Bend, roll, fold, and twist the chipboard until it is soft and wrinkled.

Gently tear the right side of the flag to change it from the original dimensions of 5" x 7" to approximately 5" x 5 2/3". Use a photo of the Star-Spangled Banner to mimic the shape of the missing area.

Use a pen to mark 15 stars in the field. They are arranged in five staggered rows of three.

Use scissors to poke a hole where the 15th star goes, then gently tear that area out. Gently tear holes along the lowest two white stripes, matching the missing sections on the actual flag.

While the flag was originally red, white and blue, the Star-Spangled Banner has aged a bit in 202 years. Paint the field a dark blue mixed with a touch of brown. Combine red and brown to make the red stripes and use a yellow-brown mix to make the white stripes. Let the paint dry. 

I practiced trying to paint stars on a scrap and realized it was way too difficult at that small size. So I found a small star die-cut and glued it to the end of a q-tip. 

I dipped the star in paint and stamped it 14 times. The stars aren't perfect, but they're better and took way less time than if I'd tried to paint them by hand!

Oh say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,

O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.

Wishing all my fellow Americans a safe and happy Independence Day! May we appreciate and cherish the freedom we have.

Black Velvet Fireworks Paintings

Fun fact: Other than school pictures, Trevor has never had a his picture taken professionally. He's never been to a portrait studio and probably doesn't know they exist. Steve takes all of Trevor's portraits here, with a black velvet backdrop. We take our own family portrait for our Christmas card, too, using his camera's self-timer. 

Every once in a while, Steve cuts off a chunk from the roll of black velvet because it's no longer pristine enough to use as a backdrop. He recently gave me a few yards, suggesting that I should come up with a craft using it. Hmm... what to do with black velvet? Paintings, obviously! But what to paint? Not Elvis. Not dogs playing poker. How about fireworks?! Yes!

I did a quick Google search to look at images of fireworks and was totally inspired. I particularly loved photos where the fireworks were reflected in water. Amongst the many photographs, I saw a few paintings as well. This one caught my eye. I thought it would be a lot of fun to make our own versions when our friends Rebecca and Cailei came over. (It's pretty much a given that if you come to my house, you'll be: a) doing a craft; b) eating something experimental; or c) involved in some sort of competition. My friends know to expect any one of those... or all three!)

Here's how my painting turned out:

Black Velvet Fireworks Paintings

Materials:

• black velvet photo backdrop (we cut our pieces to approximately 10" x 13") 
• acrylic paint (white, green, yellow, red and blue)
• toothpicks
• brushes

Begin by using the toothpick to drag a line of white paint horizontally across the velvet. (I drew my line too high. It looks best if it is right at the bottom third.) Use a paintbrush to create the fireworks. My technique was to dip in paint, dab on the velvet, then drag outward repeatedly, so that the paint was primarily in the center of the fireworks.

Each time you create a burst, make a horizontal reflection in the water with the same color. Lower fireworks reflect closer to the white line, while higher fireworks reflect lower on the paper.

Keep adding different colors of fireworks and reflections. Don't be afraid to layer them over each other.

When you're happy with your fireworks, add contrails or stars using the toothpick. Done!

Here are the rest of the paintings. This is Rebecca's:

This is Cailei's:

And this is Trevor's:

I love how these turned out! I still have a lot of black velvet left. Any suggestions of what we should paint next?

Bear Valley

We just got back from our annual snow trip to my inlaws' cabin in Bear Valley.  I'm happy to report that it went much better than last year's total fiasco.  This was our first visit since the July 4th weekend, which is the layout I'm sharing today.

For inspiration, I used a sketch by Allison Davis.  I kept most of the elements but simplified quite a bit.

I'm looking forward to scrapping my photos from our snow trip.  Hopefully that layout will be done before our next trip to Bear Valley!

Happy 4th of July!

Today I thought it would be fun to share two layouts from our past July 4th celebrations. This layout, from 2007, is the first July 4th layout I ever made.  Even though I'd celebrated Independence Day 34 times before then, for some reason I never scrapped it.  (No idea why.) Trevor was almost 13 months old in these pictures and experiencing his first July 4th parade. He loved it all... except the loud fire engines.  

This layout is from 2010.  My style changed quite a bit in only 3 years, didn't it?!  We spent the July 4, 2010 at my inlaws' cabin in Bear Valley, CA.  The weekend was filled with hiking, exploring, and playing at the lake.  

 

 Happy 4th of July everyone!

Flag Magazine Mosaics

One of my favorite things about being a fifth grade teacher was teaching United States history. The year started with a study of Native Americans, moved on to Explorers, then Colonial America. We'd study the American Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, and the Civil War and Reconstruction. From there, we'd leap ahead and learn about the present-day United States. I used a variety of games, simulations, and projects to immerse the kids in their learning. They loved it and I did too.

I'm a huge fan of integrated curricula, so I was always on the lookout for ways to incorporate history into math, or science into art, or math into reading, etc. Our study of the 50 States usually fell right around the same time as the Measurement unit in math, which gave me the perfect excuse to mix history, math and art into this cool project.

All you need is a piece of white paper (watercolor weight is best, but cardstock or construction paper will work), a ruler, a pencil, some white glue, and an old magazine or catalog. Start by using the ruler to draw a horizontal line, 9" long, at the bottom of the paper. Next, add vertical lines, 6.5" long, at a right angle to the original line. Connect those two lines with a 9" horizontal line.   

Next, mark every half-inch along the vertical lines. Holding the ruler horizontally touching the top two dots, make a mark at the 4" spot. Draw a line from that spot across to the right, creating the top stripe. Repeat this step for the next 6 stripes. Draw a vertical line to make the edge of the blue field. Return the ruler to the horizontal position and continue drawing the stripes. Here are the measurements:

And here is what the pencil lines will look like. Notice that the flag isn't centered. This doesn't matter, as you'll be cutting it out.  

Go through the magazine looking for large area of red, white and blue. Working with one color at a time, tear small pieces and glue them to the appropriate area of the flag. The pieces should overlap and cover the area completely. It is OK if they go over the perimeter lines of the flag, as this area gets cut off.

Excluding the measurement part, it takes about an hour to complete this project. Here's Trevor finishing up the last stripe. (He's wearing a nametag because he'd just gotten home from VBS. We don't normally wear nametags around the house, being that there's just the three of us and we know each other pretty well.)

And here he is with the mosaic part completed.

When the whole thing is filled in, use a paper cutter to trim the excess paper. You can hang your art as is, or extend its life by sealing it in a laminator, using contact paper, or brushing on a coat of Mod Podge. Enjoy!

Making Do

Imagine if you will... I was working on a layout about our July 4th.  I had the perfect patterned papers, pictures, and chipboard stickers.  It was all laid out- the finishing touch would be three stars, arranged in a visual triangle.  I knew just what stars I would use (some funky self-adhesive ones from BasicGrey).  When I went to get them.... uh oh.  Only two left.

Darn it!  Time to make do.   I found a random piece of chipboard and cut out a star shape, mimicking the style of the ones I wanted to match.  The color was different, so I painted all three pieces "Country Twill"- a color that looks like raw chipboard.  I inked the edges and added the stars.

My star isn't exactly the same as the BasicGrey two, but it's close enough.  Can you guess which one I made?

Inspired by: Shannon Zickel, scrapbooks etc. August 2011

Mine is the large one.  I'm happy with it.  Pretty good for making do.

Happy 4th of July!

I really enjoy decorating for holidays, yet I don't think I've ever decorated the house for the 4th of July.  Back when I taught year-round school, I decorated my classroom for July 4th, but never my home.  Time to change that!

The projects I used to do with my fifth graders do are far too difficult for Trevor, so I went to FamilyFun and searched through their 4th of July crafts.  I found a fun project called Fireworks Art, a take on the classic blowing-paint-through-a-straw genre.

I gathered paper, paint (red, blue, silver and gold), paint cups, eyedroppers, and straws.

To start, mix some water in with the paint until it is runny.  It took some trial and error to create the right consistency for the paint- too thick and it doesn't make a proper burst, too diluted and there's not enough color.

Use the eyedropper to put a drop of paint on the paper.  Hold the straw straight up, directly over the paint drop, and blow.  If the straw is perfectly vertical and directly over the paint, it will form a very cool fireworks shape.   

Unfortunately, Trevor could not manage to hold the straw vertically.  Even when it was lined up perfectly, he'd move it at the last second and end up with a shape that didn't really resemble fireworks.  He tried a bunch of times, but was somewhat frustrated.

I had more success, but I did flub a few.  It's not as easy as it sounds to keep the straw perfectly vertical and perfectly centered over the paint drop.  With the other paint-blowing crafts I've done, you blow the paint from the side (like creating tree branches), which is much easier. 

I mounted the finished art on blue and red cardstock and we hung them on our front door.  Instant holiday spirit!

Trevor's.

Mine.

 Happy 4th of July!