July 4th Craft with Kids: Make an American Flag!

If you're looking for an easy and fun July 4th craft to do with the kids, make an American flag!

We did this for Flag Day, and it was a big hit with my kids, and with me, since it's pretty easy and not too messy. It's also perfect for July 4th - just swap "Happy Flag Day"" for the July 4th greeting of your choice.

Here's how to make an American Flag using dried beans:

1. Buy dried beans in red, white and blue. You'll have a few choices of varieties, any will work. Pictured here, we used kidney beans for red, black beans for blue, and northern beans for white.

2. Make sure you have sturdy construction paper and a strong-ish glue - any craft glue will work fine.

3. Trace out the flag using a pencil, so you'll know where to glue the beans. You can also print out a flag - this is especially good if you're doing this craft project with younger kids.

4. Put down thirteen stripes of glue that will become the red and white stripes of the flag - or less if your kids aren't sticklers on flag accuracy. Add alternating lines of red and white beans, starting and ending with red. Make the first four lines not go all the way across to the left, as that area will become the blue background and white stars section of the flag.

5.  Last, add the blue background and white "stars" by alternating blue and white beans in each row. For accuracy, you'll need 50 white bean stars, but my guess is you'll end up with less. Don't worry, your dried bean flag will still be a thing of patriotic beauty.

6. Let the glue dry completely and then display your July 4th masterpiece for all to enjoy!

Happy Fourth of July!

For lots more Fourth of July arts and crafts, click here.

Who Wore It Best - The July Fourth Dress

My daughter Kay is a big fan of hand-me-downs, which is perfect since I'm a big fan of her wearing them as much as possible.

This year Kay wore big sister Magpie's dress on July Fourth, so of course, I need to pose the question... who wore it best?

Magpie is on the left and Kay is on the right if you want to weigh-in with your pick US Weekly style in the comments.

Next up, I want to recreate this photo of my son and me which was taken two years ago on July Fourth.

It's been my Facebook icon ever since, but I think two years may be the limit of its shelf life.

 

Hope everyone had a Happy July Fourth!

Old Photo Friday: Down the Shore on July Fourth

Every year for July Fourth, we head to our family house down the shore as I call it since moving to Jersey. I think prior to moving to New Jersey I just said we were going to the beach.

I went through the photos from three and four years ago, and here are a few favorites from summer's past.

And here's are photos from last year, so Ziggy isn't left out of any old photo fun.



There are some photos I think we must recreate this year, assuming I can get willing participation.

I would so love a re-do of the pillow on Magpie's head, the Uncle and Kelly leg lift, and Ziggy and his tie-wearing, stroller pushing walk on the boardwalk.

And of course, we'll be taking old timey photos like this one of Ziggy from last year.

Happy July Fourth!!

If you're looking for craft and cooking ideas for celebrating the Fourth of July, or random photos of my family celebrating the holiday, check out the July Fourth archive.

This is my weekly installment of Old Photo Friday. If you have an old photo of your own to share, leave a comment below and I'll come by and visit!

Arts and Crafts for Fourth of July, Flag Day and Father's Day

If you're feeling crafty for Flag Day, or Father's Day, I've got some ideas over at NJFamily.com.

For Flag Day, there are directions to make this easy, and theoretically mess-free, American Flag using dried beans. And of course, it would be perfect for a Fourth of July celebration as well.

I should note that my toddler son threw the beans all over the kitchen instead of patiently gluing them down, which almost anyone would find annoying.

Kitchen floor. With beans the toddler flung.

Almost anyone except his grandma who said, "good for you - crafts are a waste of time!"

For Father's Day, I've got lots of ideas from the Pinterest font - check out Homemade Gift Ideas for Dear Ol' Dad.

And you can always make Dad a video, check out the one I made my husband for Father's Day last year here.

Happy Flag Day!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Fourth of July!

For lots for Fourth of July arts and crafts, click here.

Red, White & Blue Muffins for July 4th, Memorial Day or Any Day You're Feeling Patriotic

My kids and I are having so fun making red, white and blue treats for Memorial Day that I got inspired to bake one more thing, so I made muffins with strawberries, blueberries and white chocolate chips. And they turned out really yummy.

Here's the recipe if you're planning to do some patriotic baking yourself over the long weekend!


Muffins for July 4th or Memorial Day

Ingredients:
2 cups white flour
1 tablespoon baking power
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
1/4 cup melted butter
1/3 cup blueberries
1/3 cup cut-up strawberries
1/3 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 F and butter muffin tins.
2. Mix together 1 3/4 cups flour, baking powder and sugar.
3. Add the egg, milk and melted butter to the flour mixture, stirring until just combined.
4. Combine strawberries, blueberries and white chocolate chips together, and sprinkle the last 1/4 cup of flour on top. Stir them gently into the batter.
5. Spoon batter into muffin tins, filling each one about 2/3 of the way-up.
6. Bake 20 to 25 minutes.

Once baked, the muffins didn't come out as red, white and blue as I had hoped (in fact, the white chocolate chips had melted completely) so I topped them with an American Flag motif using cream cheese, whole blueberries, and strawberry jelly for stripes.

My oldest daughter pronounced that the muffins "looked odd," but she ate two so I'm still going to count this recipe as a success. And yes, I can admit they aren't quite Pinterest-perfect. But odd?

Happy July Fourth!
Happy Memorial Day!

For more ideas for celebrating the Memorial Day holiday, check out Memorial Day Breakfast: Three Easy Ideas in Red, White and Blue and Memorial Day: A Day of Remembrance.

Red, White and Blue Breakfast: Three Easy Ideas for July Fourth or Memorial Day

I thought it would be fun to make a red, white and blue breakfast for my kids in honor of Memorial Day on the last morning of school before the long weekend. These red, white and blue ideas would also work great for July Fourth!

My two-year-old and I hit up the grocery store and returned with blueberries, strawberries and these funky flat marshallows, ready to see what we could create.

Here are three easy red, white and blue July Fourth or Memorial Day breakfast ideas - all that can be made with just strawberries, blueberries and whatever else you have in the house - we had white chocolate chips just asking to be used up, and sweetened condensed milk. Both worked great for the "white."

1. Pancakes topped with a kabob made from strawberries, blueberries and marshmallows.

2. Pancakes cut-out in star shapes and topped with strawberries, blueberries and a drizzle of sweetened condensed milk. My kids loved this one so much they insisted on having it again for their after-school snack.

3. Oatmeal topped with strawberries, blueberries and white chocolate chips. I threw a drizzle of sweetened condensed milk on this too, because honestly, that stuff tastes good in and on everything.

I also made red, white and blue muffins, which turned out really yummy. I'll post photos and the recipe tomorrow.

Happy Memorial Day! For ways to celebrate the holiday with children in a meaningful way, including a few patriotic flag crafts, visit Memorial Day: A Day of Remembrance.

What I'm Thinking About Sunday Night: Pirates, Boardwalks, and All Things New Jersey

It's Sunday night, and we're back safe and sound in New Jersey. We had a great two-week vacation at the beach where we celebrated July Fourth for about a week, and then spent the other week dressing up like pirates. Oh, and my son also spent a good amount of time grooming his inner toddler metrosexual.

It was all fun times, but I'm glad to be home just the same.

For those of you who are long time Random Handprints readers (for which I am super crazy thankful) you might remember back when I announced I was now writing for ShePosts and Momtrends. 

And today I get to share the exciting news that I am now also a writer for New Jersey Family magazine.

So far, I've written about free outdoor movies and free outdoor concerts, as well as about July being National Blueberry Month and National Picnic Month.

For all the Jersey readers, please let me know if you have anything you'd like me to cover... I'm totally on it.

Recipe for Gelatin Stars - Fun & Easy to Make and No Artifical Colors

Is it really July 7th and I'm writing another July 4th post? Yep, it's true. But I wanted to pass along the results of my homemade gelatin, even if it means contributing to the phenomenon of Fourth of July sprawl.

In honor of Independence Day, I had posted a few fun picks for red, white & blue desserts that relied on using copious quantities of red and blue food coloring - not the healthiest of options.

So I was inspired to try a more natural take on the patriotic theme when I read this comment from Kelly of Kelly Naturally:

And would you believe, I've never made jello for my children (red 40 sensitivity)! Wonder if there's a natural version of jello?

Yes, Kelly there is! Here's how my gelatin stars with no artificial-colors turned out:

All you need to make your own no-artificial-coloring red and blue gelatin is a box of Knox Gelatin, cranberry juice and blueberry juice. And a couple of cookie cutters in fun shapes.

Follow the directions for Fruit Juice Knox Blox (it's also on the Knox package), but instead of cutting in cubes use cookie cutters.

Ingredients:
4 packets Knox Unflavoured Gelatin
1 cup cold fruit juice (I used cranberry and blueberry for red and blue, but any flavor works)
3 cups hot fruit juice (boiling, or almost boiling)

Directions:
1. Pour the cold fruit juice into a large bowl. Sprinkle the 4 packets of gelatin over the juice and leave for about one minute.
2. Pour the hot fruit juice into the gelatin mixture and stir until gelatin dissolves, about three minutes.
3. Pour the whole mixture into a 9x13 pan. (or 9x9 pan or whatever size pan you have)
4. Chill for about 3 hours, or until your kids wear your patience down and you find yourself letting them slurp the not-quite-firm gelatin directly out of the container.

Once the gelatin is firm, you just cut out the shapes. Couldn't be easier. And of course, the kids love to help.

... and you're done!

 

My kids thought they were delicious, and I have to admit they did taste good. And even better, this version is a much healthier alternative to the artificial colors and sugars found in Jell-o.

Do you have healthier versions of other old favorites?

July Fourth... it goes on and on and on

Here it is July Fifth, but it feels very much like July Fourth because last night's fireworks were cancelled due to rain. So they're showing them tonight.

My kids are of course over joyed. Me? Not so much. (Don't worry, my kids weren't deprived of fireworks yesterday, we watched the display put on by the next town over.)

So far, we have celebrated July Fourth like my children celebrate their birthdays - which means that a one day holiday has been stretched out to several actual days and to what feels like to me, conservatively speaking, several eternities.

There were days of red, white & blue outfits. Yes, even I made sure I had on my red shirt and blue jeans.

There were days of red, white & blue treats. Yes, that is the red, white & blue sandwich I made them for lunch. A triple decker with strawberry jelly, cream cheese and blueberry jelly.

And, my stars, there were night after night of fireworks. Late night fireworks.

When did this happen? Remember when Halloween was one day, not the entire month of October? When did the whole Fourth of July sprawl begin? And more importantly, when will it end?

And now, if you'll excuse me, I have a fireworks show to attend.

I love my country, but please, let this be the last celebration for awhile.

Down the Shore - Fourth of July Weekend



   Happy Fourth of July!   

PS I cheated a little and the photo of Magpie is actually from a playground in Battery Park City. But her dress was too good to leave this picture off.

Ziggy takes a boardwalk stroll

I took my urban-living, tie-wearing, stroller-pushing, toddler son to the Delaware shore.

And found out that what would be a totally common not-worth-noticing sight in Manhattan, ain't so in this small shore town.

But watching this 14-second video, you'll see this is one very happy urban-living, tie-wearing, stroller-pushing toddler.

And for him, it's just another night strolling on the boardwalk, a boy and his bear.

 

More Ideas for July Fourth Celebrations - Festive Cakes and Jello Creations

I know I already posted a bunch of ideas for July Fourth crafts and eats, but I found so many more cute foods, I just had to share these, too.

My favorite for all-around awesome is the Red, White & Blue Cake made with Red Velvet and Blue Velvet cakes, and the traditional Cream Cheese Frosting.

Photo from Cake or Death?

Here's the recipe from Cake... Or Death?

Photo from Cake or Death?

The cake is beautiful, but for those who don't quite have the time commitment it would require, there are also so many cute Fourth of July desserts made with Jell-o.

Look at these choices:

Brown Eyed Baker has Stained Glass Jell-o

Taste of Home has Red, White & Blue Jell-o Cubes:

 
And last, here are two options that combine both cake and Jell-o, (which admittedly, probably look better than they taste):



Kraft's Patriotic Poke Cake:

And the Patriotic Quilt "Cake"

Do you have a favorite July Fourth dessert? Would love to hear your recipes!

For lots more ideas, check out all the July Fourth posts and the Red, White and Blue Pinterest Board I made.

Fun Flags and Fireworks for July Fourth - A few Ideas for Handprint Crafts and Cute Holiday Foods

July Fourth is one of my favorite summer holidays.

The Fourth of July will be here before we know it, and what better way to celebrate Independence Day than with a festive and patriotic handprint craft?  I also found so many cute July 4th food ideas, I had to share some of those, too.

Here are a few of my favorites (if they look familiar, some were already featured here for Memorial Day and Flag Day):

The Patriotic Bald Eagle:

Photo from All Kids Network

And how awesome is this Edible Eagle?

Photo from Family Fun

There is also always the handprint American Flag:

Photo from Lesson Plans Page

And the handprint and footprint American Flag:

Photo from Serendipity

And (of course) the edible Fresh Fruit Flag:

Photo from Preschool Rock

I also love these elegant edible flag cupcakes from Diary of a Ladybird:

And last, what would July 4th be without the fireworks?  Make 'em with handprints:

Picture from All Kids Network

Or make these candy-licious July Fourth Fireworks Cupcakes from Parentdish:

These cupcakes are made with assorted candy - jelly beans, cut licorice, swedish fish, etc. - and I love that each kid can decorate an individual fireworks display on their own cupcake. You could also use the candy to make American flag cupcakes, love this version from Sugar & Sprinkles:

Happy July Fourth!!!!

For more July Fourth ideas, check our archives. And we've got a lot of patriotic red, white and blue ideas on Pinterest, too.

Would love to hear how you'll be celebrating the Fourth of July. We'll be taking our annual beach vacation, and I'll be making my family favorite red velvet and blue velvet cake, but that's a recipe for another post...