Friday, June 29

July 4th Ice Cream Treats


 Hi there! It's Cris from Crissy's Crafts here guest posting today and sharing the perfect little  treat for your 4th July get together!

If you are ice cream lovers like us, you will love this idea that I found on Martha's Stewart's site! Make multiples of these scoops-on-a-stick and you won't have to spoon ice cream, one serving at a time, in the middle of  your party!

Just make small  ice cream balls using a small ice cream scoop, place the balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Insert a craft spoon into each, and place in the freezer. 

I embellished my spoon using the  Hershey Kiss circles (to be used with a 3/4" circle craft punch) from Amanda's Parties to Go FREE 4th of July printable. Chill until hardened. Roll scoops in sprinkles or candies, and store them in the freezer on a freshly lined baking sheet. Enjoy!


Happy 4th of July!
_______________________________________

Thanks, Cris, for stopping by my blog today to share your sweet treat!

Sunday, June 24

FREE July 4th Printables Set



Are you getting ready for the 4th of July? Having a neighborhood block party, a family reunion, a day at the lake or beach? This FREEBIE set of patriotic printables will be perfect for celebrating in
RED, WHITE and BLUE style!







 JULY 4TH FREEBIE PRINTABLE SET includes:


- 2" Party Circles for Cupcake toppers and tags with July 4th pinwheel, "4th of July," "Celebrate" with fireworks, and a star graphic circle

- 2" Party Circles - page of star graphic circles

- 2.5 background circles of patterns to go behind 2" circles when making cupcake toppers

- 2 different cupcake wraps: Navy/white stars and Red/white stripe

- Stars & Stripes treat cones for snacks or popcorn

- Hershey Kiss circles (to be used with a 3/4" circle craft punch)

- Page of patterned star cut outs

- 4 pages of patterned printable papers


_____________________________________

And if you like this FREEBIE, be sure to check out more of my
JULY 4th FREEBIE PRINTABLES 
HERE and HERE!


Friday, June 22

July 4th - Firework Favor Can Tutorial

I love the idea of giving kids something special “just for them” at a holiday get together. Whether you are eating a sit down lunch for Independence Day or just having lots of kids coming over to celebrate the 4th,  handing them something fun and kid-friendly to keep them happy and occupied is always a good idea. So how much fun is this FIRECRACKEFAVOR container!

I’m going to show you make it using of all things, a Pringles can!

And I’ve also designed some FREEBIE July 4th Printables just for you to download for this craft — Free is good, right? 


And if you like FREEBIES, head over to my Facebook page to find even more July 4th printable freebies, Father's Day printables and Mother's Day, too!




When I was thinking of what kinds of items I could put in the favor box for the kids, I wanted to have coloring pages as well as some sparklers.  I needed a container tall enough to fit both, and a Pringles can was the perfect solution. At about $1.00 each they won’t break the bank, and if your kids are anything like mine, they’ll think you’re Mom of the Year if you come home from the store with a pile of Pringles cans! So let’s get started.

Firecracker Favor Box:
Here’s what you’ll need: 
- Pringles cans
- Printable sheets from the FREE July 4th craft download
(Print onto photo paper or brochure paper for the most vivid colors)
- July 4th trinkets for the kids like necklaces, tattoos, stickers, sparklers, etc
- Coloring pages printouts and crayons
- Ribbon and tulle (in red, white and blue colors)
- Low temp hot glue gun, tape, scissors, hole punch, and sharp knife
- Craft circle punches in 2.5″ and 3″ sizes (optional)
- Red, white and blue star wire garland (Dollar Tree)
- Metallic chenille stems (pipe cleaners) 

Step 1: Print out your FREE set of Firecracker Favor printables (seen above). Punch your 2.5″ logos and 3″ decorative circles out with a circle craft punch.


Step 2: Preparing the can - We’re going to leave the stay-fresh seal at the top closed so that the kids can “pop the top” themselves so take a sharp knife and cut just above the silver base on the bottom of the can. Saw through the cardboard, cutting a little and then turning the container to cut the next spot. Keep repeating around the can until you can pull the bottom of the can away. It’s helpful to not cut the bottom piece all the way off and leave a small piece attached. Empty out the Pringles into a air-proof container and keep them for later use. Wash out the inside but don’t douse it with water…. it’s only cardboard afterall. Then dry out the interior with a towel.




Step 3: Get all of your kids’ July 4th trinkets and coloring pages ready to insert in the can once you’re sure it’s nice and dry. I rolled the coloring pages together so they would fit inside the container and then placed the candy, sparklers, tattoos, stickers, yo-yo necklaces and crayons inside.


Step 4: Putting your can back together – Using a low temp hot glue gun, apply glue to the outside edge of the bottom silver piece on your can and then press back onto the cardboard part of the can. Hold together until the glue dries. Then if you are using a low temp glue gun, apply some glue to the outside of the can and press your finger over it to smooth it out. This will ensure that the can will stay together. If you are using a high temp glue gun, just encircle the cut part of your can with some Scotch tape. 


Step 5: Next you’re going to cover your can with pretty papers that you’ve printed from the Firecracker Favor printables set and cover up your ugly glue seam, too. The 8.5″x11″ printed sheet won’t completely cover the can so I placed the paper on the 11″ side around the can, cut off an inch or so to make it fit, and then taped the seam with Scotch tape. On the top and bottom where I have a small bit of can still showing, I cut a different decorative paper into strips and wrapped it around the can as well until the entire can was covered and pretty.


Step 6: Punch your 2.5″ circles and 3″ decorative circles out from the Firecracker Favor printables  (or you can just use scissors to cut them out if you don’t have the punches). Cut a small piece of ribbon maybe 10″ long, punch a hole in your 2.5″ tag, and insert the ribbon through the hole. Dab a little hot glue on the top of your can and place the ribbon into it to secure. Next, take a 3″  decorative circle, add some hot glue to the edge and place it down on the top of the Pringles can original seal. Hold it down until it dries.



Step 7: Making your decorative lid – Take your sharp knife and punch a slit through the center of your plastic Pringles lid. Then take a red, white and silver chenille stem and wrap each around one of your fingers to make it into a spiral. Release the spiral, insert it into the slit on the plastic lid and secure underneath with a small dab of hot glue. Repeat the spiral for each color chenille stem and insert into the lid.

Then you’ll do the same spiral trick with your red, white and blue star garland. Cut a long, maybe 18″-24″ piece of garland and spiral it as well, then fold it in half and stick the middle through the slit in the lid. Secure it, too, with some hot glue.


Next cut some 5″-6″ pieces of tulle – I used red since it seemed to look the most like a fireworks explosion – and fold each piece in half. Dab a little hot glue on the folded part and place down on top of the plastic lid. Repeat for 4 or 5 more pieces until the top of your lid looks nice and “firework-ey.” 





Step 8: Place the lid back on top of the can and Voila! You have a fun, “explosive” treat for the kids that they can pop open themselves!



Wouldn’t they just love all of that loot? I love this project because it’s so simple and inexpensive but would be a real treat for the kids. It might be a fun gift container for neighbors and friends or even a hostess gift for a 4th of July party. Make a batch of July 4th cookies, place them in a cellophane bag with some ribbon and insert them into the can for a sweet surprise!

_____________________________________

Wednesday, June 20

July 4th Centerpiece

Today I'm sharing a tutorial for a festive centerpiece that you could use just about anywhere to decorate for the upcoming July 4th holiday. You'll only need a few inexpensive supplies and the FREE DOWNLOAD of printables that I designed and in no time at all you can create a "Wow" kind of patriotic centerpiece.

Photobucket

Here's what you will need:

- Chipboard letters in U, S, and A (I bought mine at Hobby Lobby for $1 each on sale)
- Free JULY 4th PRINTABLES Download (available by "Liking" the Amanda's Parties To Go Facebook page) with patterned papers and stars (print onto photo paper for best results)
- Red and blue spray paint (or you could use acrylic paint and a paintbrush to paint the sides of your letters)
- Glue stick and hot glue gun
- Scissors
- Uncle Sam hat (I bought mine in the $1 bin at Target)
- Wooden dowels and skewers
- Ribbon (I bought a July 4th ponytail holder from Target for $1)
- Container
- Styrofoam or florist foam
- Piece of tupperware to fit into Uncle Sam hat
- Centerpiece container such as a tin tub, a vase, a bucket, etc.


Photobucket
Step One:  Take each of your chip board letters and spray the edges red or blue. Let dry. 
Photobucket
Step Two:  Download and print the free July 4th printables set onto photo paper or brochure paper for best results. I like a soft gloss finish and a premium weight, but use whatever you have on hand.... glossy or matte works fine, too.
Photobucket
Step Three:  Take each of your chipboard letters and place on the right side of your printed patterned paper and trace around the letter with a pencil. Cut out the traced letter with scissors. Repeat for each letter.

Photobucket
Step Four:  Apply glue stick glue to thoroughly cover the top of your chipboard letter. Place the corresponding paper letter cut out on top of the chipboard letter and match up all sides. Press down firmly to glue the paper to the chipboard letter.

Photobucket
Step Five:  Cut out the page of star cut out printables. Grab your smaller stars and glue them randomly to your patterned chipboard letters to add a little pizzazz. Next, hot glue a wooden dowel to the   backside of the chipboard letter making sure that you vary the heights of the wooden dowels for each letter. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for each letter U, S and A.


Photobucket
Step Six:  Take the larger stars from your star cut outs printable page and hot glue a wooden skewer to the back of each star to make star picks.

Photobucket
Step Seven :   Place a tupperware plastic container inside of the hat to make it stand on its own. Next, take a left over piece of florist foam or styrofoam and hot glue it inside your plastic container. Then take a wooden dowel and cut it to the appropriate height for the Uncle Sam hat based on the arrangement of your letters and stick it into the florist foam. 

Photobucket
Step Eight Take your centerpiece container and place a block of florist foam or styrofoam inside to fit. Next, arrange each of your letters and stars in the styrofoam to create your U.S.A. display.

Photobucket
Step Nine:  Hot glue some ribbon to the side of your container for a little added decoration and then fill the container with your shredded paper to cover the styrofoam and you're done! Great job!



You can find all of the printables in the above photo on SALE in my shop here: 


_______________________________________________
To Download the FREEBIE July 4th Printables:




2. Find the reddish "Click Here" button next to the Like button and click it

3. A new page will come up with a Download button. Click the Download button which will take you to the JULY 4TH FREE PRINTABLE DOWNLOAD





_____________________________________

And if you like this FREEBIE, be sure to check out more of my
JULY 4th FREEBIE PRINTABLES 
HERE and HERE!