America the beautiful

One of my favorite holidays is coming up quickly!!

The Fourth of July!!

There is just something so fun about celebrating America with friends and family. And then there are the fireworks of course...perhaps the very best part. :) Oh yeah and let's not forget the delicious food! 

To get in the spirit I made some bows for my girl and a new wreath! Actually it's not new at all...just the red, white & blue part is. (Wanna make yourself a Year round wreath too? Check out my post here) This wreath only ended up costing me $1 for the blue star ribbon from the dollar store. I had the wreath and I raided my mom's stash of fabric for some red, white and blue! Ha. That's what Mom's are for right? hehe. Thanks Mom!

And the korker bow:

The Korker/Corker bows are super easy to make. You can find a thousand tutorials for these all over the web, but just in case you want to know how I made them...here is my tutorial.

Supplies:

1. ribbon (small grosgrain works the best)

2. dowels

3. wooden clothespins

4. cake tin- (I just happened to have a disposable one...but just in case you don't, just line your tin with foil)

5. lighter so the ribbon doesn't fray

6. Alligator clips

First off, preheat your oven to 275 degrees.



Clip your ribbon to the dowel.

Wrap ribbon around the dowel, then clip the end with another clothespin.

(I wanted my ribbon curls to be tight, so I left a small space. If you want them less curly, leave bigger spaces on the dowel)

clipping the end:

And my tin of ribbons:

Bake in oven for 25 min.

Let the dowels cool and then unwrap the ribbons. Cut into 3 inch pieces, then singe the edges with your lighter. (Or use fray check). Then I placed the ribbons together and sewed threw them. [You can also hot glue them or tie them together] Hot glue your alligator clip on and you're done!

Sidenote: I had a few left over korker ribbons so I used them for my 4th of July wreath. You can also stick them in regular bows for a little extra spunk. The possibilities are endless!  My friend Deena also gave me the idea of spraying the ribbons with starch so they don't lose their curl. Of course this was after I was already done...but next time I will try it for sure.