DIY Fourth of July Pt. II

This post marks the 11th post this year--more posts than I've ever posted in one year for the entire multi-year duration of this blog! This is a monumental achievement to be sure, or perhaps it's but a surprisingly consistent exercise in ambivalence and mediocrity--you be the judge! Just kidding, don't judge me!

DIY Fourth of July has come and gone, and I'm making good on my promise of more Fourth of July crafts, however useless they may be on this fifth day of July. You can always bookmark it for next year, like some organized person who plans things a year in advance and then follows through on those plans (a wizard?!).

First off, remember those spray painted jars? I did go ahead and rough them up with sandpaper, to great effect. They looked distressed in a Pinterest-y way, not a distressing way. 

Next I worked on a wreath. I purchased a wooden ring for a Christmas wreath that never got made, so that served as the base. I had a remnant piece of cream canvas which I stained with chicken grease that was perfect for this project, so I cut it into strips and wrapped it around the wooden ring, hot gluing the back as I went along. 

Next I cut out a series of circles in different shades of blue and red, plus cream, and stitched some on top of each other. I hot glued the circles in a kind of overlapping clump on one side of the circle to create a cool mod yet rustic wreath.

Here's a closeup of the circles. 

Additionally, I added to my fake rocket decorations with what I deemed to be a clever idea from Tobi: making a rocket that looked like it had exploded. 

I did this by spray painting a toilet paper tube red, then painting the inside black with a small paintbrush. I made vertical snips into the top with scissors and then curled each tab down to give it that exploded look. Boom! Additionally, I made a huge rocket with an old mailing tube. I spray painted it white and then used red duct tape to attempt a moderately successful chevron pattern on its body. I made a big rocket top from some shiny paper. 

Another simple, classy decor idea is to place little sprays of baby's breath in jars, and colorful straws add some fun to the beverage table. For a nonalcoholic drink, I served water with lime wheels, watermelon chunks and cucumber slices.  

Here's a photo of my sister along with a few of my decor elements in action: triangle flag banners and sparklers!

All in all, this has been another very successful party, and one scientist roughly estimates that my simple, clean and creative decor added 47 percent more festive fun to the atmosphere. This scientist is more of a "scientist of the world" than, like, a research lab scientist. Also, there was no control party to compare with, so you can take this study as you like. Hey, scientific literacy isn't exactly my strong suit--something I share with many of the rest of my fellow Americans. God bless us & happy birthday, USA! 

Easter Crafts!

For Easter this year, I decided to head off the possibility that my family could plan a luncheon at Golden Corral by offering to host an Easter brunch. I started painstakingly planning the menu and decor a few weeks in advance, and spent the week leading up to Sunday excitedly trying different natural egg dyeing techniques and making prospective timelines for the weekend. I. Was. Ready. 

For the eggs, I looked online for the various things that can be used to naturally dye eggs, and just kind of did my own thing. I would take whatever the color ingredient was, mix it with about 1/8 to 1/4 cup white vinegar, and place it in a glass bowl overnight or for around eight or nine hours. I mixed it around every so often. 

Above is the blueberry mixture. I thawed frozen berries and mashed them with a fork, added vinegar, and then the eggs. On the right is turmeric. I loved this color! I used several tablespoons of turmeric. 

Above from top to bottom is turmeric, blueberry and coffee. The coffee just made it look like a normal brown egg, but I did enjoy the speckles and inconsistencies in the shade. 

For this one, I put the eggs in there with beet peels and vinegar. I was so excited about this color. When I finally took out all the eggs and put them in various centerpieces and decorative bowls, I felt like fucking Martha Stewart. Unfortunately, being natural and whatnot, these colors faded in the sun, and my beautiful brunch took place in the backyard in the unforgiving beams of color-killing sunshine. Thanks a lot, sun! 

I thought I was really clever coming up with the whole wreath and green Spanish moss thing, but then I looked back at the initial website that inspired me and noticed how I just stole exactly what that person did. There are no new ideas! 

Here's another amazing idea I stole from the internet. It's an Easter banner made from paint swatches! I loved it! Here it is blowing in the wind above the food table.  

These are some little tulip toothpicks I made with hot glue and pretty paper. They were for the fruit, but no one used them except me. Maybe they thought they were too pretty to use. Maybe I didn't make it clear enough that I wanted people to spear their fruit with tiny spring-inspired toothpicks. Party planner problems. 

For the table settings, I utilized my huge stash of small glass jars. Each one served as a water glass, but initially I set a colorful napkin and a fork in each one. 

For the lamb and potatoes, I made two white sauces; one minty and one filled with horseradish. I didn't want people to be confused and I also wanted an excuse to make another tiny paper and toothpick craft, so I killed two crafty birds with one stone and labeled them with these adorable egg-shaped markers. 

Here's me checking on my crown rack of lamb. 

My crafty decorations and elaborate menu were fawned over by all, and we got tons of great photos of our loved ones having a fabulous Easter! Thanks to my exhaustive planning and timeline-making, the brunch was an absolute smashing success. Special thanks  also to the mimosa bar. Feliz Pescua!