Stick Flag

 

Mom Tobler found a super cute stick flag on Pinterest and we decided that we wanted to make one. There wasn't any tutorial but we figured it would be pretty straight forward.

 First you want to find some sticks. We took ours off of a tree in Mom's yard. The straighter the better but a slight wave adds variation. Next you want to cut two smaller sticks that will go along the back to keep the flag in place. We cut 12 sticks at approx. 15 inches (+/-) each. Once you lay out your sticks in the order that you want them, cut a smaller stick to go up and down on your flag. Be sure that it is at least 3 inches longer than you r flag on either side so that when you tie your flag together it won't slide. (Better explained later on.)

Next it's time to get out your red, white and blue! Start painting. 

Paint three sticks all red and three sticks half way with red.

Next paint three sticks all white and three sticks half way with white.

Now paint all 6 half painted sticks half way with blue. (Whoa that wording is tricky)

Now you are going to tie your sticks together using the little stick as a guide to secure it to along the back. At first I just tied the sticks together... they fell apart really quick. The big sticks just slid right off on the little stick. So I took it apart and drilled a hole in the top and in the bottom to thread my string through so it wouldn't slide. Then to make extra sure it wouldn't move my Dad suggested I use wood glue and  so I glued along the short stick as I tied it together. It's solid.

The back.

 

 

The front.

Now it's time to paint some stars. I waited until it was tied together to paint the starts so that I wasn't trying to line up stars while making things secure. Next hand paint your stars on.

Once you are done add a sting or wire to hang it from your door. Stand back and admire.

4th of July Banner

 I seriously love holidays!! Nothing beats dressing up, eating tons of food and spending time with family! Our 4th of July was rather low key since I'm 8 months preggers and it was a rather warm 113°F. So we decided to avoid the parade and started our morning off with some landscaping while Peanut splashed in her little pool. 

 My mantel leaves something to be desired but I had to show you my banner! 

 I love it! I followed this tutorial, my blue paint is quite a bit lighter than hers though since it's what I had on hand. I think I like the darker version but still love my final product! 

 After E's morning nap Mom and Dad Tobler came over for some festivities which mainly consisted of eating. So good!

 Mom and Dad have wonderful neighbors that bring by yummy and festive treats.

4th of July Dress

 I loved Ethnie's dress so much I decided it need it's very own post! It turned out better than I had even hoped! I mean seriously check that kid out. (For original post and instructions click here.)

 The original blog post over at Heart Break Kids was made for a child larger than Ethnie. So we changed a few things. Firstly we made everything much simpler by just adding a skirt to a onesie! We also roll hemmed the edges on the surger. Quick, simple and beautiful!

 The bum is my favorite part! I mean really I'm Canadian and I am in love! We also did all of the gathers on the surger! So quick! We didn't stitch the belt on because we didn't want to loose the stretch of the cotton. Ethnie is barely squeezing into her 3-6 month outfits at 4 1/2 months, stretch was necessary! So to keep the belt in place we added a few loops.

 That's my little American girl. She wore her dress to church on Sunday and got a lot of compliments on it. It was super simple, a little bit time consuming (approx 6+ hours) but like I said I am very pleased with the end result. 

 Mom Tobler suggested adding a few stars to her tushy. You can't really see them when she wears it but I think it gives it that extra kick!

I hope everyone had an amazing 4th of July!! I know our little American Girl sure did!!