Can you believe that Spring is officially here and that summer is right around the corner. I’m talking about sun and more sun and we are super excited. The summer for us means vacations and enjoying life in general. Memorial Day is just a few days away and we’re super excited. Being a military family, we not only support our troops but we also honor those that made the ultimate sacrifice so that we could be free today. We usually celebrate our day with a BBQ and end it by watching the fireworks.
Living close to a military base, we get to experience first hand all their activities and we try and attend when we can. If you’re like me, you might have already gone ahead and found the perfect outfit for your children for that day. If you haven’t and you’re wondering what to get your children for the holidays, Gymboree should be your first choice. I know that it usually is for me. As I’ve mentioned in the past, we are HUGE fans and I can’t even begin to tell you how much of my money is spent there for my daughter, the clothing line is just too cute and their new Red White and Cute line is no exception.
Their clothing is always superior in quality and we have worn them over and over, washed them numerous times and they’ve all held up. I have even been able to pass them down and they still looked great, but I digress. If you’re still in the market for your own patriotic wear, whether for Memorial Day which is right around the corner or for the 4th of July holiday then Gymboree has just what you need for both boys and girls. Clothing, shoes and accessories, everything that you need.
Madison as you can see is all decked out in the Liberty Belle outfit which comprises of a striped midi dress that has a hi-low hem. It’s low in the front and high in the back. She also decided on red glitter cowboy boots which features glitter stars and is easy to pull on and off, and she finished her look with a star necklace and bracelet.
So now that you’ve gotten your patriotic wear from Gymboree here’s something else that we just love to do. Let’s get to what we love to do best. Crafting! Today I want to share with you two very simple patriotic craft made with popsicle sticks. Our version of the US Flag and Uncle Sam. There is so much you can do with popsicle sticks and they are absolutely great for crafting. I keep them in stock in different sizes and colors.
Patriotic Popsicle Stick Craft – Flag and Uncle Sam
Supplies needed:
Popsicle Sticks (I used the jumbo size and approximately 8 per craft)
Markers or paint (Red, White & Blue, to color your sticks)
Craft glue or a Glue Gun
Cotton balls
Wiggly Eyes
Acrylic Jewels (couldn’t find stars which would have been perfect)
Directions:
While the directions are super easy and I didn’t think about taking photos to show it to you step-by step, I’ll try and explain it as best as I can so you can get it.
Step 1:
Let’s begin by coloring your popsicle sticks. I used approximately 7-8 popsicle sticks per craft.
Flag:
Color 3 sticks in solid red, 2 in white and 2 in blue. You’re however going to cut those 2 blue sticks in half and keep 3 of the 4 pieces.
Uncle Sam:
Color 1 stick solid blue.
Step 2:
Flag:
Here’s a simple trick to getting the popsicle sticks to stay together. Cut a piece of cardstock paper and glue your sticks to it. Start with red, followed by white until you’ve used all your red and white sticks.
You should have cut your blue sticks in half and now you’re going to attach them on the left at the top.
Next, attach your acrylic jewels on the blue any which way that you like. I placed the glue and Madison had a lot of fun adding them.
Now, while you can leave it that way, I decided to use a plain popsicle stick (not colored) and attach it to the back so that you can hold it easily.
Uncle Sam:
Place 6 of your uncolored popsicle sticks in a row. About 2-3 inches down, or where you want to, place some glue going across the sticks and attach your 1 colored blue stick. That should hold your sticks in place.
Once it dries, color the top in a uniformed way starting with red and ending with white. (Red, white, red, white, red, white).
Attach 2 wiggle eyes in the middle and then your cotton balls (for his beard) all with some glue. I also made a small black dot for his nose.
That’s it! Easy peasy!
Crafting is our One Big Happy and we plan on sharing our patriotic pride in our Gymboree clothing. So get to your nearest Gymboree and get your patriotic pride on!
