Patriotic Wooden Block Flag Tutorial

Hi! It's Jilly. I felt my Fourth decor was a little lacking, so I dreamt up this little flag block.



After I started working on it I realized I'd gone about it all wrong! So, I will tell you what I should have done!

1. Sand your block of wood.

2. Paint your block of wood white. (I put the stripes of painter's tape on it first, then painted. Ooops...)

3. After the paint is dry, tape off a square in the upper left corner and stripes on the rest of the block.

4. Paint the stripes red. After the red paint dries, remove the tape from the upper left corner, then tape over the stripes so you don't get blue paint on your red and white stripes. Paint the upper left corner blue.



Because I didn't do these last two steps right I ended up having my daughter paint the red stripes freehand, so they look a little wonky...I mean, homemade. ;)

5. After the blue paint dries, paint a single, white star in the upper left-hand corner. You could use a stencil, or draw a star with pencil, then paint over it. Or, better yet, cut a star out of painter's tape and place it in the upper left corner after you've painted the block white, but before you paint the corner blue. (Duh! Why didn't I think of that earlier?!)

I hope you can learn from my mistakes and make your own flag block way better than I did!



Here's my whole Fourth of July set-up in all its glory.

Some of you may recognize my Upcycled Tights Wreath. I just switched out the flower hair clip for this festive red, white, and blue one from my friend Kim at Bugaboo, Mini, Mr & Me. 

Have a happy, festive week!!

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Might be linking up with: Craft-O-Maniac, C.R.A.F.T, I Should Be Mopping The Floor, More the Merrier Monday, Make the Scene Monday,Serendipity and Spice, Home Stories A to Z, Titus 2 Tuesday, Take It On Tuesday, Work It Wednesday, What We Wore, Read, and Made Wednesdays, Wednesday Whatsits,  Show & Tell Thursday, The DIY Dreamer, House of Hepworths, Mom on Timeout, Create It Thursday, Pinterest Power Party, My Favorite Finds, Weekend Wonders, My Turn For Us, Fancy This Friday, Sew Crafty Angel , Friday Favorites.

Surprise Party!

Hi! It’s Jilly. Sorry I’ve been kind of MIA this week on the blog! Things have been CRAAAAAZY! A few reasons why:

#1- My seester is coming into town next Tuesday and staying for a week!! Woot! So, I’ve been trying to make a place for her to sleep besides my couch, as comfy as it is. ;)

#2- The kids and I are in a play – A Gilbert & Sullivan Christmas Carol – and it opens next Friday!

#3- I’ve been planning a SURPRISE birthday party for my sweet husband. Want to see my plans? I thought you might!

I have a board dedicated to the party on Pinterest, if you’d like to peruse that, but here’s the main “gist” of it. 

On Saturday night the hubs thinks we are going on a date, and that our friends who live one floor down are watching the kids. So, I am taking the kids “down to our friend’s house” and checking on the party (which I am setting up today in our building’s community room).

Then, after I come back upstairs for our “date” a different set of friends (who also live in the building) are going to call hubster and ask him if we want to join them downstairs to play ping pong. He’ll probably say, “Well, Jillian & I are headed out on a date”, then I’ll say, “Oh, we can pop in and play for a minute before we head out.” Then, when we get downstairs—SURPRISE!! Ha ha! It’s gonna be SO awesome!

For the food, I am making BBQ pulled pork sandwiches using THIS delicious-sounding recipe from Dine Like A Pauper. I was going to do pizza, but this will be just as easy, more yummy, and probably cheaper, since the pork shoulder is on sale right now.

source- Dine Like A Pauper 

I will also make BBQ baked beans (saute some onion, pour in a can of baked beans, add BBQ sauce to taste. Voila!), and have some chips and soda.

For dessert I’m going to make cupcakes. I will probably cheat and use a boxed mix for the cupcakes, but I HAVE to make cream cheese frosting, ‘cause it is his favorite. I’m planning to use THIS recipe from Beantown Baker  for the frosting.

source- Beantown Baker

Now, the decorations! I am going to make some of these cute “fireworks” from I Heart Naptime to hang from the ceiling over the buffet area, only I will make them green, which is Hubby’s favorite color.

source- I Heart Naptime

I was planning to just make a birthday banner, but the kids had a great idea! I am going to cut out big letters spelling Happy Birthday, which the kids will decorate. Then, we will hang each letter from the ceiling with fishing line! Festive, eh? I’ll have to post a pic of how it turns out on Instagram. (Follow me so you don’t miss it!)

I found THIS awesome idea for a cupcake stand on Something From Cassie. SO easy, and simple to make work with any theme!

source- Something From Cassie

During the party we will have the adults play some Minute to Win It games, while the kids color, play, or watch a movie. (I don’t really care, as long as they stay out of our hair..ahem, I mean…I love kids!)

source- NBC.com

I think it’s going to be SO much fun, and he is going to be SO surprised! I hope it turns out like I plan, and all my wildest dreams come true. (Aack! I didn’t Vote for Pedro! Shoot!)