Patriotism

In our family we are so lucky to celebrate two countries birthdays in July! A week to focus on our different up bringing- as different as Canada and the US can be LOL. Every year the kids get their Canadian shirts and then their American shirts but this year I wanted to do a LITTLE decorating.

For July 1st- Canada Day I created this.
It is actually the first Canadian decoration I own/have made. SAD!!

For July 4th- Independence day I created this
I had recently found 8 window panes on Craigslist for free! Then bought another 10 at an auction for $0.88! When I saw this here I just had to start using these windows.
(can't find the link to where I found this idea)

Lessons learned
Canadian deco-When on a budget, you use what you have and live with it! The original I saw used berry sprigs and branches instead of leaves and used red and white leather instead of hemp. The original was much more elegant looking.
US window Flag- Never paint in the humid southern heat! It took three days to complete because the paint just wouldn't dry. I had star stickers which were just the right size. I cut them out with a razor blade and used the remaining back as a stencil. It worked well for the first half then started to fall apart as it got saturated with paint. I reminded myself not to swear, I had to improvise! I made another stencil out of a cereal box which worked well enough to finish the project.

Next year I am going to introduce my kids to Nanimo bars, and butter tarts for Canada day and then do some sort of red, white and blue dessert for Independence day.