Ordinances-YW Lesson (Patriotic)

July's theme for Young Women lessons focus on Ordinances and Covenants.  Our group will discuss Ordinances and why they are important in our lives.  I especially liked the thought that ordinances help us remember WHO WE ARE and remind us of our relationship with God.

Because I am teaching on the 4th of July weekend I went a little patriotic with our handouts.  We have a city "ordinance" in our neighborhood that bans ALL fireworks because of high fire danger.  I will remind the girls that the only fireworks we should see in our area are these "rockets red glaring!"

My idea for the bookmark came from this website

The rockets were created by using a "stick" rolo, ribbon, hole punch, glue dots, kisses and your favorite patriotic scrapbook paper.

Once the tag was created the Rolo Rocket went together pretty fast.

  

 

Have a great Sunday and a safe and happy July 4th weekend.

Produce Jars and Cherries-Happy 4th of July

Schools out.  Summer is in full swing.  Fruit is back in season and Independence Day celebrations are heating up.  And then I ran across these Farm Fresh Produce jars.  Perfect.

I visit a few ladies in my neighborhood every month.  These ladies have become close friends and I look forward to our visits.  I try and think of ways to let them know I think about them after our visits too.  I thought they might enjoy a little jar decorated for the 4th of July, filled with plump, juicy cherries.

I found these jars at TaiPan on clearance for $2.00.  I love the texture and look of the produce jars.  The metal flags were found at Hobby Lobby.  The cherries?  From our local grocer.

It feels like summer.  And that makes me happy.

Fruit Pizza Sugar Cookies

This semi-homemade recipe is my go-to for potluck picnics and barbecues.  My secret to not heating up the kitchen...buy unfrosted sugar cookies from your local bakery.  That's where the "semi-homemade" comes in.

Cut up your favorite fruits.

This cream cheese spread is the best!  It's light and not too sweet.  I use it for a lot of recipes, especially this one.

 

Takes less than 30 minutes to create these fabulous morsels of goodness.

It takes even less time to pack the ingredients in separate containers and let your BBQ buddies create their own cookie pizza.

For a little 4th of July flair, order star cookies from the bakery and here ya go!  

Picture from The Baker Mama

Best cream cheese/whipped cream recipe ever!

De-Constructed Trifle

I love Trifle.  

This is a very simple way to include all the trifle ingredients without all the trifle work.

Buy (or bake) pound cake and/or angel food cake.  Wash and cut blueberries and strawberries, or whatever fruit you love.

Add a little dollop of your favorite whipped cream creation.

(My whipped cream recipe below)

Same taste, a little different look and you have a tasty trifle.

I also found that my guests liked the trifle bar of choices.  

Cream Cheese Whipped Cream

1 (3 oz) pkg. cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in a small bowl with mixer on low speed until smooth.  Beat in whipping cream on medium speed until stiff peaks form.  

Can use as trifle topping or spread on a brownie or shortbread to make a great fruit pizza.

MMMmmm Monday - Sweet and Salty treats

Kellie and I must be on a Ritz kick. Both of us have made recipes the last few weeks involving Ritz crackers. These are by far my favorite crackers. I love the rich and buttery taste. Sometimes I have a few with a slice of cheese and sometimes I make these delicious goodies with them.

Behold the Ritz Peanut Butter Treats!

Several years ago a friend of mine brought over these delightful treats. The first bite I couldn't quite tell what they were. I knew there was peanut butter and obviously it was dipped in chocolate {cant go wrong there} but what was that crunchy goodness. Well she explained that it was 2 Ritz crackers. I couldn't believe it. SO DELISH! And talk about easy! These can be made in under a half hour.

Start by spreading CHUNKY peanut butter on one Ritz cracker and then place the other cracker to make a sandwich. It doesn't have to be chunky, but I think it tastes better. All I had on hand to make them today was creamy and I definitely can say I prefer the chunky!

Next, melt almond bark (or any dipping chocolate) and dip sandwiches in it. I like to use a fork when I dip. 

 Then I tap away the excess. Just like I do when dipping my Oreo Truffles

Place on wax or parchment paper to let dry

I dizzled some chocolate on them to make them look more festive. As you can see I tried to make these Red, White and Blue for the 4th of July and I failed miserably.... Pink, White and Blue ? Grrr....

 

I also decided to make some {semi} healthy treats. I sandwiched 2 slices of banana with a dab of peanut butter, froze it for a few minutes and then dipped in chocolate. Ok, not quite so healthy with the chocolate so feel free to leave it off. They are yummy either way!

Bananas and Peanut Butter Before

and after.

I hope you try these yummy treats and thanks to my friend Pam for sharing this treat with me!

 

Happy 4th of July

Last year I decided to throw a last minute 4th of July.

For years my friend has hosted an amazing 4th of July party so I never even had to give a thought of what to do or where to go. 

Then my friend moved and her new house doesn't have a pool! Here in Sacramento it is HOT on the 4th of July. Swimming is an absolute must! I agreed (with some nudging by a few other families who don't have pools either) to have one. I told them- OK, but it is going to be LOW KEY! Nothing big - basically just show up and bring food......I didn't have much time for serious party planning! 

Then...I woke up at 6am the morning of the 4th and had an idea. A flag backdrop. easy peasy......and it was!

I happened to have the white and red striped and the blue wrapping paper already and I just used my silhouette to cut out the stars. My husband and I went to work assembling the flag backdrop.

 The banner, drink labels and a whole printable kit I got for free here and the subway art I got for free here!

For the drink labels I have an ink jet printer and if the labels get wet they will bleed so I tried something new. I adhered the label to the water bottle with double sided tape and then I used clear packing tape all around the label and it worked like a charm. The drinks sat in the ice all day and the ink didn't bleed at all!

Beautiful and delicious cupcakes! The cupcake piks and drink tags come from that same collection!

See, nothing fancy with the table but it still looks festive!

We have a portable fire pit and thought it would be fun to make smores that night after swimming. We tried some different smores this year:

Oatmeal Cookies

Reeses Peanut Butter Cups

Hershey Bars

Graham Crackers

Marshmallows

My new favorite is definitely the Peanut Butter cups with the graham cracker and marshmallows. Delish!

Some enjoyed it more than others!

Lots of fun was had by everyone!

 

So...how will you decorate for the 4th of July party your having this year? If you still need more ideas - Pinterest has lots of fun links to some great ideas! Enjoy!