Tar paper fireworks!

I love the 4th of July! 

 Back and refreshed from a vacation I was ready for some cute outdoor decorations! A set back from being "back and refreshed" is my wallet now needs to be refreshed:) I pondered for sometime trying to figure out what I wanted...

 and on a next to nothing budget!

I was just about to paint over my Halloween pumpkin logs, to transform them into fire works when I saw the roll of tar paper in the back corner of the shed. I admired the shape of the roofing paper and had an idea....

I cut a piece and then secured the top and bottom with a staple to create my cylinder shape.

Then used hot glue along the seam.

Grabbed a few buckets of leftover paint! Spray paint would work fine, but I liked the instant thick coverage I was able to achieve with the latex paint. 

Once my tubes dried I cut a square of the paper, poked a wire through the center and secured the inside end with hot glue...

Then trimmed and painted the top. Twist the wire around  a pencil for a fun look!

I used a stencil to decorate my fire works and then created the "fuse" by tying several strands of yellow ribbon to the wire.

My total cost for this crazy cute DIY $0.00 I simply used what I had around the house!

Share your fun 4th of July ideas!

                                                                          

A step back.... Before moving forward

    My teenage step daughter just finished "The fault in our stars" late last night. I awoke to a lengthy hand written note on my bedside. How I wish I had not been so very tired, and had passed out the minute my head hit the pillow. On the other hand she is a talker and we would have been up all night discussing life's injustice! She wrote "It has changed my life!"

    It has been quite a while since I last visited my little corner of the web world! A lot of events and... Life have transpired the last few months. Frustrated emails from "Pinners" brought my attention to my long neglected blog hobby. My domain name had expired and in the mix of small tragedies, and momentous victories I had toyed with shutting everything down. My tutorials and project pictures unavailable from a parked domain. I simply did not have time to sit down and give any more of myself. It has literally been eons since my last project, and I am feeling it. I long to feel my own identity again. Indulge in favorite past times. Relax and breathe... All the little things we give up to serve and care for others.

    Life has changed my life!

    As I read over the words that my step daughter had written regarding her feelings, one line stuck with me. "They did not focus on the negative! They knew they were dying. Yet they chose to focus not on how they were dying, but on how they would live until they died!" Apparently she bawled in her room for a good while grasping to understand the new understanding she had found. 

    Isn't it funny how in the least expected ways we become "aware" 

    In a way we are all living in the same predicament as Hazel Grace and Augustus Waters. We are all living until that fateful day. Service to others has changed my life. Embracing friends who have lost all. Encouraging family members who are so close. Will you be happy with your decisions?

    I miss blogging. I miss the community. I miss the inspiration. I miss the freebies! I want to be an inspiration, to share what I learn... I am ready to reclaim that stupid old dresser in our bedroom. Ready to gain my clarity and courage again. Feel as if I can breathe again. Ready to live out the summer of 2014 with all its intent. Chasing little blonde pigtails through soft green grass. Watching from a safe distance as a young lady gains her confidence.This little family has been hard at work. Together and individually. We are ready to get back to "normal"

    New perspective, lessons learned and love in our hearts. It is time to move forward to whatever the next chapter holds!