20 of the Best Memorial Day/4th of July Party Ideas

Since Memorial Day is on Monday, I rounded up my favorite party ideas. I had decided not to do a party this year, but I'm starting to reconsider after finding these great ideas. Anyway, here are some foods, decorations and games to try on Memorial Day:

Annual Memorial Day Party Prep (Hometalk)

Patriotic County Fair Games (Hostess with the Mostess)

Patriotic Crown (A Pumpkin and a Princess)

Red White and Blue Ice Cubes (Momtastic)

Cookie Cutter Fruit Salad (Wit and Whistle)

4th of July Party Ideas (100 Layer Cakelet)

Red White Blue Mason Jars (It All Started With Paint)

Memorial Day Muffins (The Vibrant Visions Blog)

Fruit Flag Pizza (Tablespoon)

4th of July Fruit Salad Cones (Bakers Royale)

DIY Star Pinatas (Studio DIY)

4th of July Photo Backdrop (Brit and Co)

Rocket Favor Packaging (Martha Stewart)

Firework Show Fun Bags (Eighteen25)

Patriotic Tissue Paper Tassel Garland (Landeelu)

Outdoor Patriotic Tassel Garland (The Scrap Shoppe Blog)

How to Make Patriotic String Lights (ehow)

[These could be Vegan if you take out the marshmellows:] 4th of July Fruit Sticks (Real Food by dad)

Patriotic Stripes Tie Dye Shirt (Doodlecraft)

[These could also be made vegan by replacing candy melts with non-dairy frosting:] Patriotic Popcorn (Jamonkey)

8 DIY Indigo Room Decorations

Since I'm adding indigo touches to my scandinavian room, and indigo-dyeing is so pretty, I decided to round up some indigo decor tutorials:

MAKE IT: Shibori Dip Cushions (The Black Bird)

DIY Indigo Dyed Fabric (Green Wedding Shoes)

DIY Indigo Embroidery Hoop Hanging (Thimblepress)

How To Dye Shibori Indigo Pillows (Hot DIY Tutorial)

Indigo Dip Dye Boho Chandelier (Lia Griffith)


DIY Shibori Bedding (Land of Nod blog)


DIY Shibori Tie Dye Curtains (jamie's home blog)


Make It: Shibori Wreath (The Blackbird)

DIY Camera Pinata

For my cousin's Movie Pool Party, I made a pastel camera pinata. Here is the tutorial, as promised! You must excuse my awful photography because I was really low on time. This project is simple but time-consuming, so make sure you have time to let it dry overnight or longer.

You will need:

-newspaper

-paper mache mix

-thin cardboard boxes (I used two Caprisun boxes and three protein bar boxes)

-streamers

-Elmer's glue

-scissors

-strong tape (I used electric tape)

1. First of all, tape your two biggest boxes together to make one giant box.

2. Cut and tape two smaller boxes into 3D circles, and make the third into a strange, 3D triangle shape.

3. Tape the circular boxes beside each other on top of your giant box. Tape the triangular one to the right side.

4. Rip the newspaper into strips, dip them into the paper mache mix, and paper mache the whole thing.

5. When that dries (which can take a looong time, so you'll probably need to let it sit over night if not longer, like I mentioned above), get your streamers and fold a long piece several times. Next, snip at the bottom to make a fringe and unfold it. Repeat this process as you go.

6. Squirt glue to the top of a piece of streamer with fringe and glue it onto the bottom of your box. Continue this process, adding the second piece above the first, and the next piece above the second, and so on, working your way up.

7. When your pinata is completely covered except for the very bottom, let it dry. When dry, stuff your goodies into the boxes (if there's no opening, just cut a three-sided slit and tape it shut when you're done). Paper mache it and cover it with streamers like you did for the rest of the pinata.

8. Admire your masterpiece. You're finished! (Sorry, I didn't do the bottom of my pinata since I didn't fill it, so you can see a sliver of cardboard in the photos below). Have fun!

7 Inspiring Summer Parties

Here are 7 inspiring summer party ideas, the themes ranging from sweet popsicles and pineapples to soft pastels. Enjoy!

Tropical and Sweet "Party like a Pineapple" Bash (Hostess with the Mostess)


Flamingo Sip and See Party (Project Nursery)


Colorful, Chic and Fruity SUMMER Kids Party (Hostess with the Mostess)


A "Palm Fronds and Bon Bons" Dinner Party (Studio DIY)


A Miami-style Teenager's Birthday Party (Pea Green Boat)


Ice-Cream Social Birthday Party (100 Layer Cakelet)


Summer Popsicle Party (Mom's Best Network)