Wrapping up the Fourth of July

If any of you are still out there following this blog, you'll know that my family goes to the beach every year to celebrate Fourth of July.  For us, it's almost bigger than Christmas.

This year was a bit different in that six of us weren't there...and a tropical storm came through which re-configured the normal parade of Fourth fanfare and fireworks.

If you've been following this blog for a while you'll also know that we usually make some form of patriotic, over-the-top red, white and blue creation to wear.  Thanks to the tropical storm we had a day's worth of rain and bad weather gifting us plenty of time to sit and create...

[Assisted by that wonderful-husband-of-mine Jim who fed us throughout the day...see him all flagged-up in the kitchen?]

This year we made wrap bracelets...

Having gone through my bead and button stash to gather a supply of patriotic-ish baubles...

Most of the bracelets had a flair for the Fourth...

But not all.   In the true spirit of the Fourth and freedom of expression...

Not everyone wanted a patriotic bracelet.  Rather, there were a couple created that could be worn all year round...

And see that beautiful henna tattoo?  

My niece Allison has quite a talent for drawing and has set up shop as our resident henna tattoo artist...

Everyone was lining up to get a chance to wear her artistry...

Even Jack.

Luckily for Allie, her sister Grace also has talent and drew this lovely intra-scapular art doodle...

While the gals were busy beading and tattooing, the men were not to be outdone.

My BIL Jim is a master griller and made pit beef sandwiches hand-delivered to the beach as well as yummy fall-off-the-bone ribs for dinner...

With gourmet accompaniments fresh from the farmers' market provided by my sister Sheila, we are spoiled rotten at the beach and eat like royalty.

Noticing that BIL Jim was struggling to put his heavy ceramic "Green Egg" grill away over uneven ground, my brother Mark got busy pouring concrete and made him a surface slab for easy storage and removal...

All in all, we had another gathering where the the group was greater due to the sum of its parts...

If you're interested in making wrap bracelets too, I highly recommend the projects, videos and supplies provided at Beadshop.com , click on subheading Cool Projects.

I used their "Wicked Mood" bracelet as a prototype for my patriotic version...

And instead of using the beading boxes they use in the videos, we used empty cardboard bolt boards that JoAnn fabric stores gave to me for free.

Summer is always a busy time as I spend more time out of doors and traveling.  Though I'm still creating, I am not posting as much as I might like.  My posts are sporadic at best and I expect a much more regular blogging schedule when Jack goes to college in September.

Until then, I will still be here, posting when I can.  Here's wishing you beauty and joy where ever you are, whatever the season.

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You can see our past patriotic projects here:

2013:  The Jean Shorts of July

2012:  The Feet of the Fourth

2011:  Fascinators (Part I) and How We Made Them (Part II)

2010:  T-Shirts

2009:  T-Shorts

2008:  Baseball Hats

I just realized I'm on my eighth blogging year.  Wow.  When I go back and look through past posts, it makes me love this blog all the more.  Thanks for joining my journey.