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Pinterest Tested & Approved: Fourth of July

Fourth of July - Pinterest Tested & Approved!  By The Thinking Closet

I can almost see the fireworks in the sky and smell burgers on the grill.  You know what that means: the Fourth of July is almost here!  So, I thought I’d share two different ideas for what you might bring to your family get-togethers and BBQs.  Last July, I found both of these ideas on Pinterest and decided to put them to the test.  (SPOILER ALERT: They both pass the test and receive the official Thinking Closet stamp of approval.  So, take notes!)

The first pin were some red-white-and-blue strawberries from The Sisters Cafe made with white chocolate and blue sugar sprinkles.  In a word, they are “yummyinmytummy.”  And the blue sugar really is that bright in person!

Red-White-and-Blue Strawberries for the Fourth of July! Pinterest Tested & Approved by The Thinking Closet

I used white Baker’s chocolate and blue sugar from Giant Eagle (our grocery store in Ohio), but if your grocer doesn’t carry the blue sugar, check your craft stores.  This is a treat you’ll want to prep the day of your party, but the strawberries will hold up well if chilled in the fridge beforehand.  They’re pretty quick n’ easy as far as desserts go…and pretty much guaranteed to go like hot-cakes!

Red-White-and-Blue Strawberries for the Fourth of July! Pinterest Tested & Approved by The Thinking Closet
Red-white-and-blue strawberry, madame?

The second treat I made was a red-white-and-blue patriotic beverage from The BabyCenter Blog.  The original pin almost looks too cool to be true, but I can attest, it’s so true!  See:

A Patriotic Beverage | Tips & Tricks for making your own red, white, & blue drinks this Fourth of July! via The Thinking Closet

Here’s the text from the original pin:

“I’ve done this with my kids and it totally works! How does it work? the drink with the highest sugar content stays on the bottom…use red fruit punch on the bottom, blue Gatorade in the middle, diet 7-up or sprite on top….. Good for the kids for the 4th!”

And after giving it a go last year, here were my tips and tricks that I added to the pin:

“The key is to fill it 1/3 with ice, then pour slowly ONTO the ice. Thin narrow cups work best.  Very cool look!  You can always fill half red and white, half blue and white if the trio is too intimidating.  It will still look patriotic all together on the table.”

Patriotic Red-White-and-Blue Drink for the Fourth of July | The Thinking Closet
Pouring drinks is FUN!

Since I prepped a whole tray of these drinks for a party, I ended up using plastic cups with handles.  They seemed to work well, especially with small ice chips, and in the end, I just did the bottom half red and top half blue (since my cups were shorter).  Slow-and-steady pouring wins the race with this one.  And I can tell you from experience that these drinks are crowd-pleasers.  I had to replenish that tray several times.  People love a good red-white-and-blue beverage!

Patriotic Red-White-and-Blue Drink for the Fourth of July | The Thinking Closet

Red-White-and-Blue Beverage for The Fourth of July! via The Thinking Closet

Your Turn:

Do you have any pin-tastic treats you’re hoping to whip up for this Fourth of July?  Or perhaps you have some Pinterest-tested-&-approved treats that you can recommend?  I’d love some ideas for what to make this year, so feel free to share your responses in the comments below.

Pinterest meme

A Giveaway!

But before you skidaddle off to Pinterest-land for the rest of the morning, I’ve gotta tell you about a fun giveaway going on right now.  A few of my bloggy buddies and I are all joining forces with Kirsten from One Tough Mother to offer a $75 giveaway to Erin Condren.  Have you seen Erin Condren’s amazing life planners before?  If not, be sure to click here to stop by One Tough Mother for Kirsten’s review.  And here’s a video of the planner in action!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=KcSTGM5-9H8

If I could, I’d totally enter myself.  This looks like the life planner to rule them all.

The giveaway runs from now through 11:59PM Sunday, June 30th EST.  Finally I have a giveaway to offer that is open to international audiences!  Just a heads-up, though, that the gift card doesn’t cover shipping.  Kirsten will announce the lucky winner early next week on One Tough Mother, and the winner will have 48 hours to respond to claim their prize.  So, check your SPAM, friends!

$75 Erin Condren Giveaway: 6/24 - 6/30 | Hosted by One Tough Mother & Friends

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Best of luck, ladies! And don’t forget to tell me what you’ve got up your sleeve for your Fourth of July shin-digs!  {Linking up here.}

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58 Comments

  1. These party eats and drinks were too cute! They definitely seem unbelievable at first (especially the drink), so thanks for testing the waters and coming back with the scoop! Now the question I have…did the drink taste good with fruit punch and gatorade and sprite? Was it too much going on, flavor-wise? Also, this is where my behind-the-times-commenting schedule kicks me in the butt–I missed the life planner giveaway! Though I like the silhouette ones, I feel someone else should get it who would use it, but a life planner? THAT I could use. Welp, I’m working my way and hope to be caught up soon! I can’t miss no more giveaways!

    1. My pleasure, Berennisse! I really felt triumphant when I cracked the code on the those drinks! Hopefully, others are encouraged to take a stab at it, too. Hope your Fourth was fantastic!

    1. Thanks for the pin-love, Diana! And for taking the time to check it out! Love that CSI Project (just finished my first judging gig over there). Had a blast!

  2. Found you through The CSI Project- great to see a beverage in the mix of treats! Also, great to see something from Pintrest was successful, nice work!

    1. Beverages need patriotic love, too, don’t you think? 🙂 And while I have tried a few things from Pinterest that have been fails (i.e. the miracle rug cleaner that was less than miraculous), I’m always excited to shout it from the rooftops when I land on a win. Thanks for taking the time to stop by and leave such a sweet comment, Lizzeh. #loveyourname

    1. I know, right? What ever did we do before there was Pinterest? Ha ha. 😉 Hope your Fourth was a wonderful one, Paula!

  3. Lauren: really liked this post. great pictures, and you really did “make it happen” with these pinterest ideas. you’re so fun. will miss CW for the 4th this year…end of an era perhaps.

    1. Thanks, buddy! And…sigh. Yes, it’s the end of an era…but surely as one era ends, a new one is beginning. Aladdin and Jasmine will jump again!

  4. This is such a fun post!! I love to see other’s people’s results from Pinterest projects! The drink looks super cool! Thanks for linking up to Give Me the Goods Monday! Love having you party with us! Jenna @ Rain on a Tin Roof

    1. And I love partying with you and other gals at Give me the Goods, Jenna! Thanks for taking the time to stop by and leave such thoughtful comments all the time. You’re a real pocket of sunshine!

  5. Hold up! You’re from Ohio?! I thought you lived in Georgia? Or maybe your family lives in Ohio? If any piece of this is truth, I am excited because I am in PA which, in case you forgot, is right next to Ohio! I even live in the western part of PA {where we also have Giant Eagle} which is SO close {well, depending on which part of Ohio}! So this means that the possibility of a meet up is not totally crazy and insane! Woot! {Although you may be thinking that I am both of those things right now, lol! Forgive me…it’s late!} Anyway, CUTE treats! I think we’re just doing the 4th at our house this year, and my boys would get a kick out of both of these. Thanks so much for sharing! Hope your week is going well!

    ~Abby =)

    1. Ha ha. So, I’ll clarify: I’m originally from New York…spent my college years in Illinois…then moved back to New York…got married to Mark in 2009 and I moved out to Columbus, OH where he was doing his residency. We lived there for 3 years (his extended family lives up there, too!) and then moved to Orlando, Florida nearly a year ago today. That’s my life story in a nutshell. At least, the geographic part. Okay, now you have to tell me YOUR geographic story.

      (And I LOVE crazy and insane ideas, so don’t you ever hold them back from me. We shall figure out a meet-up somehow…someway…someday.) 😉

    1. You are welcome to come down into these parts next year to celebrate the Fourth in Florida! What if lured you with promise of patriotic drinks and strawberries? Think about it, my friend! 😉 And I’m glad you appreciated the international giveaway. If I end up doing a giveaway for my one year blogiversary in September (which I hope I can), you KNOW it’s going to be open to all of my international peeps! I love you guys!

  6. I LOVE that you tried those out Lauren, and they both worked. Yay! I will definitely be using them for our annual 4th of July celebration at the lake. Thanks for doing the leg work!

    Debbie

    1. Harrah! It makes me happy that you found so much inspiration in this post, Debbie. Whether you gave them a go this year or plan on trying them out in the future, I hope it’s a smooth (and yummy) process for you, friend. 😉

  7. Ooh, fun ideas! I may just be getting my red white and blue on up in here!
    I can attest that the Erin Condren life planner is most certainly the planner to rule them all. I splurged and purchased one for myself (18 month) last summer and it’s still going strong. I then gifted one to a friend who is also in love with it. Would love to win the giveaway as I only have 6 more months to go on this one. Thanks for the giveaway chance!

    1. That’s so cool that you have an Erin Condren life planner already! You are ahead of me in that regard…but after co-hosting that giveaway, I’ve got my eyes peeled for other giveaways so I can enter to win one of my own! Nevertheless, it sounds like it would be a worthy investment. Right now, most of my planning is done using cozi, but there is something to be said for paper and pen in your hands…and I am much less forgetful when I have to write out an appointment rather than type it. Hmmmm…you’ve given me something to really think about. Thanks, Jessica! 🙂

  8. Lovely and sweet ideas for the 4th! I have no plans right now other than watch a parade and thank the Lord for our country and our freedoms, but your post is getting the creative juices flowing. xxoo

  9. oh! those strawberries look delicious Lauren! 🙂 & love your pictures of you pouring the drinks: you are funny!
    & I LOVE,LOVE the planner, I saw the video and really loved it & love that I was able to participate to this fun giveaway! YAY! so excited! 🙂 look at me, I’m happy because I entered a giveaway! 😉

    1. I was happy, too! In fact, I did a happy dance when I learned the giveaway was open to my international friends! Hip hip hooray! (And I get happy entering giveaways, too…especially ones with prizes as sweet as an Erin Condren gift card.) Though I know you didn’t win, in a way you won happiness! (How’s that for looking on the bright side?) (Note: the word happy or a variation of that word was used 4 times in this comment. Now, that’s a lot of happy. Ahem. 5 times.) 😉

  10. Obviously I don’t plan on doing anything for the 4th of July 😉
    But I’ll have my belayed Midsommar-Party this weekend and these multi-colored drinks are fun! Maybe I can use them anyway, if I find similar drinks here.

    And I know about all the Pinterest inspirations! There are so much good ideas! I need much more time to do all them! In fact, I already did only four of all the things I pinned… but I’m showing the fourth of it in a few hours on my blog. And then I will maybe do number five in … err … a few weeks?! 😉

    Love, Midsommarflicka

    1. Hey, good for you for doing at least 4! That’s something! And you’re doing a whole lot more that is not inspired by Pinterest, which is healthy, too. Pinterest is a great jumping off point, isn’t it? Sometimes I’ll see an idea and that will inspire a brand NEW idea for a project in my mind…something I would have never thought of had I not seen the pin first.

      Well, hope your Midsommar-Party was rockin’ last month! Do you have any special traditions or things that you do at a Midsommar-Party with Midsommarflicka? And do your friends call you Midsommarflicka or do they have another nickname for you? 🙂

      1. Yes, Pinterest lets creativity spill! It’s the same effect when I’m visiting my mom, who has a lot of magazines and I always, always come back with new ideas!

        Oh, the party was rockin’! 🙂
        We don’t really have these traditions here in Germany, we just make it a great summer-party. The year I was in Sweden I did all the typical stuff like a flower-wreath in my hair, dancing around the pole and eating fish, potatoes and strawberries and drinking schnaps – well, we also have that food and drinks here, but I never get a flower-wreath here!
        My friends don’t call me Midsommarflicka. Mostly because I just chose it as my alter ego in the world wide web and they don’t know about it! They call me by my “normal” name or a shortened version of that!

        1. Magazines were the original Pinterest, I dare say! I used to love pulling images from them to save for collages and d.i.y. wrapping paper. #thegoodolddays

          And thanks for the update on the party! And I’d love to visit Sweden sometime for a Midsommarflicka Midsommar party! I bet it’d be so festive and fun. And of course, I’d have to call you Midsommarflicka…because that’s all I know you by! 😉

          1. Collages, DIY wrapping paper … and DIY envelopes for all the letters to my friends in school!! 😉

            Oh, I wish we both could meet in Sweden for a Midsommar-Party!
            That would be fun!

          2. Yes! Something to add to the bucket list for sure! (You know I am 25% Swedish? And we totally celebrated St. Lucia Day when I was growing up! Which means I HAVE to visit Sweden someday and get back to my roots!)

  11. Hey Lauren! A pin that I tried, AND LOVE, is the “glitter on the inside” Christmas Ornament pin. A group of friends and I had a whole crafty day just for Christmas ornaments! It’s a little early, but you can’t ever get started early enough on a handmade tree! If you want to find the pin, check my Christmas board: LaughingLuna Designs on Pinterest!

    1. Shannon, thanks for the tip on that awesome pin! I’m off to hunt it down. And I love that you and your friends planned a crafty day for creating ornaments. I might have to try that this year! (Did you watch The Office? You would so be on the Party Planning Committee if you worked at Dunder Mifflin.)

    1. We’ve all been burned by a pin that looked too good to be true and indeed was too good to be true. But I can declare with confidence that these two worked out without a hitch. Hope you get the chance to try making some patriotic strawberries someday! They’re as yummy as they are fun to look at.

  12. Those strawberries look amazing.. I’m thinking if I used regular chocolate and gold/yellow sprinkles, I could make them work for our national day! Then again, probably hard to find strawberries at the beginning of October 😉
    Thanks for the link to the comment html! Will have to try it out soon. Also, I want to add a link to your amazing scrapbook in my weekly wrap-up this week, is that okay?
    Wishing you a wonderful day, Lauren!

    1. Ooo! I love the idea of adapting the strawberry dessert for other countries! And if strawberries wouldn’t work, maybe another fruit that might be more in season…like apples or cherries?

      And you’re so sweet to offer to mention my scrapbook post in your weekly wrap-up, Johanna. I’d be MORE than honored to be included! Thanks, friend.

    1. I bet you’d throw a rockin’ Fourth of July party, Kelly…especially in that awesome new-and-improved backyard of yours!

  13. Oh do I love Pinterest for that reason – I’ve tried so many wonderful things that I saved there. So far I haven’t been disappointed. Also, you unintentionally reminded me that I’ll soon be turning a year older – whenever the red, white and blue comes about is my cue for that. 😉

    1. Happy belated birthday, Aubrey! I hope that your day was especially celebratory. Our Fourth of July was pretty low-key this year; we had just gotten back from a week long trip and were ready for some down-time at home. It was just right. We could even see some fireworks from our back deck. (Fireworks are taken very seriously down here in Orlando, I have discovered…which means you don’t have to go very far to see some.) Anyway, I hope your Fourth and your b-day were loads of fun spent with loved ones. Give those sweet cats of yours a scratch from me!

  14. Those strawberries look delicious! We usually head over to my parents’ house for the 4th…I’ll have to give these 2 pinterest tested and approve recipes a try.:)

  15. These are so cute! (And I LOVE the dress you have on in the drink photo.) Thanks for reminding me about these drinks – hope to make some next week for the Fourth while I’m on vacation! 🙂

  16. Yay! We’re back in business. Clearing those cookies apparently worked wonders. Thank you for the tip for my technologically confused self 🙂

    What fun recipes! Methinks I will be taking those strawberries to our annual 4th of July family BBQ. Plus here in my town we have a patriotic pioneer celebration on the 24th, so I think that recipe will be doing double duty around these parts! Do you think dying the sugar blue with food coloring would work?

  17. Lauren, the photos of you were so cute & fun, they made me chuckle! I like that you picked simple Pinterest recipes to try. I like getting into the complicated stuff sometimes, but sometimes a simple fun food trick is all your festive party needs! Oh, and of course that meme made me laugh. Oh the hours enjoyed on Pinterest!

    1. I don’t have quite the level of expertise as you do when it comes to cooking and baking, so keeping it simple works best for me. Especially when there are parties to plan! You can always use the extra time for other preparations. And isn’t that meme so true?! I have to seriously curb my Pinterest use…or I’d do nothing else! 😉 Happy Monday, Jess!

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