Party Like It's 1776: A 4th of July Bar
It's the third and final week of #DIYYour4thofJuly and it's been so much fun seeing all of the fun inspiration during each theme. This week, the theme is Fireworks or Wildcard, so pretty much anything goes!
Because I already had fireworks covered with these fun and easy DIY firework napkin rings, I decided to jazz up our bar area for the holiday. Our bar is one of my favorite areas to decorate for holidays. You might remember it all decked out for New Year's and St. Patrick's Day.
A couple of years ago, I picked up a vintage set of Declaration of Independence bar glasses, along with a vintage tray from Goodwill. The entire set was only $2.50! What a steal, right?! After I dug these out of storage, they were the inspiration for the rest of the 1776 theme!
Even the insides of the glasses have cool reprints of renderings of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
You can see some of my old law school books are getting put to good use here, too! I knew I kept them around for a reason! Keep a lookout at local thrift stores and antique shops for similar books. They usually are less than $10 a piece. To compliment the glassware, I used this free Declaration of Independence printable from Just Sweet and Simple. It is available for download at a high resolution, so you can print is larger if you'd like. I styled it in a dollar store frame and use a wood crate and $.99 bandana from Walmart to add a little festive flare. The liberty bell was another Goodwill bargain find! Thrift stores are a great place to find unique pieces to add to holiday decor.
To tie all of this together, I thought it would be fun to create a banner with the Founding Fathers. At first, I thought about using real historical photos, but it was hard to find a consistent look. Then, I came across these adorable free printables from Hallmark's Think Make Share blog. I shrunk down the files to be around 4x5 size and added a kraft cardstock border.
I clipped the sketches onto some jute twine with mini clothespins and used some scrap fabric to fill in the spaces. If you don't have fabric laying around, buying a few fabric quarters from Walmart or your local fabric store will only cost a few dollars. You can also pickup jute and mini clothespins at Walmart or a local craft store.
Wondering how you can really party like it's 1776? Check out some fun era-appropriate cocktail recipes from The Guardian. If you really want to channel Alexander Hamilton, try this recipe below.
Stone Fence Cocktail
2 oz dark rum, applejack or whiskey
Hard cider
Fill a highball glass with ice. Add your spirit of choice. Top with cider. For the most authentic experience with this drink, use dark rum, as the colonists would have. According to The Guardian, during a long period of popularity, people transitioned to making Stone Fences with applejack, whiskey and probably anything else they could get their hands on! I grabbed some dark liquors from our cabinet to display along with the glassware. I am thinking maybe not all of our guests over the holiday weekend would appreciate the vintage cocktail!
I can't wait to celebrate this weekend! Have a fun and safe holiday weekend!
