Cookout: DIY Beverage Umbrellas

Happy July! :) So growing up I absolutely LOVED those cute little paper umbrellas that you put in beverages. LOVED. Still do. There's just something about adding that fun little whimsy to a lemonade, soda or ice water. Instead of buying them, I decided to try and make my own! And while I still love the ones you can purchase at the grocery store, if you make your own, you can customize them to the type of get-together you are having-- colors, patterns, etc. Think: 4th of July this weekend :) I made a few of these cuties and wanted to share how you can also make your own :)
Using the below template, I traced a bunch of circles onto red, white and blue paper, as well as on an old Target ad (yay for recycling!).
Then cut them out (pay no attention to how mine are not perfectly cut out circles... cutting out a circle is hard! ;)).
Now comes the tricky part. Per the below template, cut a straight line halfway through the diameter of the circle. Then, put a little bit of adhesive on the underside of "b". Fold/twist the paper so that "c" lines up with "a" and the adhesive adheres to "d". Wow it's a lot easier to do that than to explain- you'll get it once you start making one :) ***EDITED: The circle is 3" in diameter. :)Next, I rolled the top of the toothpick in a small glue dot (not the tip of the toothpick, that part will stick up through the umbrella).Stick the toothpick gently through the top of the umbrella and voilà! A paper umbrella!

A yummy glass of strawberry lemonade with a strawberry umbrella :)