Crafty Mom: July 4 craft

How are you celebrating the July 4 holiday? Our family is marking it with crafts.

I am going to share two crafts: Popsicle stick flag coasters and Uncle Sam hats.

Popsicle sticks

Red, white and blue paint

Glue. I used white glue, but if you want them to set faster I would use a hot glue gun.

To assemble the coasters, line the Popsicle sticks up until they form a square and then glue two Popsicle sticks in the opposite direction on either end.

If using white glue, allow at least ten minutes to pass before you flip the coasters over to paint them.

After the glue is dry, paint the tops of the coasters with red, white and blue. We made flags.

These were so cute and also very rustic looking, perfect for outdoor picnics. They can make a very adorable addition to your picnic table.

Poster board, red, white or blue

Tape

Ribbon

Optional: Adhesive crafting foam. I found this at Michaels.

To make these hats, first you will need to measure your child’s head. I used measuring tape, but you can also do this by wrapping the poster board around your child’s head and marking it where you will cut it. It should fit snugly.

Then cut the paper length wise and cut it to the width you want. You can make these as tall or as short as you like.

Then form a cylinder with the paper and tape length wise where it meets to fit on top of your child’s head.

After you have formed and taped your cylinder, use it to trace a circle on the remaining poster board and then trace another circle around that circle about an inch out. This will form your brim.

Cut out the center of the circle and then tape it around the bottom of the cylinder. You can also use glue for this, but I think tape works best.

The circle you cut out will be the top of your Uncle Sam hat, tape that to the top.

We hid our tape marks with ribbon. Then we used the adhesive foam to make letters for the hats. It turns out that my children’s initials spell SAM. So this worked out very well.

Do you have any favorite crafts to make with your children for July 4? I hope everyone has a fun festive holiday!