Fourth of July Crafts — Last-Minute Edition
Posted by on Jul 02, 2011
Don’t let Aunt Flora’s patriotic sweatshirt be the festive touch at your Fourth of July party. These 10 ideas are just right for dressing up the holiday and can each be finished in less than a few hours. In a few cases, less than 15 minutes! Though some put a handmade spin on traditional decorations (like a flag-inspired windsock), others are a little more unexpected. Like this spin-art bunting, which wonderfully represents the red, white and blue color palette of Independence Day. Plus, the “flags” are made with another Fourth of July standby: Paper plates.
Want to tackle spin art at home? All you need is a salad spinner. Check out the tutorial at Scrumdilly-Do.
Let’s all take a moment and marvel at this gorgeous headband by Giant Dwarf. There. Now, let’s talk about how you can make your own tribute to the lovely glittering adornment. First, simply cut out stars from cardstock and spread on a thin coat of glue. Next, sprinkle with glitter. To make the stars wearable, attach bobby pins to the back with hot glue. If you don’t want to wear them as barrettes, slide the stars onto a ribbon for a headband.
The sight of streamers blowing gently in the breeze is a lovely one. To make your own 4th of July themed windsock, attach red, white and blue streamers to an embroidery hoop. Then tie a few strings to the hoop to hang it. You can hang the windsock on a porch, tree or gazebo to get an airy and decorative feel for the holiday.
For the full tutorial, visit The Mother Huddle.
Recalling heritage quilt patterns, these charming magnets make great party favors. You can either use wood circles (from the wood crafting aisle of the craft store), circles of craft foam or heavy cardstock as your “canvas.” Then, paint on the quilt patterns using acrylic paint (red, white and blue for this occasion). Add a magnet to the back … and you’re done.
To get a closer look at these quilt pattern-inspired magnets, visit Aesthetic Outburst.
Denim is a great material for placemats: It’s heavy-duty, easy to wash and can coordinate with all but the most formal table settings. Not to mention the all-American feel it'll give to your table on July 4th. For these placemats, cut a rectangle of denim and hem. Then, sew on a pocket (clipped from an old pair of jeans). Details like brass snaps and a red bandana napkin boosts the charm factor exponentially.
Whether filled with a real wax candle or one of those battery-operated LED lights, these stained glass-like lanterns will diffuse the light into a nice warm glow. Though these lanterns by Etsy seller Used and Abused started out as salvaged vintage jars, any glass jar will do. Just decoupage squares of red, white and blue tissue paper to the glass and let dry.
Soda, water or even beer bottles get a 4th July makeover with a custom label. Not handy with Photoshop? Piggy Bank Parties has you covered with free printable labels. Also included in the set: Cupcake toppers and a garland.
Get the free Fourth of July printables at Piggy Bank Parties.
These starry sweets offer a twist to the typical cut-out fancy cookies. Cut rectangles out of sugar cookie dough, then press your star-shaped cookie cutter partially through the dough rectangle. Pour colored sanding sugar inside the cookie cutter, then lift the cutter away. Bake as usual.
Update a plain headband with a sprinkling of blooms and stars made from felt. For a little extra flourish, give each flower a button center. We think the blooms look best massed to one side of the band (like a fascinator), but would be just as cute if the blooms were aligned across the span of the band, like a tiara. In either case, hot glue is the best adhesive for this freedom design.
Image credits (from top): flickr.com/jek-a-go-go, giantdwarf.etsy.com, themotherhuddle.com, flickr.com/hownowdesign, flickr.com/veganfeast, usedandabused.etsy.com, piggybankparties.blogspot.com, flickr.com/heather, flickr.com/kristinausk and flickr.com/ohsohappytogether
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