Patriotic Crafts That Are Perfect for the 4th of July

Making Independence Day-themed crafts is an excellent way to get into the patriotic spirit and show your love for the country on July 4. But dreaming up exciting project ideas and executing them in time for the holiday can be challenging.

Here are three fail-proof craft projects you can complete for cheap or with things you can find around your home for the quintessential summer holiday.

#1 Burlap Flag Pillow

If you have a burlap pillow cover laying around, here’s how you can make a patriotic flag pillow using some painters tape, vinyl starts, and paint:

1. Slide a piece of cardboard into the cover. It will prevent the paint from soaking through the fabric to the other side of the pillow and staining it. Using a piece just the right size for the pillow will keep the cover spread out as you paint on it. 
2. Next, you need to work on the stars. You could use a digital cutting machine to cut out vinyl stars, but doing this is not a must since you easily find stickers of the right size. Make sure you have enough of them to make at least three rows of stars. Alternating rows should have one fewer star than the others to achieve the American flag’s look.
3. Place the stars on the top third of the cover.
4. Use painter’s tape to make the stripes. You can layer pieces of tape to get stripes of the right thickness.
5. Begin by covering the stripes with cardboard and paint blue over the stars, covering the top third of the pillow with the paint. Let the paint dry.
6. Move the cardboard to the top of the pillow and cover the stars. Paint the stripes red and let the paint dry. 

#2 Patriotic Flag Coasters

You don’t need expensive material to make attractive flag coasters for when you have guests over on the 4th of July. All you have to do is get your hands on jumbo popsicle sticks. 

To make a coaster, you need five pieces of uncut sticks, three pieces of the sticks cut to three inches, and some stars. You can use sticker stars, cut out stars from cardstock, or use any other material you have handy.

Of the five intact sticks, paint two white and three red on both sides. Next, paint the pieces of sticks cut to three inches blue on one side. Painting the other side of the cut sticks blue is unnecessary since you must glue that side to the other sticks later. 

Arrange the red and white sticks like the flag, with the white sticks in positions 2 and 4. Glue the five sticks and let them dry. 

Next, apply some glue on the left half of the top three sticks in this arrangement, and stick the three-inch pieces to those spots with the side painted blue facing upwards. Let the pieces dry fully before gluing the stars to the blue sticks. 

#3 Red, White, and Blue Crown 

If you’re in a rush, this is one craft you can put together in minutes. To do this project, you will need to buy a red, white, and blue star garland and a curling ribbon.

Wrap the garland around the head of the person you’re making the crown for, and twist the end to secure the size. Next, wrap the garland three or four more times around the head, depending on the thickness of the crown you want.

Tie a curling ribbon to the garland to hold the garland in place to make a crown. Use a pair of scissors to curl the ends.