4th of July is fast approaching! As your family prepares for all of the festivities that come along with celebrating America's Birthday, how about crafting up some fun 4th of July decorations with the kids this weekend? We made 3 up-cycled crafts this past week. All 3 crafts are very easy to assemble and require only simple supplies - most of which you most likely already have around the house and in the recycling bin.
Supplies needed:
- 1 Up-cycled Egg Carton
- Acrylic Paint [Red, White and Blue]
- Paint Brush
- Water [for washing off their brush in between colors]
- Ribbon [8" piece] for creating a hanger.
- Clear tape
We have hangers on our porch, so we decided to make some DIY Patriotic lanterns [to house battery operated tea lights] for the 4th of July. These are very easy to make! Simply cut out strips of up-cycled newspaper, strips of red tissue paper [we made ours about 1"W x 7"H - measurements will vary depending on the container you use] and a large [about 5"W] strip of blue tissue paper. You will also want to cut a few stars out of your up-cycled newspaper. After everything is cut out, simply paint a thin layer of Modge Podge all over your up-cycled jar and arrange your strips as pictured. Next, paint a thin layer of Modge Podge on top of the area with the blue tissue paper and affix your stars.When your stars and stripes are in place, paint a thin layer of Modge Podge over top of the tissue paper and newspaper. Allow adequate time for drying and repeat with a second thin layer of Modge Podge. Allow adequate time for drying.
Place a battery operated tea light in your finished lantern and place it in the center of your table or tie a ribbon around your jar to create a hanging lantern[as pictured].
Supplies needed:
- Up-cycled jar [we used a spaghetti sauce jar]
- Pencil [for tracing out the lines for your stripes and stars on the tissue paper/newspaper]
- Modge Podge
- Red and Blue Tissue Paper
- Up-cycled newspaper
- Scissors
- Ribbon [about 12" - if you choose to create a hanger for your lantern]
- Heavy Craft Glue or low-temp hot glue gun [to affix your ribbon if you choose to create a hanger for your lantern]
Simply take the top off of the container that you choose and cut the bottom off [this step should be done by an adult]. cut a piece of red vinyl table cloth large enough to cover the container. Use scotch tape to secure it to the container [we wrapped ours around and taped in on the inside of the top / bottom on the container]. Next, cut strips of red white and blue out of your vinyl table cloth [about 10 2" W x 8" H strips in each color]. Use clear tape to secure them to the bottom of your container [from the inside]. Finish off your container by cutting out red, white and blue stars [8-10 in varying sizes] from the remaining vinyl tablecloths [use craft glue to affix] or use permanent markers to decorate. Use 2 small pieces of tape to affix a ribbon for hanging to the either side of the top [inside] of the container.
Supplies needed:
- (1) 1 to 2 gallon plastic up-cycled container [we used a 2lb. plastic pretzel drum]
- 3 Vinyl table cloths [red, white and blue]
- clear tape
- scissors
- permanent markers
- craft glue
- Ribbon [about 12" to create a hanging loop]
Happy Crafting! I hope everyone has a fabulous 4th of July holiday!
Click HERE for more fun kids craft tutorials
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