More 4th July Crafts for Kids

These crafts are mainly for kids to do two of the crafts do require adult help or supervision depending on age of child.

Star-Spangled Wavers

 

These batons promise to be the stars of any Independence Day celebration.

Materials:  Scissors, Pieces of red, white, and blue felt, Red, white, and blue ribbons (available at local craft stores), Tacky glue, and 3/8-inch dowel.

Directions:

Cut a pair of 6-inch stars from red, white, or blue felt. 

 

Cut a slightly smaller pair (ours were 4 inches across) from a different color of felt, and an even smaller pair (ours were 3 inches across) from the third color.

Use tacky glue to affix the stars to each other. Glue together the 2 sets of stars, sandwiching a 3/8-inch dowel between them.

Allow the glue to dry, and then finish the baton by tying a length of red, white, and blue ribbon around the dowel.

4th of July Crafts: Sticker Star Twirler

 

Here's a windup toy that's guaranteed to amuse young holiday guests on the Fourth of July. Just crank the handle, let go when the top starts to turn, and watch the starry swirl.

Materials:  Plastic coffee can lid, Craft knife, Thick rubber band, Paper clips, Sticker stars, and Flexible plastic straw.

Note:  Depending on the age of child adults may need to use the craft knife.

Directions:

Use a craft knife to cut a small X in the center of a plastic coffee lid.

Push one end of a thick rubber band (like the one shown below) up through the opening and stretch it around the center of a paper clip to keep it from pulling back through. Decorate the lid with sticker stars.

 

From a flexible plastic straw, cut one 4-inch straight length and one 4 1/2-inch length with the bendable portion near the center. Shape a second paper clip into a small hook. Then slide it into the straight straw length and use it to pull the free end of the rubber band through.

 

Insert one end of the bendable straw length through the protruding loop of the rubber band for a handle.

 

Festive Fans

 

These stars-and-stripes fans are fun to wave while waiting on the sidelines for the parade to begin.

Materials:  Wooden paint stirrer, 2 (8-inch) squares of card stock, one white and one blue, for each fan, Glue, Red tape, and Sticker stars.

Directions:

Use glue to sandwich the top of a wooden paint stirrer between two 8-inch squares of card stock (one white and one blue).

Apply strips of red tape to the white side and sticker stars to the blue side, and the fan is ready to wave.

Confetti Launcher

This Fourth of July craft is bursting with patriotic pizzazz!

 

Fireworks happen only after dark, but this craft creates a pop of color any time of day. Kids pull back on the string to release a shower of tissue paper confetti, then gather it up and refill the launcher again … and again … and again.

Note:  Again this craft needs adult supervision.

Materials:  Craft knife, 2-inch-wide cardboard mailing tube, cut to 9 inches, Red or blue electrical tape, Hammer, Nail, Rubber band, 2 toothpicks, 2 (15-inch-long) pieces of string, 5/16-inch metal nut, Plastic from a recycled container, cut into a disk slightly smaller than the tube and with two holes punched in the center, about 1/4 inch apart, Red or blue star stickers, Red, white, and blue tissue paper, cut into small squares of confetti.

Directions:

First with using a craft knife, trim 1 inch off the tube.  (parent's job) Cut a 1/2-inch section out of this piece with scissors.

 

Insert the piece into the tube, about 1 inch from the top, and secure it with electrical tape.

 

Measure down 1-1/2 inches from the same end of the tube and make a hole with the hammer and nail. Rotate the nail to enlarge the hole. Make a second hole on the opposite side.

 

Push the rubber band halfway through one of the holes. Insert a toothpick through the outer rubber band loop, and then secure it with electrical tape as shown. Tie both strings to the nut. Thread the rubber band through the nut, and then push the rubber band through the second hole. Secure it with a toothpick and tape.

 

Thread the disk onto one string until its 6 inches from the nut, then knot the string and trim any excess. Pull the other string out the bottom of the tube and knot it. The assembled launcher will look like the diagram. Decorate the tube with electrical tape and star stickers.

 

To load the launcher, rest the disk on top of the inner cardboard ring and fill this end of the tube with confetti. To launch, have your child hold the launcher firmly, pull the bottom string, and then quickly release it. The nut will hit the plastic, sending the confetti sky-high and making a popping sound.

 

Share your ideas on this or anything here on the blog either here or e-mail me at stipple@verizon.net  I look forward to hearing from you!

Sandi