July 4th Craft Ideas
Expect a Fourth of July filled with old-fashioned fun when you create easy, inexpensive decorations with paper, basic craft supplies, and enchanting Victoriana printables. Inspired by turn-of-the-century celebrations, this joyful tribute to red, white, and blue harkens to a time when impromptu hats were folded from leftover newspapers, and marching bands, firecrackers, and lawn games marked the day. “It was a very big holiday,” explains Melissa. “Postcards with patriotic greetings were mailed out in much the same way as we now send out seasonal holiday cards.” These projects by Melissa can be made ahead of time to decorate for the holiday, or assembled with the help of family and young friends at the party itself.
LET THE FUN BEGIN: CRAFT SUPPLIES PAPER: Newspaper gives the crafts their old-fashioned appearance, so even in more colorful projects, include a little bit. For crepe paper, visit papersource.com. PIPE CLEANERS: Metallic versions in silver, gold, and red add sparkle. Find them at craft supply stores, such as Michaels. RIBBON: Check your own stash before heading out to buy red, white, and blue ribbon. Look for prints as well as solids at Jo-Ann. GLUE: For crepe paper, use dry glue, such as a glue stick or 3M transfer tape. PRINTABLES: For lettering, Melissa used a text font called Algerian, but you can substitute any typeface with a vintage look. Type letters with spaces between them to allow room for cutting. Download the postcard images and print or photocopy onto heavy paper. Embellish with glitter, from tinseltrading.com or any craft supply store.
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Create charming Fourth of July decorations! Fold these charming paper-hat place cards, then add colorful bands, rosettes, and toppers. Make a sparkling hat topper by coiling a metallic pipe cleaner around a pencil, then carefully inserting the pipe cleaner into the top of the hat. Print or hand-stamp a name banner and trim with pinking shears. Fold hats using newspaper or red, white, and blue crepe paper. Look for striped and dotted paper, too. Learn how to make these fun hats with our step-by-step instructions:
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Newspaper’s faded tones lend these projects vintage appeal. This hat is brightened by a glittery rosette, a blue band trimmed with pinking shears, and a simple name banner in a bold typeface. GLUE TIP: When working with crepe paper, use a glue stick or transfer tape. Liquid glue can cause colors to run.
The look here was inspired by crepe paper found at a flea market, then reworked to create chair decorations that resemble old-world ribbons.
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ROSETTE BANNER Adapt the rosettes for this banner to any size. STEP 1 From blue crepe paper, cut a strip 8 inches wide and 20 inches long. STEP 2 From a clean newspaper, cut a narrower strip of paper. Lay it down in the center of the blue strip, gluing in place. Repeat, cutting an even narrower strip of red crepe paper, then gluing in place. STEP 3 Fan-fold across the narrow width of the strip. Fold in half lengthwise. STEP 4 Open out on either side of the center fold you just made to create a circle; glue. Print “Happy Fourth”; cut out around the letters in a circle with pinking shears. Glue onto rosettes. STEP 5 Cut 8-inch pipe cleaners in half. Use one to form a loop; slip through another to form another loop, and so on. When chain is complete, glue a pipe cleaner loop to the back of each rosette, first passing it through a chain loop, then gluing in place.
The Lady Liberty door hanger can be filled with fresh flowers, stick candy, or lollipops. A simple crepe paper pocket is glued to the back of a printout of Lady Liberty on heavy paper. Embellish with a rosette; hand tie with ribbon.
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Carnation balls are a fresh take on a humble flower. They add a fun burst of color to your Fourth of July table, and they’re easy to make. Thoroughly saturate a 3-inch sphere of floral foam with cool water, then insert short carnation stems -- cut to an inch below the calyx -in a concentric, coiling pattern until the sphere is almost covered. Each of these spheres holds about 50 carnations. Display carnation balls individually, or cluster balls of varying sizes -- and color -- on a favorite vase or tray to create a distinctive and dramatic centerpiece. Place sphere with its “bald spot” in a saucer of cool water; refresh daily and it will last a week. Guests will get a bang out of these “firecracker” favors, which can be filled with sparklers. Wrap paper towel tubes with crepe paper; add favor, then hot-glue a cardboard circle to the tube’s bottom. Insert a pipe cleaner “wick”; tie off. Want to start these projects today? Print the Victorian postcards you just saw in this story here http://www.countryliving.com/crafts/projects/july-4th-crafts-0707
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