4th of July Crafts

Yikes, I really should have posted this sooner, huh?  Well, these ideas are very simple so you still have plenty of time to try them out. 

Last year we made several fun things for the 4th.  First off were firecracker t-shirts...tons of fun and useful too!  My kids not only wore the shirts for the holiday, but have been wearing them regularly since.

Ds3 working on his shirt. 

Basically you get a white t-shirt and insert a piece of cardboard or newspaper to stiffen it up and keep the paint from bleeding through.  Then you take several pipe cleaners, twist them together in the middle, and spread out the ends to make firework shapes.  You dip the pipe cleaner ends into fabric paint (we used blue, red and white with glitter) and stamp the shirts.  This is great for the kids to do, as a random pattern actually resembles fireworks better than trying to be precise.  Of course, let the shirts dry and follow any other directions for the paint you used.  Here is a link to the instructions, including a video how-to.

We also made flag fans.

Basically you take a sheet of white and a sheet of blue paper (construction or card stock) and glue a large craft stick between them to make a fan.  On the white side place red electrical tape or plastic tape (in the hardware section) to make stripes, and on the blue side decorate with stars (stickers or they have neat foam ones now.)  Very simple and fun.

We also made these little star wand waver things.  I don't have any pics, but here are the instructions.  These required a little more work from me, but the kiddos loved them.

This year we are making t-shirts again, but these this time.  Very easy but fun.  I hope you find some time to try a little crafty fun with your little's for the fourth.