4th of July popsicle flags for kids

 

Since summer began, we’ve been eating a lot of Popsicles. Yum-Yum! In my ever-constant attempt to be less wasteful, I have saved every Popsicle stick. My friends laughed at my constant request of, “Don’t throw that stick away, I’ll take it.” But we finally had a chance to put those sticks to good use this week, and I think my friends will finally understand. This project is green, easy, fun and cute!

• 9 Popsicle sticks (go on kid, have another!)
• Paint – We used Crayola Washable Paint (really great colors & washes right out!)
• Glue – Good old Elmer’s School Glue
• Paint Brushes
• Tape
• Ribbon

Start by painting the Popsicle sticks. You will need 2 all red ones, 1 all white one, 2 red/blue and 2 white/blue. (Notice that is only 7 sticks, you will use the other two sticks to hold your flag together.) To show my daughter where to paint, I taped off one end of the stick, then peeled off the tape to paint the other side. Be sure to put down some paper to compensate for over zealous painting

The hardest part of this craft is waiting for the paint to dry! We painted all of our sticks and then let them sit over night before assembling the flag. If you have a bigger kid, you could try assembling first then painting using the tape to mask off each stripe.

Once dry use your paint brush to paint glue along the edges of each stick to stick them together. Then use the extra sticks you have to reinforce your flag. Break one stick in half and glue the broken pieces and full stick across the back like so:

Add some ribbon to hang your flag and you have handmade 4th of July decor! I hope next time you have a Popsicle you will save your stick to create something beautiful.I still can’t decide if I like the ones with or without “stars” best. What do you think?

4th of July Crafts for Kids

Supplies You will need to make the Paper Lanterns:

-Cardstock in Red, White and Blue

-A ruler

-Scissors

–Star punch or Star Stickers

-A pencil

-Glue Sticks

-Festive Ribbon

-Stapler

Step One:

Fold your cardstock in Half Lengthwise. Then take your ruler and draw lines from the fold, leaving an inch from the end of your line and the edge. Leave about .75 inch on each side.Step 2: Have the kids cut on the line, stopping when the line ends, not through to the edge:)  (This is great cutting practice)

*Little brother had to join…this photo is so funny because he has been wearing that monster hat (we have a green and pink one) for days…he refuses to take it off, even during nap time!

Step 3:  Unfold your paper and then with the folded bumps on the outside, tun inward and attach at the top and bottom. Then staple both the top and bottom a couple of times.You should now have a paper lantern to decorate! I was thinking you could make these look Hawaiian by using bright colors and adding flowers, or if you are throwing a birthday party you could easily match these lanterns to your theme.We added stars by using punched out star shapes in red, white, blue, and silver. The kids just glued on the stars with glue sticks, but you could even purchase some star stickers.

We also added some festive ribbon on the top and bottom with a stapler and attached a 1 inch strip of cardstock for the handle.

And there you have it, a very easy kid’s craft for the summer…that you can even display in your home:)