How to Make Your Own Patriotic Table Decorations

Planning a patriotic celebration is a great time to show off your American style. Craft your own patriotic table decorations using recycled brown paper grocery bags and red, white and blue fabric. These projects are quick and easy to create and are wonderful crafts to do with the family. The simple shapes and cuts used for these patriotic decorations will allow your children to help prepare for your summertime Fourth of July barbecue.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Brown paper bags
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Iron
• Red and white striped fabric - 1 yard equals eight place mats plus pinwheels
• Navy blue and white star fabric - 1/2 yard equals eight place mats plus pinwheels
• Heavyweight fusible web - 1/3 yard equals one place mat or two pinwheels
• Marking pen
• Three 1-inch brad nails
• Hammer
• Three 1/4 inch diameter dowels, 24 inches long
• 1/2-inch, flat, white buttons
• Hot glue
• Large coffee can
• Red, white and blue wrapped candy

Patriotic Place Mats

1. Cut a 12-inch-wide by 16-inch-long rectangle from a brown paper bag for each place mat. Iron the rectangles to smooth out the wrinkles and flatten the paper.

2. Cut a 7.5-inch-wide by 12-inch-long rectangle from heavyweight fusible web for each place mat. Lay the red-and-white-striped fabric wrong side up on your ironing surface. Place the fusible web rectangles glue side down on the fabric and iron to adhere. Cut out the fabric using the fused web rectangles as a guide.

3. Cut a four-inch-wide by 5.5-inch-long rectangle from heavyweight fusible web for each place mat. Lay the navy blue and white star fabric wrong side up on your ironing surface. Place the fusible web rectangles, glue side down, on the fabric and iron to adhere. Cut out the fabric using the fused web rectangles as a guide.

4. Lay the brown paper bag rectangle with the advertising print face down. Remove the paper from the back of one ed-and-white-striped rectangle. Center the ed-and-white-striped rectangle glue side down on the brown bag rectangle. Iron to adhere the fabric to the brown bag rectangle. Remove the paper from the back of a blue, starred fabric rectangle. Place the rectangle in the top left hand corner of the red-and-white-striped fabric to create a blue field for the flag. Iron to adhere. Repeat for all place mats.

Patriotic Pinwheels

5. Cut out three eight-inch squares from heavyweight fusible web. Cut open a brown paper bag and iron flat. Lay the bag with the advertising print facing up. Lay the fusible web squares on the brown bag with the glue side down. Iron to adhere. Cut out the squares using the fusible web as a guide. Peel the fusible web paper from the squares. This is not the brown bag paper. Lay two squares, with the glue side down, on the back of the ed-and-white-striped fabric and one square on the back of the navy blue fabric. Iron to adhere. Cut out the fabric using the squares as a guide.

6. Place the squares with the brown bag face up. Mark the middle of each square with a pen. Cut diagonally from each corner toward the center, stopping one inch from the center mark. The cuts will create a triangle on each side of each square.

7. Place one square in front of you with the fabric side up. Poke a one-inch brad nail up through the right hand corner of the triangle closest to you. Turn the square clockwise and poke the brad up through the right hand corner of the next triangle. Repeat until all the triangles have been poked and folded over to the center. Hammer the brad into the top side of one 24-inch-long dowel. Hot glue a white, one-half-inch, flat button over the head of the button. Repeat to form the remaining pinwheels.

8. Remove the label from a large coffee can. Fill the can with an assortment of red, white and blue wrapped candies. Insert the pinwheel dowels into the candy can to complete the centerpiece.