Independence Day is just around the corner. So if you have kids looking for festive projects to work on in preparation for the big day, we're bringing you a quick round-up of fun crafts for everyone.

Felt Pinwheel Hair Clips

If you want to bring party favors, or just add a little patriotic pop to your 4th of July outfit, look no further. This is a new take on a well-established craft idea, but it’s such a cute accessory! All you need to make these pinwheel hair clips is some felt and whatever hair clip accessory you prefer. You can get all the nitty gritty details over on the walkthrough provided by Eighteen25. Also, if you can’t find wooden stars like those recommended in the guide, you can always cut them out from a piece of double layer felt (that’s what we did).

Ribbon Wands

If you have young children that want to participate during fireworks, but can’t be trusted with what basically amounts to an open flame and gunpowder, this is for you. These ribbon wands are a perfect substitute for sparklers and are something you can make quickly. You might need to make a quick stop to the craft store for some extra ribbon or eye screws, but this guide from Alice and Lois lays out everything you need and how to pull it all together.

Craft Stick Flags

While we can’t direct you to an already prepared guide for these last two crafts, we’ve provided you with some brief steps and supplies needed. For this hanging flag art, you will need 5 jumbo craft sticks, three red, and two white (you can purchase pre-colored craft sticks, or paint them yourself). You will also need blue and white foam sheets, a piece of string, and something rigid to glue the craft sticks to. (We used foam board, but you may use whatever you have on hand, including things like cardboard, chipboard, or even other craft sticks cut short and glued perpendicular to your colorful craft sticks.)

Cut your rigid base down to ~3” x 5” (or whatever is small enough not to be seen behind your flag). Glue the jumbo craft sticks to the rigid board alternating between red and white.

Now cut out a piece of blue foam sheet measuring ~2.25” x 3” (or whatever size is a little less than half the width of the flag, and as tall as the first 3 craft sticks. Glue the blue foam to the top left quadrant of the craft stick flag.

You will then need to cut out 5 small stars from the white craft foam sheet. We’ve provided a printable template above for those that need a bit of assistance. Once they are cut out, glue them onto the blue foam.

All that is left to do is create the string hanger. Tie the two ends of a 7-8" string together to create a loop. Now simply glue the knotted portion of the loop to the back of the flag at the top center. Once all the glue is dry, you’re ready to put your flag on display!

Safety Pin Flags

If your kids are anything like ours, then you probably have a small treasure trove of seed beads hiding in a craft drawer somewhere in your house. If they have some red, white, and blue beads and you can find 7-9 safety pins, you can make a fun little flag pendant.

The number of safety pins and beads will depend on the size of your safety pins. For standard/medium size safety pins, you will want to follow this pattern:

For slightly larger safety pins (like the one seen in our example), you may want to try this pattern:

That’s all for now. And, if you’re just looking for fun crafts to do with your kids, make sure to check out the Pinwheel Crafts all-in-one craft kits. (We even have a great pendant necklace kit that offers a few patriot images.) Until next time, stay safe and have a fun-filled holiday!

Happy crafting!
Pinwheel Crafts