Crafting With Kids: 4th of July Fun

Here is a festive yet simple craft idea for Independence Day. These wands/batons are just the thing to wave as the parade goes by or to accessorize your little patriotic superhero.

You'll need:
Craft foam sheets - red, white and blue
3/8" dowels
Tacky Glue or Low Temp Glue Gun
Ribbons of Choice
Star Template (mine is from the scrapbooking aisle at Michaels, here is a printable)

Instructions:

Use template to draw stars on foam. You'll need three pairs (small, medium and large), one pair in each color.

Cut out your stars. Glue the smaller stars onto the large stars, creating a stacked effect. Glue the two stacked sets together with a dowel sandwiched in between.

Tie a piece of ribbon around the base of the star and glue in place.

Mom's Notes: Tacky glue works well for this project, but there will be some drying time. I ended up using a glue gun to speed up the process. You can also buy craft foam with a self-adhesive backing. It is more expensive, but would make a project like this a snap. This project was a little advanced for my three year old, but he enjoyed helping me with it and he loves the finished craft.

This project is based on an idea from Family Fun - Star Spangled Wavers. The original instructions use felt instead of craft foam for the stars.