Fourth of July Craft Ideas

Beautiful and festive decorations can lift the mood and add something special to your everyday living space. Making them yourself is a point of personal pride and can be a conversation starter when the guests arrive and notice the whimsical wreaths hanging on your door or the unique accessory styled on the entryway console. 

The next few projects are a fun way to quickly dress up the house with festive 4th of July themed decor. Read on! 

The Projects Require a Ruler and Craft Knife. Check Out the AlumiKit Set That We Offer.

Polymer Clay Decorative Garland

You have probably seen many trendy interior designers use wooden garlands as decorative accents. We created a quick tutorial for a patriotic version to add to your 4th of July console arrangement. 

For this project, you’ll need the following supplies:

• Polymer clay in red, white and blue 
• Cutting mat to protect your table surface
• Awl
• Cord
• Items to bake the clay on (follow instructions on your clay packaging)

Work your clay so that it becomes soft. If you’re new to polymer clay, read our article on the basics to get familiar with this art medium. Polymer clay does tend to get messy. Use a cutting mat to protect your surface and start with the lighter colors. Then, work into the darker colors as some colors may transfer. Use a damp cloth to clean the cutting mat. 

Divide the soft clay into the same size pieces and form each one into a sphere. Add clay if too small and reshape. Set aside so they harden just a bit. Once all the spheres are made, use the awl to puncture a hole to create the beads. 

Because awls are essentially needles, meaning they are tapered to a point, pierce the sphere on both sides so that the hole opening is the same size on either side of the bead.

Bake at the temperature and duration specified on the packaging of the polymer clay you are using. Once baked solid and cooled down, thread the beads onto the cord, tie and style! 

Star Spangled Decorative Bowl

Keep that polymer clay out! We’ve got another themed project for you to try. 

The supplies you’ll need:

• Polymer clay in red, white and blue 
• Parchment paper for baking
• Rolling pin
• Cutting mat to work on
• Craft knife
• Oven-safe bowl
• Items to bake the clay on (follow instructions on your clay packaging)

Work your clay so it’s soft. Then, roll out into a large sheet, not too thin. Using a craft knife, cut out star shapes. Play with asymmetry and size so that no two stars are alike. Peel away the remaining clay and set aside to use again. 

Turn your oven-safe bowl upside down, overlay with oven-ready parchment paper and gently lay the stars on the bowl's surface, starting at the rim and working your way to the base (which is the top, in this case). Overlap the stars so that they cover a good percentage of the surface, but also create interest with the open space. 

Bake at the recommended heat setting and time interval. Set to cool down completely. Then, remove the clay bowl from the oven-safe bowl. 

Easy Paper Wreath

Decorative wreaths are any holiday staple — and that includes the 4th of July, which is probably the most festive of all the summer celebrations. 

For this project, you will need the following supplies:

• Wreath base — available at most craft stores
• Craft paper in your choice of red, white and blue hues
• Craft knife
• Ruler
• Cutting mat
• Glue

On your cutting mat, using the ruler and craft knife, cut strips of paper in your choice of colors and in various widths but no wider than half an inch. The length of the strips should be the circumference of the foam base plus half an inch for overlap.

One by one, glue the strips around the wreath base, overlapping if necessary to fully cover. Once the entire base is covered, add a few pinwheels off center and you’re ready to hang it. 

Paper ‘Firework’ Centerpieces

For this quick centerpiece, you’ll need the following supplies:

• Craft paper
• Double sided tape and glue
• Craft mat
• Craft knife
• Ruler
• Wooden Skewers

For the “firework” part of this centerpiece, select your papers and cut down to different height measurements that are about 1” to 1.5” in difference. 

With a pencil, mark a 1.5” allowance lengthwise on each of your craft paper sheets. Then, using your craft knife and ruler, cut a narrow fringe below that line. Once finished cutting the fringe, tape the two ends together. Place the tape only on the uncut “allowance” part of the paper — no need to tape the fringe.

For the “rocket” part, cut your paper into 5”x5” squares and decorate with stars or diagonal stripes. Glue together into a cylinder shape. To make the topper, cut a 3” diameter circle. Cut out ¼ slice and glue or tape the two sides together. Then, glue the topper to the cylinder. Lastly, glue the wooden skewer to the inside of the cylinder. 

Arrange in a vase, flower pot or a tray of your choice. 

Happy crafting and decorating — and Happy Fourth of July!