4th of July Crafts: Patriotic Uncle Sam Centerpiece

Every summer, in July, we host a barbecue with family and friends. I am always on the look-out for patriotic decor that is unique.

I needed a centerpiece, and couldn’t find anything other than flags (been there, done that!).

So I made my own 4th of July crafts! I was able to customize it how I wanted, and it was inexpensive. Double bonus!

My husband thought that I bought it. 🙂 (Go me!)

It looks complicated- but it was really simple!

Here are the supplies that I used to make mine- you can customize it by adding your own elements to the hat.

• Paper Mache Top Hat
• Acrylic Craft Paint in: Deep Red, Deep Blue, Cream, & Brown
• Rusted Tin Stars (I used 2 inch, and 1 1/2 inch)
• Rusted Tin Star Garland
• Rustic Red, White and Blue Star Spray
• Metallic Gold Berry Spray
• Thin Wooden Dowels
• Gold Shred
• Floral Foam
• Hot Glue Gun/ Glue Sticks
• Sand-it Gadget
• Gold Spray Paint

The first thing you will want to do is measure out rough increments on your paper mache hat. I measured mine at about 1 1/4″.

These do not need to be perfect. At all.

You want a rustic finish to the project!

After the lines are drawn, you can begin to paint the stripes on the hat. Start with the lighter color first. It is much easier to paint dark “mistake” lines over the top of light stripes.

When your light stripes are painted, allow them to dry, and paint your darker stripes.

You can also paint the top of the hat- most of it will be completely covered when the project is finished.

Paint the rim of the hat cream.

Again, don’t sweat painting perfect lines.

I used a flat brush for all of my painting- and I was happy with the results.

Next, paint the hat band blue.

I wanted to share a close-up shot of my imperfect painting.

The next step will make it all okay. 🙂 Let the paint dry.

Take a Sand-it Gadget, or sand paper, and go over the hat liberally.

I hit the rim of the hat really well- and the rough spots in my stripes where the paint was raised up. Sand ’em down!

Then, take a damp paper towel, and apply a small amount of brown paint to the towel. Use the towel to rub the hat with brown paint.

This will give it an antique look.

You can play with the brown paint a bit- make it darker or lighter depending on your preference. Just use the damp paper towel to wipe off the excess as desired.

When you are satisfied with the look, allow the brown paint to dry. Wipe it down with a dry cloth if there is paper towel lint on your project.

Your hat is finished!

That was the hard part!

Now you can begin to embellish the top of the centerpiece.

Using a hot glue gun, adhere a section of floral foam to the top of the hat.

Then, using your hot glue gun, cover the floral foam with a layer of shred.

This creates a base for your choice of floral picks!

I created some custom star picks for my project.

Simply glue some rusted tin stars to a thin wooden dowel:

Then hit the stars and the dowels with gold spray paint!

For the center, and main part of my project- I chose this pre-made Rustic Spray.  (I used it to choose my color palette as well.)

I started arranging my elements beginning with this as the center piece.

Then I filled in the space with the spray painted star picks.

Continue to fill in the top of the hat, securing the picks into the floral foam.

To fill in small areas, I used a gold berry spray. Most pre-made sprays can be broken down into smaller pieces.

Peel the floral tape back, and separate out the individual wires.

Keep working until your centerpiece is filled in.

Then, hot glue rusted tin stars to the hat border.

Lastly, I added a rusted tin garland to the base of the arrangement.

That’s it!

A custom centerpiece that looks great inside, as part of your holiday decor-

as well as outdoors, for your holiday celebration!

Shaunte

Shaunte is a 30-something, chocolate-loving, SAHM from Utah. She has been scrapbooking since 1997, the dreaded era of photos cropped with deco scissors. Since then, her work has evolved into a clean, linear, photo-focused style. Her favorite subjects to scrap are her husband and five kids (never a lack for subject material there).