Memorial Day Patriotic Crafts

• Patriotic Painted Pot or Candy Jarby Heidi Ott
• Patriotic Candle Jar
• Stars & Stripes Shirt
• Red, White & Blue Pinwheel
• USA Flag Pins
  

Patriotic Painted Pot or Candy Jarby Heidi Ott

If you leave out the lid, you could also plant flowers in this pot, otherwise it makes a great candy dish for your 4th party!

Materials
small clay pot and saucer
1-inch wooden ball
red, white and blue acrylic paint
paint brushes
masking tape
sand paper
glue gun
glossy spray varnish

Directions
Paint entire saucer blue. Paint outside of the pot's rim blue. Paint remainder of the pot white. Allow to dry. Apply a second coat of blue and white paint to pot and saucer. Apply strips of masking tape evenly spaced vertically from rim to base of pot. Paint stripes with two coats of red paint. Allow to dry and carefully remove tape.

Create a star on thin cardboard to use as a pattern. Trace star outlines evenly spaced around rim of pot. Paint stars white.

Sand wooden ball in one spot to make a flat area. Paint ball white. Glue flat area to center bottom of saucer with glue gun. This creates the lid. Spray pot and lid with varnish.

Patriotic Candle Jar

Need some fun centerpieces for this summer's get togethers? Why not this patriotic candle jar that doubles as a vase! Easy for kids to make, looks great on your table or counter.

Materials
empty glass jarmaterial with a patriotic patternwhite craft gluewaterthick bristled paint brushscissorsgoldenrod ribbonwooden starnavy blue acrylic paintraffiahot glue gun

Directions
Paint the wooden star with navy blue acrylic paint. Set aside to dry. Tie 2 or 3 strands of raffia into a bow. Use the scissors to but the bows so that all of the ends are straight, trim to even lengths. Hot glue the blue star to the center of the raffia. Set aside.

If your patriotic material has flags, cut out a few of the flags and cut the rest of the material into pieces. Size and shape does not matter!

Mix white craft glue with enough water to make a thin, paintable solution that is not see through, mixture should be white. With your paintbrush, paint the glue mixture onto the jar. Work in sections as the glue will dry before you get to it if you paint the whole thing. Paint a section with glue mixture, place pieces of material onto the layer of glue, cover material with more glue mixture. Material will be wet, but not dripping. Continue until the entire jar is covered, pieces are placed on quite randomly. When finished, use the mixture to put the flags over the top of the material scraps.

Use hot glue to adhere a piece of goldenrod ribbon around the rim of the jar. Hot glue the raffia/star to the ribbon, covering the seam.

You can place a votive candle in the jar, or fill it with white carnations for a great centerpiece!

Author's Note: This is a great project for Cub Scouts. We made these in our Bear Den for the Blue and Gold dinner and used them as centerpieces. Each boy made one of their own and they were a hit!

Stars & Stripes Shirt

Materials
cotton or cotton-blend T-shirt red and blue fabric paints paint brush stiff paper or light cardboard for star templates heavy aluminum foil or shirt size cardboard pencil scissors masking tape - 2 inch wide

Directions
Prewash and iron the T-shirt. Fold the T-shirt in half lengthwise to find the center; mark with tape. Place foil or cardboard inside the shirt to stiffen the fabric and protect the back. Smooth the front of the shirt flat.

Cut off a strip of masking tape a little wider then the width of the shirt. Place it across the front of the shirt so the bottom of the tape meets the bottom of both sleeves. Place another strip of tape down the center front of the shirt between the previous tape and the bottom of the shirt. Measure 2-inches on each side of the center tape and mark lightly with a pencil. Place two more strips of tape with the edges along your marks so all strips of tape are 2-inches away from each other. Continue placing strips of tape in this manner across the shirt (see photo). These will be your guidelines for painting the stripes.

Cut a star out of a piece of light cardboard. Use this star template to trace a star in the center of the shirt above the stripes. Trace two more stars on each side and slightly above the center star. Paint the stars with blue fabric paint. Paint the stripes between the strips of tape red. Let dry for several hours. Remove the tape and the foil or cardboard from inside the shirt.

Press: Heat-set the paint if required by the paint manufacturer.

Red, White & Blue Pinwheel

Materials
red, white and blue construction paper
scissors
glue stick
1/4 inch dowel
brass tack

Directions
Cut one 6-inch square from the red paper and one 6-inch square from the blue paper. Cut 4 1/4 x 3-inch strips of white paper and a 1-inch white star.

On the red square draw diagonal lines from corner to corner intersecting at center. Layer red and blue squares together. Cut along the lines through both squares, 3 inches from each corner. Glue white strips onto blue square.

With red and blue paper layered together and red paper on top, bend every other corner to center overlapping the tips. Push a brass tack through center of star and then through overlapping tips. Press end of tack onto the side of the dowel.

USA Flag Pins

Wear your American Spirit with these USA Flag Pins on 4th of July or Flag Day. Decorated beautifully with Red, White and Blue beads, these pins are extremely simple to make.

Materials:
1 large safety pin (1-1/2 inches)
13 standard-size safety pins (1 inch)
Red (44), white (38), and blue (35) beads

Method:
Assemble seven standard-size safety pins by sliding five blue beads and then a white bead, then a red, then white, then red onto the open pin.

Be careful not to stick yourself.

Assemble six standard-size pins by sliding beads on in this order: red, white, red, white, red, white, red, white, red for a total of nine beads on each of the sixpins.

You'll begin and end with red. Assemble the final pin by sliding the red, white, and blue pins onto the large safety pin.

Then slide on the remaining six red and white pins. To ensure that your beaded pins will not fall off of the big pin, spring the hinge on the big pin and slide the beaded pins around and place them on the other side of the hinge.

It's almost like sliding a key onto a key chain.

Wear your American flag pin proudly

Source: http://www.dotcomwomen.com/

Memorial Day Flowers

Monday, May 26th is Memorial Day. Your local florist can provide fresh or silk flowers for honoring the memory of your loved ones. There are many options available when taking flowers to a gravesite. Many people choose a cone arrangement, which can be placed into the ground.

Here are some things to keep in mind when taking loose fresh flowers to a gravesite. If you will be placing them in a cone, you should take a couple of supplies with you. A pair of scissors and a jug of water. When you arrive at the gravesite, place the cone in the ground. If you have floral preservative add this to the cone first. Fill the cone with water 3/4 full. Remove the leaves that fall below the water line from the stems. Finally clip off an inch or so from the bottom of the stems and place the flowers into the cone. You can then arrange the flowers to fill in the cone.

Silk floral designs can also be created. Ask your local florist for silk floral suggestions and design options for memorial pieces. Bouquets, Wreaths and Custom Memorial Design forms are all popular choices in silk flowers. You can even customize the design to reflect military service (red, white & blue flowers, flag design, etc.) to honor your loved one's service.

Memorial Day has also become a popular time for Family Reunions and Get Togethers. Consider having your local florist create centerpieces for your weekend celebration.

Order your memorial flowers a few days ahead of time to ensure the best selection. Remember to ensure your floral order is filled to value, order direct from a local florist. No middleman, No extra fees!

10 Ways to Celebrate Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a day for remembering those who have laid their lives in the nation's service. Memorial Day has also become a popular time for Family Reunions and Get Togethers as it is preceded by a weekend. Here are some ways to celebrate the patriotic spirit of this day

1. Donate to families of soldiers who are wounded or have lost their lives.

2. Observe the National Moment of Remembrance. The Moment occurs on Memorial Day, 3 PM, local time, for 1 minute. You can choose to observe this moment in any way you like. It is the sentiment that counts.

3. Visit a gravesite and offer flowers to those U.S. Troops who have died in the nation's service.

4. Plan a family reunion or Get Together. It may be as simple and informal as a backyard barbecue.

5. Plan a family picnic. Get kids to help with preparing picnic food. This is also a wonderful way to enjoy the summer season.

6. Throw an informal Grilling or Barbecue party. Throw some burgers on the grill and invite your friends over and enjoy.

7. Wear your American spirit proudly. Badges, Pins, Shirts - make it a point to wear something that shows your patriotism.

8. Make crafts with a patriotic theme. Make a pretty, beaded USA Flag Pin or a patriotic sign following step-by-step instructions found at http://www.ilovetocraft.com/ . More crafts can be found on craft sites.

9. Educate your kids about Memorial Day's history and origin and the history of U.S. Military. Read to them stories with a patriotic message and encourage them to look up dictionaries and encyclopedias on the subject.

10. Have kids participate in Memorial Day parades and other such activities.

What is Memorial Day and When and How is it Celebrated?

What is Memorial Day:
Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day set aside for remembrance of those who have died in our nations service.
Memorial Day was first proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, in his General order number 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868; when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers. The South, at first, refused to acknowledge, Memorial Day, honoring their dead on separate days until after WWI. After World War I, it was expanded to include those who died in any war or military action. One of the longest standing traditions is the running of the Indianapolis 500, which has been held in conjunction with Memorial Day since 1911. It is also traditionally viewed as the beginning of summer by many, since many schools are dismissed around Memorial Day.

When is Memorial Day?
Memorial Day is a United States Federal Holiday that is observed on the last Monday of May (observed in 2008 on May 26). Since the Civil War more than 1.1 million veterans, both women and men, have lost their lives in service to America.

How is Memorial Day celebrated ?
Many people observe this holiday by visiting cemeteries and memorials. A national moment of remembrance takes place at 9 p.m. US Eastern time. Another tradition is to fly the U.S. flag at half-staff from dawn until noon local time. Volunteers place an American flag upon each gravesite located in a National Cemetery.
In addition to remembrance, Memorial Day is also a time for picnics, barbecues, family gatherings, and sporting events.