It's the time of year when red white and blue flag crafts are everywhere. I saw a lovely porch patio with a patriotic flag pillow from Pottery Barn that looked like an easy knock off art project. Last week the Grands spent the week with me. Every day they knew we’d have Summer Fun activity time and every day the first thing they wanted to know was what the craft project would be. They like to paint on everything so after we exhausted the rocks in my garden, sticks from the wood pile and paper plates galore I thought they might be ready for something a little more exciting. Something with a design but easy enough for a 4 and 7 year old. Being a patriotic weekend coming up in the USA I created a knock off Pottery Barn pillow with a flag design.
I showed them the photo then we drove to a store to buy craft paint. They picked out a bright red and dark blue then we added some cotton pillow protectors to our basket. When we returned home I used some painters tape to mask off the
stripes and a square field for stars on the pillow protectors. (I chose them because they have a zipper that closes the pillow in…no sewing!) One looks very much like the USA flag, the other is a bit more of a free design of stripes and a star. I slid a plastic garbage bag inside the pillow protector to keep the paint from bleeding through, set out the paint and handed the Grands a sponge brush. They were meticulous in painting the stripes a solid red and the star field a dark blue. Amazingly, there are only a few smudges of red and blue outside the taped off areas.
While the paint dried we ate a snack of banana smeared with Nuetella which called for a face and hand washing before adding some dabs of white paint on the field of blue. The acrylic craft paint dried quickly and in about an hour we had a finished project. I wish I'd captured the look on girl grand when she pealed the tape away to reaveal a big white star. Priceless! The pillows look very nice on the bedside chair, the bed and on the backyard benches.
Materials needed:Cotton pillow protectors with zippers
Red acrylic paint
Blue acrylic paint
sponge paint brushes
water
paper towels
painters tape
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| directions to make the paper banner are here. |
This activity is shared with Nap Time Creations as part of her Summer Fun ideas.
Pottery Barn Knock off Pillow by For What Its Worth
Pipe Cleaner Fireworks by Hoyby Crafts
Indoor Summer Fun Ideas by Alex Haralson on Nap-Time Creations
Check out the fun posts from last week:
Banana Pudding Pops by Ginger Snap Crafts on Nap-Time Creations
Tin Can Lanterns by About a Mom
Father's Day Paint Swatch Card by Our Rosey Life
Crabby Onesie by My Mom Made That
