4th of July Archives - Manda Panda Projects

Thrifted Patriotic Window Frame

Amanda — Fri, 07 Jun 2024 23:15:24 +0000

Show your American pride with this DIY Patriotic Window made with a thrifted frame and 4 Americana Grunge rice paper designs from Digital Deco Designs. The perfect way to decorate for Memorial Day and 4th of July in your home. I love USA!

OK, OK, OK……this Thrift Flip is literally EPIC! It takes not one, not two, not three, but FOUR gorgeous prints from Digital Deco Designs and puts them together in one amazing Patriotic Window Frame DIY!

The frame, of course, was thrifted. And it was HUGE. The perfect size to fit all 4 of these rice paper prints.

If you are not familiar with Digital Deco Designs you are MISSING out with a capital M! She makes gorgeous rice paper printables that you can either download and print at home, or you can have them printed and shipped to you.

I have a printer, so I download and print them onto rice paper at home, but either way, once you start Mod Podging rice paper, you can’t stop!

I was so happy I could use 4 designs for this one because that meant that I didn’t have to decide on just one. The four I chose are all from her new “Americana Grunge” collection:

1.) AMERICAN GRUNGE BALD EAGLE 3 (#F069)

2.) AMERICAN GRUNGE FLOWER POT (#F061)

3.) AMERICAN GRUNGE TRACTOR (#F066)

4.) AMERICAN GRUNGE RED TRUCK (#F065)

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a cent more!)

Supplies Needed to Make a Patriotic Window Frame

Large thrifted frame (mine was about 17″ x 14″)
AMERICAN GRUNGE RED TRUCK print
AMERICAN GRUNGE TRACTOR print
AMERICAN GRUNGE FLOWER POT print
AMERICAN GRUNGE BALD EAGLE 3 print
Corner embellishments (from Hobby Lobby)
3 paint sticks (12″)
White paint
Kilz dark wax
Antique Gold Rub n’ Buff
Kraft Paper
Antique wax
Hot glue gun

How to Make a Patriotic Window with a Thrifted Frame

I made this Patriotic Window Frame with Digital Deco Designs on video, so you can WATCH it or click on the picture right below.

Watch the full video here

I also have a short 1 min sped up video overview of the process and you can see that one HERE.

This was a live tutorial I did over on Facebook, so for the step by step instructions I would recommend watching the replay since I don’t have in progress pictures, but I will do my best to explain.

I printed my designs at 60% size, so that all 4 would fit in my frame. Depending on the size of your frame, you will most likely need to print your designs smaller than 100%.

First, I stained the entire frame with my Antique Wax, as well as the paint sticks. Then I added some candle wax to them so that I could do the “chippy method”. The wax helps the paint to chip off after the next step.

Over the top of the wax, I painted the frame and paint sticks white. Once it was all dry, I used a paint scraper and sanding sponge to distress the entire frame and paint sticks, making it look old and grungy (the wax makes this part easier!).

To add to the grunginess, I used my Kilz Dark Wax and grunged up the edges and corners of the frame even more, and went along the edges of the paint sticks as well. I wanted the frame to go along with the “grungy” vibe of the rice paper.

The paint stick was not long enough to go down the center vertically, so I braced two paint sticks together using a jumbo craft stick on the back. This made one long paint stick going down, and one shorter one across. I glued them both to the frame from behind, to make it look like a window.

Next, I glued in the 4 prints in each of the “window panes”.

To jazz it up, I found these corner embellishments from Hobby Lobby. I added a bit of Antique Gold Rub n’ Buff and glued one to each corner of the window frame.

This thrifted frame didn’t come with glass or a backing, so I covered the back with kraft paper to give it a more finished look.

OH EM GEE this is by far one of my favorite patriotic crafts to date!

I hope you love this one as much as I do, and I hope even more that it inspires you to get crafty with the red, white, and blue.

Are you going to make a Patriotic Window Frame? Shoot…are you gonna make anything at all Patriotic?! If you do, I’d love to see it! Pop on over to our free Craftspiration Facebook group, and join in on the fun by posting a pic of your Tiered Trays, DIY’s and crafts. I just love to see all your creative and crafty creations.

If you’ve got a million projects on your crafting ‘to-do’ list like I do, than you need my FREE Craft Project Planner so you can plan to make *all the things*! When you sign up for the craft planner, I’ll also send you lot’s of fun, easy, and budget friendly ideas for you to fill it up with!

Free printable Craft Project Planner

Get organized, get inspired, and get crafting, with our free Craft Project Planner!

Download my free planner!

Until Next Time…

Stay Crafty San Diego!

Love this Patriotic Window Frame? Make sure to PIN it for later!

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Tiered Tray Patriotic Firecracker Crate

Amanda — Thu, 30 May 2024 19:43:29 +0000

Craft and decorate your tiered tray for Memorial Day and 4th of July with a mini Patriotic Wood Bead Firecracker Crate! This little Americana DIY is sure to make a bang!

If you follow along on Facebook, then you may have seen the series we did making everything for my Patriotic Tiered Tray. Now this particular firecracker crate was made for my 2022 tray, but we’ve continued in 2023 as well.

It has become a sort of tradition to have Tiered Tray Live extravaganzas on my Facebook page where I go on a 1, 2 or even 3 week long spree hand making everything for my tray, not just for 4th of July, but other holidays as well.

Multiple seasons and holidays later, I am sticking with the tradition and hand-making everything for my Patriotic Tiered Tray as well!

Now let me show you how easy it is to make a mini Wood Bead Firecracker Crate!

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a cent more!)

Supplies Needed to Make a Tiered Tray Patriotic Firecracker Crate

How to Make a Tiered Tray Patriotic Firecracker Crate

I made this Patriotic Firecracker Crate on video. So you can WATCH the tutorial by clicking below.

Watch the video HERE

First, you need to make the crate using 8 Dollar Tree “Jenga” blocks. Just hot glue them together, 2 on each of the 4 sides, like you see below.

Then stain the mini crate with Waverly Antique Wax (or you can use brown paint mixed with water).

Then, add a bit of spanish moss to the inside of the crate.

Glue a metal barn star to the front for an extra embellishment.

Now for the wood bead firecrackers, all you do is paint the beads red white and blue and then string them onto some twine, with a bad of hot glue to keep them in place.

I made my firecrackers 3 different sizes to give it some height variation.

Red = 5 beads
Blue = 4 beads
White = 3 beads

Then you just glue them inside the mini crate and thats it!

How darn easy and how darn cute is this tiered tray DIY!? It looks so presh on the bottom tier next to my adorable Patriotic Flag Mini Bookstack!

I made 15 crafts for a different tray during my LIVE Patriotic Extravaganza and you can see all of them HERE if you need some inspo!

Are you going to make a Tiered Tray Patriotic Firecracker Crate? If you do, I’d love to see it! Pop on over to our free Craftspiration Facebook group, and join in on the fun by posting a pic of your Tiered Trays, DIY’s and crafts. I just love to see all your creative and crafty creations.

Free printable Craft Project Planner

Get organized, get inspired, and get crafting, with our free Craft Project Planner!

Download my free planner!

Until Next Time…

Stay Crafty San Diego!

Love this Tiered Tray Patriotic Firecracker Crate? Make sure to PIN it for later!

The post Tiered Tray Patriotic Firecracker Crate appeared first on Manda Panda Projects.

Home Sweet Home USA Napkin Shelf Sitter

Amanda — Fri, 24 May 2024 17:42:58 +0000

Craft and decorate your home for Memorial Day and the 4th of July with this DIY Patriotic USA Napkin Shelf sitter that fits perfectly on a tiered tray. This Home Sweet Home napkin with the American flag USA is the perfect size to decoupage onto a Dollar Tree box frame. I love America!

I have a confession. My name is Amanda and I am addicted to napkins.

So much so, that I started a Big Pack of Craftkins, napkins for crafting club!

The Big Pack of Craftkins is my quarterly variety pack of 18 individual adorable napkins sent straight to your door, so that you never have to waste your money on entire packs of napkins for crafting again.

Don’t worry if you don’t have the exact napkin I am using in this project, use what you have and if you need some help then get on the waitlist for my napkin subscription. I also sell super cute pre-bundled one time packs in my shop HERE!

I titled this one “Shelf Sitter”, but it’s actually the perfect size for a Tiered Tray so I threw this bad boy on my Patriotic Tiered Tray right on the bottom tier!

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a cent more!)

Supplies Needed to Make a USA Napkin Shelf Sitter

Dollar Tree Box Frame
Home Sweet Home USA napkin (Get on the waitlist for the next round of napkins HERE or get napkins from my shop HERE)
Blue and white star scrapbook paper
Antique Wax
White acrylic paint
Mod Podge
Elmers School Glue (You can use Mod Podge instead)
Foam Brush

How to Make a USA Napkin Shelf Sitter

I made this crackle napkin shelf sitter on video. So you can WATCH the tutorial by clicking below.

Watch the video HERE

This USA Napkin Shelf Sitter looks so cool with the crackle effect UNDER the napkin! I have an entire tutorial on exactly how to do this crackle technique and you can read and watch the video HERE.

So the first thing you are going to do is that crackle on the front of your frame. In a nutshell, you paint a dark colored base coat then dry it completely. Then, put a layer of Mod Podge OR Elmers school glue (I like to use a foam brush to apply). While the glue is still wet, paint a nice thick coat of the white acrylic paint over the top.

Just glide the brush gently over the glue being careful not to work it into the glue. Dry completely, and as it dries, watch the magic happen! It will begin to crackle right before your eyes.

After you have the background all crackled, you will just decoupage your napkin to it like normal. Just Mod Podge it right to the crackle paint, and then it will LOOK as if the napkin itself is crackled just like you see below.

Sand off the excess napkin with your gator sander or sanding block.

Now, trace the shape of the 3 outer edges onto the blue star scrapbook paper and cut them out (you don’t need to do the bottom, but you can if you want). Then Mod Podge those to the outer edges and sand off the excess paper.

The last thing you do is grunge up the edges and corners with Kilz Dark or Waverly Antique Wax to give it an old distressed vibe, which I love.

How darn cute does it look on the bottom tier of my Patriotic Tiered Tray!? I made 15 crafts for this tray during my LIVE Patriotic Extravaganza and you can see all of them HERE if you need some inspo!

Are you going to make a USA Napkin Shelf Sitter? If you do, I’d love to see it! Pop on over to our free Craftspiration Facebook group, and join in on the fun by posting a pic of your Tiered Trays, DIY’s and crafts. I just love to see all your creative and crafty creations.

Free printable Craft Project Planner

Get organized, get inspired, and get crafting, with our free Craft Project Planner!

Download my free planner!

Until Next Time…

Stay Crafty San Diego!

Love this USA Napkin Shelf Sitter? Make sure to PIN it for later!

The post Home Sweet Home USA Napkin Shelf Sitter appeared first on Manda Panda Projects.

Patriotic Star Wreath

Amanda — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 00:22:17 +0000

Craft and decorate your home for Memorial Day and the 4th of July with this DIY Patriotic Star Wreath Sign. This Land of the Free sign has the perfect message to put American Pride on display on your front door! And the Home of the Brave!

I was in a LIVE crafting event over on good ole’ Facebook called Shoestring Sisters Presents: Independence Day, and made this gorgeous Patriotic Star Wreath sign.

I mean technically it’s not a wreath at all, but the stars are in the shape of a wreath so ya know….if the shoe fits. (That’s code for “I didn’t know what else to title this one)

I used my Cricut to make the words for the center of this, but you could stencil them on if you don’t have a Cricut. Or you could even use some sort of rub on transfer or stickers. Get creative!

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a cent more!)

Supplies Needed to Make a Patriotic Star Wreath

12″ Paint sticks (14-15)
3 ” Wood stars (7)
Red and white striped scrapbook paper
Blue and white star scrapbook paper
Antique Wax
Bakers Twine: Red AND Blue
Blue and white star Fabric
Twine
White Vinyl word “Land of the Free” (You can order this from my shop if you don’t have a Cricut)
Mod Podge
Hot glue gun

How to Make a Patriotic Wreath with Wood Stars

I made this Patriotic Star Wreath on video. So you can WATCH the tutorial by clicking below.

Watch the video HERE

You could use any type of wooden background, but I chose to use paint sticks to make mine. First, line them all up with the handles alternating sides. Then brace them together by gluing 2 paint sticks across the back like you see below. (I chose to use the side WITH the ruler marks because it gives it character)

Then, stain the entire background using Antique Wax.

Trace 5 of the wood stars onto the red and white striped scrapbook paper and cut them out.

Then Mod Podge the paper to the stars and sand off the excess paper with a sanding sponge.

Do the same thing with 2 of the stars on blue star scrapbook paper. (You will have 5 red/white and 2 blue/star)

After the stars were done, I grunged them up using antique wax by going all around the edges with it. You don’t HAVE to do this but I like to make things grungy!

My stars were already on a twine garland, so I just glued them to the background in a circle formation, with the blue stars on the top left (like the American Flag)

If yours are not on a garland, I would first glue a piece of thick twine in a circle shape on your background, and then glue the stars on top of that.

Use transfer tape to add the “Land of the Free” vinyl to the center of the sign.

You could also stencil this or use rub on transfers/stickers.

Cut a strip of fabric and glue it to the top as the hanger. Reinforce the hanger by gluing fabric horizontally across the ends where it meets the wood background.

This Patriotic Star Wreath looks like something straight out of Hobby Lobby! It’s my new fave. I love it even more than my old fave which was my USA Freedom Flag!

Are you going to make a Patriotic Star Wreath? If you do, I’d love to see it! Pop on over to our free Craftspiration Facebook group, and join in on the fun by posting a pic of your Tiered Trays, DIY’s and crafts. I just love to see all your creative and crafty creations.

Free printable Craft Project Planner

Get organized, get inspired, and get crafting, with our free Craft Project Planner!

Download my free planner!

Until Next Time…

Stay Crafty San Diego!

Love this Patriotic Star Wreath? Make sure to PIN it for later!

The post Patriotic Star Wreath appeared first on Manda Panda Projects.

Patriotic Jenga Block Bookstack

Amanda — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 16:34:06 +0000

All crafts and decor are cuter in mini version and this Patriotic Jenga Block Bookstack is no exception! I made this one to go on my 4th of July Americana themed tiered tray this Summer but this simple Dollar Tree DIY could be adapted for any season or holiday! The mini crafty possibilities are endless!

When I made my very first rustic handmade tiered tray, I vowed to handmake everything on it. Multiple seasons and holidays later I am sticking with the tradition and handmaking everything for my Patriotic Tiered Tray as well!

Here is my small tray, but I have a larger one I decorate as well.

The handmade mission has been completed and this adorable patriotic American Flag Mini Bookstack came out of it! This is not my first rodeo, I’ve made several of these minis, but the Sunflower Bookstack has got to be my all-time fave.

If you have not been crafting with the Dollar Tree version of Jenga Blocks called “Tumbling Tower Blocks” then you are missing out my crafty friend. There are so many uses for these wooden little blocks, and this Bookstack is just one of them.

If you follow along on Facebook, then you may have seen the series we did making everything for my Patriotic Tiered Tray. Now this particular bookstack was actually made the year prior, but I still added it to the middle tier of this years tray.

Why? because two mini bookstacks on a tray are better then one! Check out my entire tiered tray this year to see the new one we made for the top tier.

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a cent more!)

Supplies Needed to Make a Patriotic Jenga Block Bookstack

Tumbling Tower blocks – 6 total
White paint
Antique wax or stain
Vintage Flag Print or any scrapbook paper
Twine
Rusty Star 1 inch
Mini Acrylic Alphabet Stamps
Tim Holtz Distressed Ink – Black Soot
Hot glue gun

How to Make a Patriotic Jenga Block Bookstack for your Tiered Tray

I made this adorable little Patriotic Vintage Flag Jenga Block Bookstack on video, so you can WATCH me decorate it HERE or click on the picture right below.

Watch the video here

To make this bookstack the first thing you’re going to do is glue your blocks into 3 sets of 2 blocks side by side. Each set will be one of the “books”.

For this patriotic bookstack, I painted them all white. Once they are dried, glue the books on top of each other to make the “stack”.

Mod Podge the vintage flag print to the top of the bookstack, and sand off the excess paper from the edges.

Use a small paint brush and Antique Wax to accentuate the lines in between each “book”. I grunged up the rest of the bookstack and flag as well for extra vintageness.

Use a mini alphabet stamp set to write your book titles down the “spine”. I chose “Red, White, and Blue”, to go along with my Americana Tiered Tray theme.

Next, wrap a small piece of twine around the stack as if it’s holding the books together, and add a small rusty star embellishment to the front.

This Patriotic mini bookstack is the perfect compliment to the middle tier of my Patriotic Tiered Tray! Make sure to check out all the other amazing little projects we made for it HERE.

Are you going to make a Patriotic Jenga Block Bookstack for your 4th of July tiered tray this year? Shoot…are you gonna decorate a Tiered Tray at all?! If you do, I’d love to see it! Pop on over to our free Craftspiration Facebook group, and join in on the fun by posting a pic of your Tiered Trays, DIY’s and crafts. I just love to see all your creative and crafty creations!

Free printable Craft Project Planner

Get organized, get inspired, and get crafting, with our free Craft Project Planner!

Download my free planner!

Until Next Time…

Stay Crafty San Diego!

Love this Patriotic Jenga Block Bookstack? Make sure to PIN it for later!

The post Patriotic Jenga Block Bookstack appeared first on Manda Panda Projects.

Patriotic Patchwork Star

Amanda — Thu, 22 Jun 2023 03:23:01 +0000

Celebrate and decorate for the 4th of July and Memorial Day holidays by DIY’ing some affordable red, white, and blue Americana decor. This Patriotic Patchwork Star is the perfect way to craft and decorate your home on a budget!

I love to patchwork *all the things*!

I’ve done a cute Dollar Tree Patchwork Pumpkin for Fall, a Patchwork Shamrock in The CRafterparty, and now this Patriotic Patchwork Star for July 4th.

Use any and every red, white, and blue scrapbook paper that you have, and throw in some burlap and lace for good measure.

I just love the way the neutral music sheet paper gives this patchwork star an old vintage-y vibe.

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a cent more!)

Supplies Needed to Make a Patriotic Patchwork Star

Dollar Tree wood frame surface
Wood Star – 6″
Scrapbook Paper: Faux shiplap (for background), Patriotic colors, Music Sheet
Lace
Scrabble tiles : FREEDOM
Half Wood Beads
Wood Beads – 20 mm
Burlap
Twine
Apple Barrel Barn Red paint
Antique wax
Mod Podge
Hot glue gun

How to Make a Patriotic Patchwork Star

I made this Patriotic Patchwork Star on video, so you can WATCH it or click on the picture right below.

Watch the video here

I started off by painting my entire Dollar Tree wood frame background with Barn Red paint.

Then, Mod Podged a piece of faux shiplap wood scrapbook paper to the center as the background.

For the star, I ripped up a BUNCH of different patriotic patterned scrapbook paper, music sheet paper, and cut some pieces of burlap and lace. The pieces weren’t any particular size and some were bigger then others. I did it totally randomly!

Then, I Mod Podged them to my wood star in a patchwork fashion, covering the entire star and Mod Podging over the top of them as I went.

Next, I glued the patchwork star to the inside of the frame, leaving room at the bottom for the word FREEDOM.

I cut a small strip of burlap and then frayed the edges before gluing under the star.

I added the word FREEDOM, but you could add any word that you want, or even a small phrase like “Land of the Free”.

I thought it needed a little somethin’ somethin’, so I stained 4 half wood beads and glued one on each corner.

I decided on a partial wood bead hanger and used twine with 3 wood beads on each side.

This particular Dollar Tree frame already had the holes and came with the twine, so I just added the wood beads. If your background doesn’t have the built in hanger you would just glue the hanger to the back of the background.

How cute is this Patriotic Patchwork Star!?

Are you going to make a Patriotic Patchwork Star this year? Shoot…are you gonna make any Patriotic crafts?! If you do, I’d love to see it! Pop on over to our free Craftspiration Facebook group, and join in on the fun by posting a pic of your Tiered Trays, DIY’s and crafts. I just love to see all your creative and crafty creations.

Free printable Craft Project Planner

Get organized, get inspired, and get crafting, with our free Craft Project Planner!

Download my free planner!

Until Next Time…

Stay Crafty San Diego!

Love this Patriotic Patchwork Star? Make sure to PIN it for later!

The post Patriotic Patchwork Star appeared first on Manda Panda Projects.

Patriotic Flower Mason Jar

Amanda — Thu, 15 Jun 2023 23:27:32 +0000

Celebrate the 4th of July and Memorial Day holidays by DIY’ing some affordable red, white, and blue decor. This Patriotic Floral Mason Jar is the perfect way to get crafty and show your American pride, while decorating your home on a budget!

4th of July and Memorial Day are such fun and festive holidays to craft for, but the best thing about this Floral Mason Jar project is that it can easily be adapted to be an “everyday” decor piece, or for any other season or holiday.

I made a beautiful Sunflower Mason Jar similar to this one that I have in my living room to this day!

Just swap out the napkin for one that matches your decor, and then swap out the florals to coordinate with the napkin.

Voila! Instead of a Patriotic Floral Mason Jar you have a (Insert holiday here) floral Mason Jar. LOL!

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a cent more!)

Supplies Needed to Make a Patriotic Flower Mason Jar

12″ Wood Mason Jar Cutout
12″ Wood Shims (13 shims)
Patriotic Truck napkin (Amazon has come cute napkins)
Burlap
Small “Blessed” cutout
Twine
Patriotic Florals
Sticks from outside
Boxwood greenery
Blue bakers twine
Red button
White Chalk paint
Antique wax
Mod Podge
Hot glue gun
Cardboard rectangle

How to Make a Patriotic Flower Mason Jar

I made this Patriotic Flower Mason Jar on video, so you can WATCH it or click on the picture right below

Watch the video here

There are quite a few steps to this one, so I highly recommend watching the live replay to get the best tutorial, but I’ll do my best to walk you through how I did it here. You can always fast forward the video through any talking or any parts that you don’t want to watch!

First, paint the entire wood mason jar white, then Mod Podge the patriotic napkin over the entire surface and sand the edges to get rid of the excess napkin.

Wrap twine all around the top portion and then secure with glue in the back. Add a cute little shoestring bakers twine bow with a red button for decoration!

Cut a small strip of burlap and glue that to the front. Paint the word “Blessed” with dark blue paint and then glue that on top of the burlap.

The Mason Jar part is done! Now for the background.

Stain all of your wood shims with antique wax. I used 13 shims total. Then glue them staggered to the the piece of cardboard, making sure to alternate thick end/thin end, thick end/thin end.

Using vaseline, do the “chippy paint” method by adding it randomly to the shims, wherever you want the paint to chip off. Then coat with a generous coat of white chalk paint. Once it’s dry, use a paint scraper to “chip” off the paint in the areas that the vaseline was.

Cut a large piece of burlap in the shape of the mason jar, but just slightly larger so that you can see it from behind the wood mason jar cutout. I had to do this because my napkin blended in with my background. You may be able to get away with not using the burlap behind it.

If you do need the burlap, glue it onto the wood shim background, underneath the mason jar, leaving enough room at the top for the flowers and greenery.

Last, glue your sticks as stems for the flowers, add the patriotic flower heads, and fill in the empty spots with boxwood and greenery until you are happy with how it looks.

How cute is this Patriotic Flower Mason Jar!?

Are you going to make a Patriotic Flower Mason Jar this year? Shoot…are you gonna make any type of Fabric flower?! If you do, I’d love to see it! Pop on over to our free Craftspiration Facebook group, and join in on the fun by posting a pic of your Tiered Trays, DIY’s and crafts. I just love to see all your creative and crafty creations.

Free printable Craft Project Planner

Get organized, get inspired, and get crafting, with our free Craft Project Planner!

Download my free planner!

Until Next Time…

Stay Crafty San Diego!

Love this Patriotic Flower Mason Jar? Make sure to PIN it for later!

The post Patriotic Flower Mason Jar appeared first on Manda Panda Projects.

Patriotic Rustic Tiered Tray Inspo

Amanda — Tue, 13 Jun 2023 18:48:54 +0000

Put your American pride on display this 4th of July with this Patriotic Rustic Tiered Tray. With the red, white, and blue, plus flags and stars, this handmade 3 tiered tray is packed with DIY Americana Decor inspo from top to bottom! Every item on this tray is handmade with American pride!

I absolutely LOVE to hand make everything for all my tiered trays. In fact, I even made the tray itself!

It has become a sort of tradition to have Tiered Tray Live extravaganzas on my Facebook page where I go on a 1, 2 or even 3 week long spree hand making everything for my tray.

I go live on my my lunch break and call them Lunchtime Live Tiered Tray Extravaganzas! These are all short, easy, fast, and cute little crafts and at the end of the series I go Live and decorate my tray with everything we made.

So if you’re following along on Facebook, you probably saw me make many of the pieces you see here live. If it’s handmade and on this tiered tray, then there is a tutorial for it. The only things I did NOT make are the mini mugs from Hobby Lobby because they were just too cute not to add.

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a cent more!)

Rustic Patriotic Tiered Tray

Almost all of the little pieces that you see on this tray are handmade, including the Tiered Tray itself. I’ve linked below to the Facebook Live, and/or the blog post tutorial where we made each one so that you can easily find them if you want to make them yourself! I hope you find lots of patriotic Inspo here and I can’t wait to see how your Americana Tiered Tray turns out.

Handmade Crafts for a Patriotic Tiered Tray

I decorated this beautiful Rustic Handmade Patriotic 3 Tiered Tray on a Facebook Live video, so you can WATCH me decorate it HERE or click on the picture right below.

Watch the Facebook Live here

I have no rhyme or reason to how I decorated my Patriotic Handmade Tiered Tray. I know there are some decorating “rules” you are supposed to follow, but honestly I’ve never been one to follow those rules! I’m a #CraftyRebel.

First things first, you need to start with clean slate and take EVERYTHING off of your tray. Then I get out everything that I plan to use, so that I have it all right there in front of me.

Then, I just start putting things on and moving them around until I like how it looks. It takes a bit of tweaking and tinkering until you get it just right, but in the end you are left with something uh-maz-ing. One trick I have is to use little round wood discs to use as risers to create some height on things in the back. It makes a world of difference

I usually start by putting my bigger staple pieces on, then adding some smaller pieces, and finishing it off with the mini mini things and filler pieces. Then move and tinker until I’m Happy!

Let’s start from the Top! You absolutely cannot miss that gorgeous Rusty Bedspring Star on the left. This one really isn’t a “tiered tray craft” because it’s actually pretty big, but since my tray is HUGE it works just fine. This was made in a set of 3, but I only use 2 of them on here.

I balanced this larger piece out with a small USA Rae Dunn inspired jar to the right. And it wouldn’t be a tiered tray without a Mini Jenga Block Book Stack (or two)!

To finish of the top tier I added a small Patriotic red, white, and blue Wood Bead Garland, and I think that was the perfect touch.

Moving on down to the second tier, we have my very favorite piece front and center, the Freedom Patriotic Ladder. To the right all the way in the back is a craft we made with a napkin from my Big Pack of Craftkins napkin subscription, the Patriotic Lobster Mason Jar. It’s a little hard to see here, but trust me he’s a cutie!

In front of the lobster is a mini Patriotic Stamp block, and you guessed it….another Jenga Block Mini Book stack, but an American Flag this time.

The tray wouldn’t be complete without the USA Star Mini Banner hanging across the middle tier.

To the left is an adorable Jenga Block Uncle Sam Hat, and right behind that is another Stamp Block sitting on top of a mini mug from Hobby Lobby (one of the only non handmade items on the tray!)

I filled in some of the empty spaces with some cute Red, White, and Blue Kraft Paper Stars, and some mini laser cut stars.

We’ve made it all the way down to the bottom tier, where the cuteness continues with another craft made with a Craftkin on the back left, the “Home Sweet Home” USA flag sitter with its fun crackle look. This tray is super big and needs some larger pieces for the bottom back spots, so to the right of that I put another one of the Rusty Patriotic Stars.

In front of the Rusty star on the right is another of my faves, the Vintage American Flag USA Chippy Block raised up just a tad with 2 small wood round risers. Another Mini Patriotic Stamp Block is filling in some space right in front of that, an adorable Mini Flag Pillow is front and center resting against the candlestick.

Right in front of the pillow we have the USA Scrabble Tiles that are so darn cute! I am going to make these interchangeable with different tiles for each holiday so that I can just swap them out.

All the way to the left we have the Star Wand coming out of an old salt shaker, with adorable Mini Cardboard Patriotic Flip Flops propped up against it. And just off to the right of those we have the last piece on this tier, the Jenga Block Firecrackers.

And here she is in all her glory! A view from each side of the tray so you can get the full picture of some of the items that are hard to see in the individual tier pics.

Are you going to decorate a Tiered Tray for Memorial Day or 4th of July this year? Shoot…are you gonna decorate a Tiered Tray at all?! If you do, I’d love to see it! Pop on over to our free Craftspiration Facebook group, and join in on the fun by posting a pic of your Tiered Trays, DIY’s and crafts. I just love to see all your creative and crafty creations!

Free printable Craft Project Planner

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Until Next Time…

Stay Crafty San Diego!

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Paint Stick American Flag

Amanda — Wed, 31 May 2023 02:07:17 +0000

Celebrate the 4th of July while showing your American Pride by making some affordable DIY Patriotic Decor for your Home. This Paint Stick American Flag will have you ready to pledge allegiance and start belting out the Star Spangled Banner!

This Paint Stick American Flag was a fun and easy project we made in my private subscription group, The CRafterparty.

We make a LOT of super cute projects in there, but one thing I try really hard to do is to make things that have very basic, affordable supplies that everyone can get.

I also try really hard to make them cute!

I think this Patriotic Flag decor checks allllllll the boxes. Don’t you?

Paint sticks make super versatile craft supplies and if you haven’t crafted with them yet, I suggest you start.

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a cent more!)

Supplies Needed to Make a Paint Stick American Flag

Join The CRafterparty today!

Unless you are part of The CRafterparty, this post is purely for inspiration as the full video tutorial can be found inside of the group! The CRafterparty is my VIP Crafty Fun group where we come together in a private group and have fun doing *all the things* together! We have a TON of fun and end up with adorable projects like the one below!

This Paint Stick American Flag is a special project that is exclusive to my #PartyPeople, so if you you’d like to join or get more info you can go HERE.

Don’t worry though, I have PLENTY of FREE tutorials for you right here on my blog! And you can also check out some other projects that we did in The CRafterparty if you’re considering joining and want to see those too.

Learn to make this Paint Stick American Flag

When creating your own unique creations I encourage you to think outside of the box! Use what you see simply as inspiration to make it your own. My goal is to INSPIRE you and that is why this site is filled with hundreds (literally) of free tutorials and ideas. The CRafterparty is a more intimate, VIP experience where I share exclusive tutorials like this Paint Stick American Flag where I provide a supply list so you can craft along, and encourage you to complete it along the way!

Get the FULL tutorial inside The CRafterparty here.

I decided to go with a more rustic vibe rather then the super bright red, white and blue 4th of July theme, but you could make this however you like. Heck, you could even go the non-patriotic route and make a sunflower flag *hint hint*

I used a blue distressed scrapbook paper, and decided to go with one large star, cornered by a few smaller ones.

For the “red” and “white”, clearly I didn’t go with plain colors. I intentionally went with a variety of different yet coordinating red and white/neutral patterns. I even threw in some leopard print for fun!

A super chunky wood bead hanger was just what this one needed. Alternating sizes like I did here is a nice way to give it some character.

All in all, this Paint Stick American Flag is simple, yet classy and cute!

Isn’t this just the most awesome Patriotic Flag decor that you’ve ever seen!?

It would be perfect on your front door for the 4th as well.

As always…be inspired to make it your own and if you need a little help, come join us in The CRafterparty!

Are you going to make this Paint Stick American Flag? If you do, I’d love to see it! Pop on over to our free Craftspiration Facebook group, and join in on the fun by posting a pic of your completed DIY’s and crafts. I just love to see all your creative and crafty creations!

Free printable Craft Project Planner

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Download my free planner!

Until Next Time…

Stay Crafty San Diego!

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Patriotic Fabric Ring Flower

Amanda — Thu, 25 May 2023 23:19:17 +0000

With some rustic American Flag fabric, a recycled can, and a Dollar Tree wood ring you can make this adorable Patriotic DIY Decor for the 4th of July. This Patriotic Fabric Ring Flower doesn’t even have to be red, white and blue. You can substitute the fabric for a year round flower craft too!

If you haven’t seen these Fabric Ring Flowers floating around the internet, or on Pinterest, you must be living under a rock.

Maybe you haven’t seen a Patriotic one like you see here, but I’m sure you’ve seen some type of pretty fabric flower.

This one is made with a Dollar Tree Wood ring, but I have seen them made with mason jar lids as well!

Those work great as well, but you get a much more wider center of the Fabric Flower. Perfect for….you guessed it…. SUNFLOWERS!!!

You can use any type of fabric you like to make these flowers, but for this one I chose American Flag Fabric for the perfect Patriotic Decor!

I have made a few different types of Flowers with fabric like this Sunflower one and this Spring one, but I’ve never made one like this using a wood ring. Until NOW!

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a cent more!)

Supplies Needed to Make a Patriotic Fabric Ring Flower

How to Make a Patriotic Fabric Ring Flower

I made this Fabric Ring Flower on video, so you can WATCH it or click on the picture right below.

Watch the video here

Start by ripping up a bunch of fabric strips approximately 9-10″ long and 1/2″ wide. You can trim them up afterwards if they are too long, but if they are too short then it is very hard to tie them.

Then, fold each strip in half and then begin tying them in a loop knot around the wood ring. You can SEE exactly how I do this on the LIVE REPLAY.

Fill up the entire ring making sure the strips are packed nice and tight. This will help your flower “petals” stand up right. Trim the ends as necessary.

Glue a piece of fabric to the back of the ring, to cover the center. I decided to position a star right in the center.

Paint the entire can all white with chalk paint, and then dirty it up with Antique Wax. I then used a star stencil to make antique wax stars all over the can.

Wrap the top of the can with twine and then tie a twine shoestring bow to the front.

Glue a rusty star to the center of the shoestring bow and then one on each of the hanging ends of the twine.

Add some floral foam to the can and then cover with it up with spanish moss.

Finally, glue the fabric flower head to a wooden dowel, and stick it down into the floral foam in the can.

How cute is this Patriotic Fabric Ring Flower!?

Doesn’t it look totes adorbs with the other patriotic decor we’ve made? My tray is not complete, but we’ve got a good start!

Are you going to make a Patriotic Fabric Ring Flower this year? Shoot…are you gonna make any type of Fabric flower?! If you do, I’d love to see it! Pop on over to our free Craftspiration Facebook group, and join in on the fun by posting a pic of your Tiered Trays, DIY’s and crafts. I just love to see all your creative and crafty creations.

Free printable Craft Project Planner

Get organized, get inspired, and get crafting, with our free Craft Project Planner!

Download my free planner!

Until Next Time…

Stay Crafty San Diego!

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