Celebrate the Nation’s birthday by hanging the flag outside of your home, and create a special wreath for your door. This is an easy craft that you can complete in an afternoon – and it can be a good craft for children (supervision with the glue gun may be necessary).

You will need:

• a wreath - grapevine or other style of your choice

• 9 wooden stars

• red, white and blue acrylic paint

• red, white and blue ribbon – about 2 inches wide and at least 3 yards of each color

• red, white and blue paint pens (optional)

• paintbrush

• a glue gun with glue sticks

• small American flag

Begin by painting your wooden stars. Paint 3 wooden stars red, 3 blue and 3 white. Allow these to dry.

You will braid your red, white and blue ribbon through the wreath and then tie it with a bow at the bottom. Braid all of the colors through the wreath and then tie the bow using all three of the colors.

Now arrange your stars on your wreath. Glue three stars at the top, close together. The others glue at about the four o’clock and eight o’clock space on your wreath. Space the stars to your liking. You may also want to arrange them so that the stars are glued in order – so that each bunch begins with the

With your paint pens – you will write “God Bless America” on the top stars. Use the white pen on the red star, the blue pen on the white star and the red pen on the blue star. Allow the words to dry before you hang the wreath.

Hang the American flag so that it hangs in the center of your wreath. Glue the stem of the American flag so that it stays, probably you will glue it to the side of the wreath.

Abigail Beal a.k.a. “the Gift-wrap Goddess” teaches gift wrap in suburban New York. She is the author of 2 ezines: GiftWrapGoddessWraps and CreativeCraftsTeachers. To subscribe: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CreativeCraftsTeachers/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GiftWrapGoddessWraps/ contact: creativecraftsteachers@yahoo.com