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Patriotic Busy Bag

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by Noreen Doll.

A patriotic busy bag is nice to have on hand for holidays such as Memorial Day, Flag Day, the 4th of July and Labor Day.

Patriotic Busy Bag - Crafty Journal
It’s easy and inexpensive to make and small to store.

The contents can be used for more than making a U.S.A. flag.  You can cut a large circle or bell shape, which can also be decorated with the red, white and blue decorations.

For artistic purposes I am only using 7 stripes and 12 buttons, because the small size of the flag would look odd with too many thin stripes. And it would be too difficult for very small children to manage.

For older kids, you could have them cut 7 red stripes and use 50 white buttons or stars to make a proper flag.

What You Need

For very young children, small pieces may look like a snack, so be sure to keep a close eye on them when they are using this.

Felt in Red, White, and Blue

Stars or Buttons in Red, White, and Blue

White Poster Board or Card Stock

Cardboard from a Cereal or Cracker Box

Tacky Glue

Ruler, Pencil, and Scissors

What You Do

1. Cut to size 5 1/2 inches x 8 inches:

1 piece of white felt

1 piece of white poster board or card stock

1 piece of cereal box cardboard

2. Glue the white poster board to the colored side of the cereal box cardboard, using tacky glue. Spread the glue thinly over the entire surface.


3. Glue the white felt to the white poster board using the tacky glue. Spread the glue thinly over the poster board.

Place the board between sheets of waxed paper under a heavy book until it is completely dry.

4. Cut stripes from the red felt. You need 2 that are 3/4 inch wide x 8 inches long.

You need 2 that are 3/4 inch wide x 4 1/4 inch long.


A piece of white chalk is helpful for marking your cut lines on dark colors.

5. Cut a rectangle from the blue felt that is 3 inches x 3 3/4 inches.

6. To make a flag, place the blue rectangle on the upper left corner of the white board.


Place the two short red stripes beside it, with a white stripe between the two red and a white stripe below the bottom red one.

Put the two longer stripes below the blue rectangle.

Add the white buttons to the blue rectangle.

Variations for the Patriotic Busy Bag

Form the white buttons in a circle on the blue field, similar to the Betsy Ross flag.

Cut a white circle, bell, or other shape and decorate with the red and blue stripes and buttons.

Make a Tic Tac Toe game with the red stripes and use red and blue buttons for the playing pieces. Or you can make the game on the circle instead.

Another fun variation would be to use miniature marshmallows and red licorice for the stars and stripes!

Tips

Craft foam also works well for this project, and may be easier for younger children to handle than felt.

Put the leftover scraps of felt or foam in the patriotic busy bag to be used for other patriotic decorating.

Cut other shapes from the red and blue felt for more play fun.

Noreen Doll

Crafty Journal

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Comments

  2. This is a great idea and so cute. I might just use it for a craft idea for the kids to make their own flags with felt but I’m always looking for new busy bag ideas for me to make too. Thanks!

  10. This is such a fun craft for kids! I’m going to dig out my felt and let my daughter make this. Thanks so much for sharing at Terrific Tuesdays.
    Rachel
    adventuresofadiymom.blogspot.com

  23. This is so great! Looks like you had lots of fun creating all this!

    Thanks so much for sharing at The DIY Dreamer… From Dream To Reality! I can’t wait to see what you link up this evening! 🙂

  24. Such a cute idea for summer crafts. Thanks so much for stopping by Creative Thursday last week. I couldn’t do these parties without you. Can’t wait to see what you link up this week. Have a great week.
    Michelle

  29. That is very patriotic indeed. I’m going to Google+ this post right now.

    Thanks for linking up to Say G’day Saturday. This week’s post is now live so I hope that you can join in again this weekend!

    Best wishes,
    Natasha in Oz

  42. How cute! My son is almost three. I think this would be good to have on hand for the end of summer. thanks for sharing

  46. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this busy bag! Thank you so much for sharing! I can’t wait to use it during the week of the 4th of July for learning time! Just fabulous! I’m super excited I was able to find you!

  48. What a cute and fun idea! I’m sure my little boy would love making this. Thank you for sharing!

    Hope you’re having a great day!

    Ritchil

  50. Hi Noreen! This is a great idea for kids! I hopped over from 36th Avenue – hope you have a great weekend!

  51. Terrific! I love things that cause kids to be creative, and especially those things that are, as we teachers call it, open ended meaning there are no limits. Our society and it’s business of games and toys just doesn’t provide enough opportunities for kids to be creative. Many think they have to “entertain” kids instead. So enJOYed this post. Keep up the good work.

  55. What a fun idea! I still enjoying playing tic-tac-toe so I’m all in with this project. Thanks for sharing at Inspire Us Thursday at Organized 31.

  56. I love how there are three activities in one in this patriotic busy bag! Thanks for sharing at Mom’s Library.

  63. I love your idea of a Patriotic Busy Bag! It looks like so much fun and is educational too. Thank you for sharing on Artsy Play Wednesday. This post will be featured in our 4th of July round-up.

  73. How fun!! What a great thing to take along on a road trip, or just for some fun when camping, etc. I love it!

  74. Hello beautiful! This looks so amazing. Pinned and tweeted. I hope to see you on Monday at 7pm because we love to party with you! Happy Memorial Day! Lou Lou Girls

  75. Super cute! I wish my kids would get into busy bags/boxes. They just want to throw the contents around all over the place. 🙂

  79. What a cool idea, This will sure keep the kids busy. Thanks for linking up this week on the #HomeMattersParty. Looking forward to seeing what you link up next week.

  80. What a cute idea!! Thanks for sharing this at Bewitchin’ Projects block party! I hope you will join us agin this Sunday!!
    -Shonee

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