Red, White and Blue Ribbon Crafts for the Fourth of July

There are literally hundreds of red, white and blue ribbon crafts you can make, to celebrate the Fourth of July, and most of them are simple enough for children to accomplish. Since children love crafting, and the ribbon crafts are so easy, they'll enjoy making the Fourth of July decorations while you prepare for the cookout!

Lots of different pins can be made using red, white and blue ribbon. Take a piece of narrow ribbon, which displays all three colors, and fold it into a loop, cris-crossing one end over the other. About halfway up, where the ribbons cross each other, glue into place. Now glue to a pin hardware piece and you have an instant patriotic ribbon that can be further embellished. Glue a mini cross, praying hands, tiny brass letters that spell "USA", or another charm.

A small piece of velcro is all it takes to make a bracelet from a piece of red, white and blue striped ribbon. Just cut it to the length you need, plus a half-inch or so, then add the velcro to each end.

Kids can make a great windsock - in fact, several of them - simply by using ribbon and something they have around the house. Whether it's an empty pop-up wipes canister, or an empty child's bubbles bottle, the windsock can be made easily by a child. Glue the end of a ribbon piece on one side of the bottle or canister, then attach the opposite end to the opposite side. This will become the hanger on the windsock.

Glue long ribbon pieces to the open area of the canister or bottle. The pieces don't have to be all the same length, but should be long and flowing. Glue the ribbon pieces all the way around the opening, then hang the windsock. As the wind blows, the ribbons will blow in the wind. Kids will be proud of this decoration that was easy, yet impressive.

A similar windsock can be made using a simple frisbee. Decorate the frisbee, if it isn't already red, white and/or blue, then glue the long ribbons around the edges, on the underside of the frisbee. Glue a loop of yarn, thread, or ribbon to the top, so it can hang.