How to Make Fourth of July DIY Napkin Rings
I thought Miss T could get into the spirit of the upcoming holiday by crafting something to contribute to our barbecue on Tuesday. So, we diverted from Camp Grandma to focus on DIY napkin rings.
My love of toilet paper roll crafts is legend, but it didn’t seem an appropriate material for a food-related use. Instead, we used an empty cardboard tube from gift wrap paper. Our roll made nine 3-inch napkin rings.
The only trouble with cutting up a long tube is that you’ll have rough edges. So, encase the edges with a strip of tissue paper before decorating.
DIY Napkin Rings
Materials Needed:
- Empty cardboard tube from gift wrap paper or paper towel tubes
- White tissue paper scraps
- White school glue (Elmer’s)
- Acrylic paints
- Markers (optional)
Tools Needed:
- Ruler
- Pencil
- X-Acto knife
- Bamboo skewer for spreading glue
- Paint palette
- Paint brushes
How to Make it:
Step 1: Measure off the roll in 3-inch-long segments. It’s not easy to measure a tubular object. So, the best way is to cut a strip of paper 3 inches wide and wrap it around the tube. Mark the end of the strip with a pencil.
Step 2: Using an X-Acto knife, cut the tube at the marked line. This should be done by an adult.
Step 3: Now you’ll want to wrap the ragged cut edges of the tube with tissue paper for a smoother-looking edge. To do this, cut the tissue paper into strips about 1/2-inch wide. Apply glue to the ragged outer edge of a tube using a skewer. Attach tissue strip to the outside, leaving a 1/4-inch margin of tissue paper along the top. Now add glue to the inner edge of the tube and fold the margin into the tube.
Step 4: Paint and decorate the rolls. Miss T painted the background with acrylic paints then drew over the background with markers. For the napkin ring with stars, we used a tiny star-shaped punch to punch out stars from white paper. Then the stars were glued on.
Celebration Variations
You can theme DIY napkin rings for any occasion. For a birthday, decorate with cut-out photos of the birthday honoree. To make napkin rings for Valentine’s Day, decorate with hearts and doilies. For Thanksgiving, paint in autumn colors and glue on autumn leaves. For Christmas, use silver and gold paint or go for the traditional red and green.
During special holidays, giving the grandkids a way to contribute helps them to be a part of the celebration. Miss T loves to be included in the planning and preparation.
Also Happening at Camp Grandma
Aside from making napkin rings, we completed our puppet theater. Miss T and I finished painting it today. For my next post, I’ll show you how we constructed our puppet theater from a cardboard box.
We are also working on pulling ideas together for our puppet show script.
Publishing Note
“Call Me Grandma!” is taking off Fourth of July week so, I’m posting this ahead of time, Friday, June 30, instead of on my usual schedule, Wednesday, July 5. I’ll be back July 12, with more Camp Grandma activities.
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