Patriotic Dog Crafts for July 4th

By Tamara McRill

What could be more natural than pairing dogs with a day dedicated to independence, patriotism and love of our country? After all, our furry friends are the epitome of freedom, loyalty and love. At least that’s how my mind works, and so my patriotic canine crafting theme for the Fourth of July was born. These easy crafts range from dog-themed to actually for the dogs, with a little in between.

Uncle Sam Dog Hat

This was my favorite project, because it produced such adorable pictures and inspired the final craft. I started with one of those dollar store cloth hats, but you could easily make one from construction paper. Just be sure to have a camera and dog treats handy – I used CANIDAE Chicken and Rice TidNips™ to reward Wuppy for sitting pretty.

Supplies: Uncle Sam hat, white snow batting or cotton balls, glue gun, glue sticks, and 1 ½ foot of string or elastic.

1. Pull off enough batting to make two sections of pouf white “hair” to hang around your dog’s ears.

2. With the glue gun, glue each section to the inside brim of your hat, so it hangs down like hair, one section on the left and one on the right. Allow glue time to dry.

3. Pull off another section of batting, enough to make a goatee. Hot glue the goatee to the center of your string or elastic. Let the glue dry, then tie the goatee on your dog’s head.

4. OPTIONAL: You can also glue the string or elastic to the hat, like a chin strap, if you want your pet to wear the hat for more time than just picture taking. Loop it around from your dog’s head to chin, to measure the right length.

Firecracker Dog Treat Favors

Since I was handing out treats to get Dusty and Wuppy to pose for pictures, I decided they needed their own rocket favor containers. They were entirely too willing to pose with this craft!

Supplies: toilet paper or paper towel roll, small section each of red and blue poster board or scrapbook paper, white printer paper, scissors, tape, glue gun, 3 inches of string, and markers or paint.

1. Wrap the white paper around your toilet paper roll and tape it where the paper meets. Trim the excess paper off the top of the tube with scissors.

2. Decorate covered roll with markers or paint and write your dog’s name on it.

3. Take one of your poster boards or scrapbook paper and cut a half circle that is 3 ⅓ inches on the flat side. This is going to be the firecracker’s pointed cap.

4. Fold the half circle perfectly in half, tip-to-tip. Tape it where the flat bottom now meets in two sections.

5. Put a bead of glue along the top edge of your toilet paper roll and set the newly made point cap on top, with the point facing up.

6. For the feet: Cut out three or four identical feet from your poster board or scrapbook paper, for your firecracker or rocket to stand on. These should be an inch across at the top and taper where they will stand at the bottom.

7. Tape the string to the inside top corner of one of the legs, if you want a firecracker. You can skip this step if you want a rocket.

8. Cut 3 or 4 slits (depending on how many legs you made) evenly up the bottom of your tube.

9. Insert legs, with the narrowest point facing down.

Fireplace Banner

Fourth of July crafts wouldn't be complete without some flags, but I chose to do a fireplace banner with a red, white and blue motif. Of course I didn't forget the doggie spin! When you pick your patterns, it’s the colors that matter, not the actual pattern.

Supplies: 2 sheets of patterned scrapbook paper, 1 sheet of solid red or blue colored paper, 1 sheet of white paper, 6 to 9 feet of string or ribbon, scissors and clear tape.

1. Cut 3 triangles each from the patterned paper and 5 from the solid colored paper. Triangles should be about 3 inches on the flat top and 4 inches on the sides that form the point.

2. On the white paper, draw and cut out two bones, two paw prints and one dog profile silhouette.

3. Tape or glue one design to each solid color triangle.

4. Find the center of your string and tape the entire top edge of the triangle/flag with your dog profile to it.

5. On either side of the center triangle/flag, continue taping an alternating pattern of the rest of your triangles.

The final pattern of flags should look something like this: Pattern 1, Bone, Pattern 2, Paw Print, Pattern 1, Dog Profile, Pattern 2, Paw Print, Pattern 1, Bone, Pattern 2

Patriotic Feather Pooch Wreath

If you’re looking for a Fourth of July wreath in an unusual texture, feathers are the way to go. One word of caution: This wreath isn't meant to be hung outside.

Supplies: Styrofoam wreath or needlepoint frame, blue feather boa, red bandanna, white poster board, red, white and blue patterned square of scrapbook paper (I used one to match my banner), scissors, hot glue gun and glue sticks.

1. Wrap the feather boa tightly around your wreath or frame, gluing the ends together at the top.

2. Fold the bandanna into fourths. Loop this around the top of the wreath and glue the edges together.

3. Cut out a four inch star from your poster board.

4. Glue the star about two inches up from the bottom of the bandanna loop. When you hold the wreath up by the bandanna, the bottom third of the star should have feathers behind it.

5. Trace a dog silhouette big enough to fill the middle of your star onto your patterned scrapbook paper.

6. Cut out the silhouette and glue it to the center of the white star.

Made in the U.S.A. Plaque

Since all of CANIDAE’s premium quality pet food is made in the U.S.A., I thought it would be cute to include a craft that plays on that.

Supplies: White poster board or paper, cardboard, red and blue markers or paint, glue and scissors.

1. Cut an eight inch long and four inch wide dog bone from the white poster board and three identical bones out of the cardboard.

2. Glue the cardboard bones on top of each other. Allow time to dry.

3. Decorate the white bone with markers or paint, writing out “Made in the USA” and adding a paw print in the lower right corner.

4. Glue the decorated white bone to the top of the cardboard bone. Let dry.

5. Color the visible cardboard edges blue or red.

Fourth of July Dog Art

This craft was inspired by the Uncle Sam hat and pictures. It was obvious that, after getting a tongue-lolling patriotic Wuppy pic, I needed to make a poster of it. There aren't specific instructions for this one, although you could absolutely take inspiration from the three Fourth of July posters I made.

These were created in a photo editing program and I ordered poster prints online. The middle one would look great using actual wood and paint. If you don’t have any photoshop skills, just tackle the project like you would any scrapbooking page.

Another idea I had was to make an American hot dog menu, with a wiener dog and “Best in Show” ribbon. A colorful poster of American dog breeds would also be a great addition to the patriotic dog theme.

Do you have any other ideas for pet-inspired Fourth of July crafts or perhaps have made some yourself?

Read more articles by Tamara McRill