Pinwheel Centerpiece - Great for Any Holiday!

While the 4th of July ended for most folks yesterday. The Saturday after the 4th is always a time for a big family & friends BBQ at our home. While it's certainly a casual event, this year I wanted to get a little crafty with the decor and came up with this great centerpiece idea. The greatest part was I was able to assemble with things I already had laying around my house. This would be extremely easy to adapt to any holiday by using different colors and papers.

First we'll start with the pinwheels. To make these, you'll need the following.

- Square of colored or patterned paper (I used 4x4)

- Pencil

- Thumbtack

- Glue (a hot glue gun works best)

- Spray Paint *optional* 

To start, because I was using plain yellow pencils I had laying around the house, I started by having my husband spray paint them red and blue.

Next comes the pinwheel. Start with a square of paper. I find that 4x4 paper is the best size to be proportionate with traditional pencils. As a tip, if you start with 12x12 scrapbook paper, you can just divide into quarters.

Next fold the paper diagonally to make a triangle. Unfold and fold to opposite corners diagonally. Unfold again.

Now cut halfway up each fold. as shown below.

Once you finish cutting each fold, you should be left with 4 "flaps" of paper.

Place a dob of glue in the center. I use a hot glue gun for quick drying and hold. Fold the left hand corner of each flap into the center of the paper - the corner should stick in the glue.

Continue around the square, folding in each corner until your pinwheel is formed.

When you're all done, you'll be left with your pinwheel top.  

Take a thumbtack and push through the center of the pinwheel. Push the tack into the center of the pencil's eraser. 

Viloa! Your pinwheel is done! This is extremely easy to replicate with all different colors and patterns of paper to jazz up any holiday. I have also strung the pinwheel tops on ribbon to make ornaments or garland.

In this case however, I wanted to make a table centerpice. Since we're having a picnic BBQ, I selected simple mason jars. I also wanted to get my nephew, visiting from Florida and his friend involved, so we made one of our other favorite crafts to dress up the jars - colored salt.

Remember the color sand jar crafts at the fair? This is my low cost replica. This is an excellent and cheap way to keep the kids entertained year round. 

Start with plain white table salt. Pour into ziploc bags - one bag for each color you want to make. In this case, I wanted red, white and blue "sand" so I started with 2 bags (no need to color the white salt!) To each bag add a few drops of your desired color of food coloring. A little goes a long way - I promise - so don't add too much or you'll end up with chunks of coloring. Now is a great time to get the kids involved - work the food coloring throughout the salt in the bag until your color is mixed in. If the salt isn't as dark as you'd like, add another drop or 2 of coloring and work into the salt.

Once complete, pour into bowls (for ease of handling) and have the kids scoop layers of "sand" into   the jars to make a "sand art" effect. My nephew and his friend loved this part! 

Once you're all done, place pinwheels in the "sand' jar. 

These should be a big hit at our 4th of July party. Not only will we use for a centerpiece, but each kid at the party will get to take home their own pinwheel.

Happy Crafting!