The 4th of July is almost here & I needed a new centerpiece to celebrate.  I wanted to use what I had on hand to make it, so I started with 3 Pringles Cans.  These were the basic pieces for my centerpiece.

Here’s how I made it.

I started with 3 empty Pringles cans.  After the boys had finished all of the chips, I washed out the insides & dried them well.  Since I wanted them to be staggered in height, I measured 2″ from the top on one & 4″ on another one.  I cut on the opened section to keep the metal bottom in tack.

   

I actually used a hand held miter saw & scissors to cut them, but if your hand is steadier than mine, you could use a razor.

Next, I covered the cans with white contact paper.  (I lined up the metal end closely to the edge of the paper & cut the contact paper about an inch longer than the can.)  Once they were covered, I slit the paper about every inch & tucked them into the opening.

   

To make the cans with the red stripes, I added some painter’s tape at an angle.

I used a kitchen sponge cut into about 1 inch wide strips.  Then I dipped the small end of the sponge into some red paint.  Might I suggest using rubber gloves?  Sponge painting is messy.  It was easier for me to inset my hand into the can & add the paint to the cans.  That way, I didn’t have to touch it to turn it.  and putting it down to dry was easier too.

   

Set it aside to dry.  Once it was dry to the touch, I removed the painter’s tape.  Stripes made!

         

For the blue one, I added some star stickers to the white contact paper.  Then I used another piece of the sponge to paint the can with ‘Liberty Blue’.  I thought that was fitting for the holiday.  ahem…  Once the paint had dried to the touch, I used a pin to lift the edges of the stickers up, and then just peeled them off.

   

I wanted to mark the center of the metal end of the Pringles can.  An easy way to find the center is to draw around the can onto a piece of paper.  Cut the circle out, fold it in quarters & clip off the corner.  Open it back up & the hole is made in the center.

   

Then I just set the paper circle on the metal end of the can & marked it with a black Sharpie.  Then I used a hammer & nail to make the hole.  (You can wiggle the nail around to make the hole larger if needed)

   

I took the last of my Dollar Tree decoration apart.  I separated it into 3 sections & taped the long strands to the metal stems of the star sprays.  This way I made 3 smaller sprays.

   

Then I pushed the sprays into the hole in the can.  Once the sprays were in the hole I used some hot glue on the inside to secure it.

   

To turn these Pringles can firecrackers into a centerpiece, I cut a piece of red & white fabric to fit a small white tray.  To just put the firecrackers on the tray wasn’t much of a centerpiece.  It needed more & some more sparkle!

I painted some wooden stars & letters using the same red & blue paint that I used for the firecrackers.  But I made sure that the letters weren’t going to be the same color as the stars.  Once they were dried, I glued the letters to the stars.  Then I glued the stars onto a large wooden stick that I’d painted white.  (basically a tongue depressor)  Once the glue had dried, I added some Mod Podge & some crystal glitter.

   

Then I took a larger wooden star & heart and used some painters tape to mark off a section to resemble the blue on a flag.  I painted the area in with the liberty blue.

   

I removed the tape, then added some red stripes, some tiny star stickers & I wrote in some sayings.  I used two of my favorite sayings – “God Bless America” & “United We Stand”.

        

Putting it all together.  I set the star letters in front of the firecrackers.  I added my glittered Uncle Sam to the side of the firecrackers.  I used double sided tape to attach the heart & star to the front of the tray.  But, something was still missing.

          It needed the national bird!  That’s when it seemed to all come together.

I can’t wait to put this in the center of my tablescape!

Happy Creating everyone!

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