Patriotic pinwheels are versatile decor for a 4th of July party—we used them along with star-studded skewers made out of watermelon to decorate a sliced melon, but you can turn them into toppers for a cake, ice cream sundae, or any other dessert, plant them in the ground and line the walkway to your door with them, or pass them out to kids as party favors. They’re also a fun project to D.I.T. (that’s Do It Together) before a get-together or for a summer crafternoon. Download our templates for red, white, and blue paper for Independence Day pinwheels, or make them with any patterned paper you like or even color in yourself. Whatever you do with them, they’ll blow everyone away!

What You Need:

For the Pinwheels

For the Watermelon Star Toppers

  • Star cookie cutters
  • Watermelon
  • Bread knife

Step One: To make the pinwheels, download the Darcy Miller Designs Patriotic Pinwheel Template, print, and cut out.

Step Two: Punch holes where indicated. Thread each of the four holes in the corners of the pinwheel over the brad and then push the brad through the center of the pinwheel.

Step Three: Attach the back of the brad to the skewer by wrapping the two tabs of the brad around the wood.

Step Four: To make the watermelon stars, slice the ends off of a watermelon, then take the end pieces and slice off the rind and white parts, leaving two thin pink slices.

Step Five: Punch stars out of the slices and and stick onto wooden skewers. Place in the body of the watermelon as decor. (You can also stick the star toppers into a cake or place them in drinks.)

photo credits