June 21, 2023

Patriotic Fun: Coffee Filter Bunting {Tutorial}

One day, while trying to nap with Soren, my mind was wandering about, and for some odd reason, I was thinking "what can I do with the 200 coffee filters that are clogging up my art cabinet?"  Sheesh, no wonder I have such sleep issues lately--aren't there bigger things to worry about?

Anyway, because our most recent coffee maker uses a cone filter, I have tons of the round ones hanging about, and my A-ha! moment came when the idea of a bunting for the 4th of July popped into my head.
In my pathetic excitement, I skipped the nap and headed downstairs to get materials to make my idea come to life.  Here's what you'll need:
 round coffee filters | red and blue paints, brushes and water | scissors | glue stick | ribbon, yarn or string | newspaper to protect your table

STEP ONE
Lay out your filters flat (it helps to put a bunch under a book for a few hours prior to crafting) and paint some areas blue, leaving plenty of white space (both for the red and white).  Kids will love decorating these, and they can meander away from the bulls eye pattern I used.
S wasn't too keen on navy blue, so I got him a different shade.  Whatever floats your kids' boats, or your own for that matter.
STEP TWO
Add the red.  I alternated the designs, making the bulls' eye blue on some with red borders, and vice versa.
Ta da! They look great, even just spread out on cardboard.
STEP THREE
Once dry, get your glue stick and your length of string ready.  I recommend making it a few feet longer than the total number of your filters times the width of them.  You can always discreetly tie more on if you need to.
Fold your filters in half, and set them aside in a pile.
Starting with the first one, put some glue in the center and all over half of the filter, then lay the string in the middle, making sure to leave around 12" of string at one end, for hanging.
Fold it over, then add your next filter in the same way.
Keep adding filters until you run out.  Super easy, so much so that you can let your kids do it.

Once you've finished, display your bunting wherever you'd like to create a cheap, festive decoration for the upcoming July 4th holiday.
Enjoy and have fun!

12 comments:

  1. Love it! Wonder if it would work with triangle filters...

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  2. Nice work... Perhaps little circles are also good to use.

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  3. This looks really great!!! What a wonderful idea!

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  4. Such a fun project!! I will be featuring it later today!

    Thanks for sharing!

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  5. While some mamas are nesting, you're apparently crafting! :) Best wishes to you in these exciting next couple of weeks!

    Sarah

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  6. This is BRILLIANT! What kind of paint did you use? It looks like you had watercolors???

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  7. LOVE this! I'm wondering what kind of paint you used, too. I'm going to share this post on my crafty facebook page : )
    Jaimee @ craft-interrupted.blogspot.com

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  8. Wow what a great idea, thanks for sharing.

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  9. Cute idea! I never thought of using coffee filters to make these. Very creative!

    http://btanders.blogspot.com

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  10. Very cute idea! Thanks for sharing, my boys will love to try this!

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  11. I love ideas of things I can do overseas where Americana is not so easy to find!

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  12. I love the way you displayed it! Such a cute, new way to use coffee filters for a kid craft!

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