This American flag collage pays tribute to our country and to all the people who have sacrificed so much to give us the freedoms we have. It’s a wonderful kid craft to help celebrate the Fourth of July or Memorial Day.

Is our country perfect? Of course not. We have many flaws, but we have so many people, things and foundations to celebrate. While working toward the changes our country needs, we also must take the time and effort to honor and pay tribute to all of the successes and all the beauty that comes from this great nation.

Using old magazines, you too can create this beautiful work of art. Kids of all ages can contribute to this family project. If you want another idea to do with small kids, why not try my American flag craft with dot paint?

Materials Needed to Make American Flag Collage

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Old Magazines that You Don’t Mind Cutting Up
Kid Scissors or Adults Scissors (depending on the age)
Poster Board
Blue Stock Paper or Blue Construction Paper
Glue Sticks
Star Paper Punch
White Paper 18″ Long

How to Make American Flag Collage

First, look through some old magazines and cut out any picture that has red, white or blue. This might take some time, so it could be a project you do in bits for a week leading up to the Fourth. I definitely helped cut out images.

This next part is up to mommy, unless you have older kids. Cut out a piece of tag board measuring 18″ x 13″. Next, draw one inch thick stripes on the tag board. Out of blue construction or stock paper, cut out a square that measured 8″ x 7″. Also, cut out a piece of white paper measuring 18″ x 6″. The blue paper is just sitting on top here. Don’t glue it down yet. While I said this was up to mommy, I do believe kids can learn and help measure, draw lines and cut, so let’s just call it a group effort.

The next step is to start making the collage. Fill the blue square with all the blue images you cut from the magazines. Trim the edges to keep it a nice square.

Next, glue all of your red images down on the tag board on the space drawn out for the red stripes. The images will flow over the edges, and that is OK. Above gives a good idea of what to expect it to look like at this stage. The white stripes will end up covering the overspill of red.

You will then create the white collage on the 18″ x 6″ paper. Once your images are all glued down, cut this piece of paper into six strips 18″ x 1″ long. These strips will be glued down between the red stripes on the tag board.

The final step is the stars. I had this little star punch, so we just punched out 50 white stars to glue down to the blue collage square. However, another easy solution is to buy those shiny star stickers. Glue the blue square onto the tag board flag, and you are done. It looks like a real piece of art.

Note: This post was originally written in April of 2102. It was updated and republished in June of 2018.

Want More Fourth of July Craft Ideas?

American Flag with Dot Paints

American Flag Crêpe Paper Craft