Man oh man… the 4th is around the corner and it’s time to pull out our flag decor and the cutest light-up flag that goes on the old wagon out in our front yard. However, the dining room table needed a little more and I had just the thing in mind.  You know those old tins that you use for cookies, storing things in and at some point in time were pretty popular?  I happen to have several that I either use for storing small items or just sit in the very back of my cupboards.  I was wanting to work on a little 4th of July centerpiece DIY and my Uncle Ben rice tin fit the bill.

Gathered up supplies like two different spray paint colors (tan & red), acrylic paint (navy & white), mini wood stars, hot glue gun, antique medium, and fillers (more on this below)!

For now, take a look at Uncle Sam’s top hat!  Or my version of a celebratory 4th of July table centerpiece!

Wanna make your own cute and festive dining room table centerpiece for the 4th of July?  DIY steps below!

4th of July Centerpiece DIY

Gather your old tin.  This one is 13″ tall and 8″ around.  When I started to think of what I could use as a centerpiece container, I thought of Uncle Sam’s hat and started looking in my store room for the perfect item to use.  There was my tin collection and the Uncle Ben one was the perfect size. 

What to do:

• Wipe off tin and spray paint entire tin with a tan/cream color
• When completely dry, mark off areas for the red stripes using painters tape & paint.
• Remove tape and paint a dark navy trim on the bottom of the tin.  (1.5″ wide)

• While navy trim is drying, paint the small wood stars in white then antique with medium

• Using hot glue gun, add the stars on the navy trim area

• Rub some antique medium all over the entire tin to age it!

Aged and imperfectly perfect, it’s time to gather some fillers.  

What I used:

• Wood patriotic picks
• patriotic spray
• shredded paper filler
• floral foam 
• small flags
• “America Land that I love” banner (printed on my printer)

Other fillers, like the “America Land that I love” are printables that I previously posted and you can download HERE!

Putting it together

Place some empty bags inside to fill and then add the floral foam piece, placing it in the center.  Add the picks and fill to the top with the shredded paper.  That’s it!  You have a super cute centerpiece for the 4th!

Add a hat brim by spray painting a matching round piece of cardboard, or using a plate like I did.

Project cost: $7 ($2.99 for the small wooden hearts & $4 for the patriotic spray) I had all the other supplies.

More photos:

What do you think?  Uncle Sam’s hat worthy?  Hope you like my clever use of an old tin for this cute centerpiece.  We’re now ready for hot dogs, apple pie & an ice cold coke!

Happy 4th my friends ❤︎