Miniature Uncle Sam Hats - pg. 2
by Amanda Formaro
NOTE: If you missed the first page of this craft, use the "previous page" button at the bottom of the instructions or click here to start from the beginning.
Now that your supplies are at the ready and your work surface has been prepared, let's begin!
What You Do
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
Editor's Note: The temperature and instructions in this craft are based off of a dark coated cookie sheet at 250 degrees F in an electric oven. You may want to experiment with different temps until you receive satisfactory results. We recommend baking one or two cups at the recommended temperature and time first. If they seem to melt too quickly or the ends curl up and under, try reducing the temperature and trying again.
Place foam cups upside down (open end of cup down) on a dark coated cookie sheet, placing them about 1-2" apart. Note: we experimented with both dark coated and silver cookie sheets, the cups did not melt properly on the silver sheets.
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Bake in the oven for approximately 3 minutes, don't walk away! It will take about one minute before you see any changes to the cups, then the heat will begin to melt and shrink them rather rapidly after that. It's lots of fun for the kids to watch, so be sure to turn the oven light on. To get the brims to curl up, simply leave them in a little longer and watch closely. You can bend the brims up right after removing from the oven, but you must work quickly because they cool fast and will harden.
Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and set aside to cool completely. If you want the flat brims, DO NOT try to remove the cups from the cookie sheet until they are completely cooled. As they cool, the foam that is stuck to the sheet will relax and release its grip from the sheet, allowing you to remove them easily. Most cups will melt rather well, thought you may end up with one or two that look rather distorted or disfigured.
Paint the brims and the top of the hats red. Paint red stripes down the hat from the top, stopping about 2/3 of the way down to allow room for the blue band.
When red paint is dry, paint the band of the hat blue and let dry.
Paint white stars on to the blue band.
Alow to dry completely and display on your Independence Day party table, or you can glue a magnet to the bottom of the drim and attach to your refrigerator.
Return to the first page to see the completed craft.
About the Author:
Amanda Formaro is the entrepreneurial mother of four children. She is the Chief Editor of FamilyCorner.com Magazine. Visit her blog by clicking here. Subscribe to her free newsletter by clicking "sign up" below.
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