Although the directions are given for Uncle Sam dressed in a blue jacket, striped pants and wearing his striped top hat for the upcoming Independence Day celebration in the United States the colors can be changed and It can be any one in a tall hat. This can also be used as a treasure hiding place or special gift wrap when you use empty canisters.

The party favors are additional top hats. The party favors can be empty cans or unopened canisters can be decorated and the original contents used as the favor or part of the meal for a party. Pringle is the brand name of potato crisps come packaged in two sizes of cardboard cylinders. You can substitute with any cardboard tube that measures 10" tall for decoration and 4" tall for the hat.

Materials:

1 1.8 ounce. Pringle can for centerpiece and one additional for each party favor
1 7 ounce. Pringle can for centerpiece only
Poster board cut as follows:
1 5" circle for hat brim
2 4" X 5" for arms and
1 4" X 5" for foot piece
Flesh colored black, white, red and blue paint, pencils or crayons**
Paint brush
Tacky glue and craft stick
Black Sharpie pen
Cotton batting or cotton balls for hair, mustache & beard 1/2" wide masking tape 10" length of ribbon 3/8" wide for hat band (can be red, white, blue or striped or with stars) Scissors Pencil to trace pattern pieces Paper plate for palette **Everywhere we say paint you may use crayons or colored pencils in place of the paint if you like.

Feet

Instructions:

Base coat the Pringle canisters with white paint and allow to dry thoroughly (it may take two or three coats of white paint to keep the label from showing through). On the smaller can place strips of 1/2" wide masking tape from top to bottom leaving a 1/2" space between strips all the way around the can. With the red paint in the open spaces. When you finished painting very carefully peel off the strips of masking tape being careful not to smudge your paint and set aside to dry.

Using the pattern pieces cut out two arm shapes and one foot piece. Paint the foot piece black on top and let it dry. When dry paint the bottom and be sure the edge is painted. Set aside to dry again. With flesh color paint the hand part of the arm, then paint the rest of the arm blue. Again you need to paint one side, let it dry, then paint the other and let it dry making sure the edges are colored. On your 5" circle paint it blue, top, bottom and edges.

Place a circle of craft glue on the bottom edge of the dry painted hat part. Center that in the middle of the 5" circle making it a hat brim. Glue the ribbon around the base just above the hat brim to make your hat band. This would complete Uncle Sam's Top Hat as a party favor. When adding it to the centerpiece you would spread glue on the top of the large canister lid and center your completed party favor hat on top of his head.

Following the picture paint the top 2 1/2" on the front side of the large canister with flesh colored paint. Paint in blue eyes and add a few black eyelashes with the Sharpie pen. Mix a little red into a dab of white paint to make pink to paint his mouth and two small dots for nostrils. Paint a red bow tie at the neck area and allow all to dry.

Draw the outline of the jacket using the picture as your guide. Paint the jacket blue and allow to dry. With your Sharpie pen draw the detail marks on the bow tie and the jacket (center knot on the tie and lapels and buttons on the jacket). Using the 1/2" masking tape in stripes the same as you did on the hat do the bottom part from the edge of the jacket to the bottom of the canister leaving the 1/2" showing between the strips of tape and paint the white spaces with red paint. Being careful not to smear the paint remove the strips of masking tape and allow to dry thoroughly. With your tacky glue and craft stick spread glue on the bottom edge of the canister and center it on the pre painted foot piece. Position the prepared arms and glue to either side of the canister at the shoulder level arranging the arms the way you like best(option: a small American flag can be glued into one hand by spreading glue on the finger area and folding it back over the flag stick.

With your craft stick and a little glue, glue a thin strip of cotton above each eye to make eyebrows, between the nostril and the mouth to make a mustache and just below the mouth to form chin whiskers. Glue cotton from the top of the canister around the face area and all around the back as his hair (you can make curls by using cotton balls unrolled and glued side by side leaving the ends loose to curl).