By Cori of Peace, Baby! Batiks

The Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. I love getting together with friends or family, eating good food, and celebrating our country and its freedoms. And, I absolutely love fireworks. I’ve found lots of fun holiday-themed crafts, and I’ve tried to squeeze a couple of them in during the busy days before July 4th.

These sparkling fireworks and quick and easy and just messy enough to be fun (but not so messy it trashes your house) – who wouldn’t love blowing air at paint through a straw? Our finished products ended up looking less like fireworks than sparkly blobs of red, white, and blue, but we had a good time making them, and they’re still really pretty.

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What you need:
Red, white, and blue paint
Black or blue construction paper
Drinking straws
Glitter

Pour paint into small cups (I use recycled applesauce cups) and water it down so it’s thin and runny. Pour small puddles of each color onto your paper and blow at the puddles with your straw to create arms and streaks of color.

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Before the paint dries, sprinkle glitter on top of your fireworks. Set it aside to dry and try it again!

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There are tons of fun Fourth of July projects out there. Here are a few I’d like to try, if not now, then maybe for Labor Day. J

Craft stick American flags: http://aggiemania.blogspot.com/2010/07/patriotic-craft.html Hand print flags: http://binspiredmama.blogspot.com/2012/05/kids-craft-patriotic-hand-print.html Salt fireworks: http://www.icanteachmychild.com/2011/06/salt-absorbing-fireworks/ Tin can windsocks: http://the-wilson-world.blogspot.com/2011/06/4th-of-july-tin-can-windsocks.html