Happy Independence Day!
I love this holiday. Summer is full of excitement and happiness, especially when you are a kid. I remember playing in the sprinklers and staying up too late and watching fireworks. I loved the parades and festivals and general all around cheeriness. My Grandma’s birthday is on the 4th of July (she will be 93 this year!), and many years we would go see the fireworks with her. My grandpa would always point to the crowd and say, “look at all these people who came out to celebrate your birthday with you!” I would stare into the crowds and wonder how she knew everyone. I decided that my grandma was pretty old… she must have had time to make a whole lot of friends! 🤣
This year our 4th of July will look very different. I will definitely miss the festivals, but I don’t want to miss this holiday entirely. It’s time to get creative with this fun and simple way to spice up your home with watercolor fireworks!
Supplies
- Heavy Paper- I prefer watercolor paper, but construction paper works just fine. You could even get by with regular printer paper, but it could easily tear with all the wet paint.
- Water Color Paint- Liquid watercolor is pretty magical, and I use it for many projects.It’s kind of expensive, but it works just fine diluted and there are so many fun things you can do with it. Dry watercolor paint works too, just make a little puddle with it on the paper.
- Straws- Any old straw will do, but I recommend disposable so you don’t end up drinking paint residue.
That’s it! Easy peasy.
Procedure
Start with a little puddle of paint. I use the magical method of sticking your straw into the liquid, placing your finger on the top hole, then releasing your finger when your straw is where you want the paint to be. Make a couple of puddles at a time.
Use your straw to blow the paint any direction. You can play with the watercolor and see how it flows. It can be very stubborn and not go where you want. Your kids will have a lot of fun guiding the paint just right, or blowing as hard as they can and create a little paint “explosion.”
If you want to extend this project into an art lesson, use primary colors. See what happens when you blow that yellow paint into a red puddle! So fun.
This project is messy, but magical! It is so fun to watch the kids create with their paints, and the splotches really look like fireworks.
My daughter wanted to add a night sky for her background 🙂 Your older kids could go nuts and make a great cityscape collage, using magazines cut outs or family pictures. Or you can keep it simple. It looks great on its own.
Have a wonderful holiday!
This post contains affiliate links, which means I get a small commission if you purchase something through these links, at no additional cost to you 🙂