Celebrate the 4th of July with this glitter fireworks craft! This bright and sparkly kids activity is the perfect way to mark Independence Day or New Year’s Eve — and it’s SO EASY to make!
This textured firework art is shimmering and beautiful, just like real fireworks! Use white glue to draw bursts of fireworks across the paper and then sprinkle them with colourful glitter. It’s so much fun!
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How to Make Glitter Fireworks
Materials:
- Black cardstock
- White glue
- Glitter (multiple colours)
Equipment:
- Baking sheet (or shallow cardboard box)
Watch the step-by-step video tutorial:
Instructions:
Step 1: Find what you need
- Gather your supplies and materials.
Step 2: “Draw” glue fireworks on the paper
- Set a piece of black cardstock on a baking tray or something else to help contain the glitter.Read below for more tips about keeping the glitter mess to a minimum!
- Start by making a small dot where you’d like the center of the firework to be.Then draw long, curved lines going away from it.
- Draw some smaller, curved lines in-between the longer lines.
- Repeat, filling your page with as many fireworks as will fit – or as many as you’d like.
Step 3: Sprinkle on the glitter
- Sprinkle glitter generously onto your first firework. Make sure that all the glue is covered.
- Repeat, adding different colours to each firework.You can even add multiple colours of glitter to one firework if you’d like.
Step 4: Shake off the excess glitter
- Pick the paper up and tip it to remove the excess glitter.
- You can also flip the paper upside-down and gently shake and tap it to get rid of the extra glitter.(If you do this right away there’s less chance of the glitter colours combining.)
- Your glitter fireworks craft is complete!
Helpful Tips:
- Make red, white (silver), and blue fireworks for the 4th of July or Memorial Day, or create fireworks art using many bright colours of glitter for any fireworks holiday!
- Use a damp paper towel to help you clean your tray and/or working surface.
- Check out our salt painted fireworks post for step by step instructions on how to draw the other style of fireworks you see here.
What type of glitter is best for making glitter fireworks?
We used medium sized glitter from the dollar store to make our fireworks art. We really liked how the medium glitter makes it look like sparks!
Extra fine glitter also works really well and covers the glue more easily. It looks amazing, but gives the fireworks more of a sandy texture. So it’s really a personal preference of which look you prefer.
You can also try using chunky glitter or shaped glitter, but I suspect it wouldn’t cover the glue as nicely.
How messy are glitter fireworks?
Let’s face it — any craft with glitter is going to be a bit messy. It tends to gets everywhere. But there are definitely ways to minimize that mess!
- Do this craft outside. If you’re making this craft on a warm, non-windy day, bring the glitter outside! Make sure you tape down your paper first, just in case a small gust of wind comes.
- Cover your working surface with a plastic tablecloth or covering that you don’t mind getting dirty. Then you can shake it off over the garbage.
- Use a shallow cardboard box. As long as the box is short enough for little arms to reach over, it’s a great way to keep most of the glitter in one place.
- Use a baking sheet like we do. You can even tape your tray to the table or use sticky tack to keep it in place.
What paper is best for making glitter fireworks?
We used black cardstock to make our glitter fireworks and we definitely recommend it. The black paper looks just like the night sky!
We like to use a thicker paper, like cardstock or watercolor paper. Even cardstock can warp a little bit if you use a lot of glue. Construction paper will work, but it will definitely warp a bit and look wavy from all the wet glue.
Can I save the extra glitter from this firework craft?
Yes! We’re all about re-using craft supplies whenever possible, and these glitter fireworks require you to sprinkle a lot more glitter than you actually need.
Use a spoon or a paintbrush to gather all the excess glitter together in one spot of the tray. Then pour it into a bowl, or use a funnel to collect the glitter in a jar or container. The multi-coloured glitter looks great, and you can use it later for another fun craft!
If you want to put individual colours of glitter back into their original containers, it’s a time consuming process, but you can do it. Simply “draw” one firework at a time with the glue and sprinkle the single colour on.
Then shake off the excess glitter, transfer it back into the jar, and clean off your tray before using your next colour. We didn’t feel like it was worth the effort (especially since the mixed glitter looks great!), but it is possible.
We think fireworks and glitter make a perfect combination! Use simple dollar store supplies to make these bright and bold glitter fireworks. It’s such a fun kids activity for the 4th of July, Memorial Day, Canada Day, New Year’s Eve, Bonfire Night, or any other fireworks holiday!
Here’s even more fireworks craft ideas:
Our book Low-Mess Crafts for Kids is loaded with 72 fun and simple craft ideas for kids! The projects are fun, easy and most importantly low-mess, so the clean up is simple!
Where to buy:
You can purchase Low-Mess Crafts for Kids from Amazon, or wherever books are sold:
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Books-A-Million | Indiebound | Amazon Canada
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