DIY – Rockets Red Glare; Bombs Bursting in Air
I love to decorate for every holiday in small, simple ways. Decorations can act as reminders to slow down and celebrate — I feel this really brings out the meaning of each holiday.
The 4th of July is all about being outside, enjoying summer and, of course, beautiful fireworks. They say here in Seattle that summer starts the day after the 4th of July. But this year, summer has been lovely and the forecast is for a very warm and sunny 4th. I’m excited to really get outdoors and celebrate the way most of the country does.
I thought our front porch needed to have some Independence Day Americana décor. I came up with the idea of having DIY rockets shooting out of planter pots as well as faux firecrackers (made out of wine corks) lying around. These really are simple projects you can do quickly before the weekend and then save for years to come.
I like to use items I have around the house or repurpose simple objects from a hardware store or office supply store. These projects won’t cost much and they’ll bring extra festive cheer for the holiday.
Here are some step by step photos for building your own rocket, find the full directions below.
- 1 dowel
- 1 mailing tube
- 1 sheet blue poster board
- Red spray paint
- Twine wrapped floral wire or plain twine
- Duct tape
- Craft glue
- Stapler
- Drill
- Start by cutting the mailing tube in half, so that you have two rocket bodies.
- Remove the plastic end caps, and gently spray paint the tubes.
- Draw a circle on the poster board with a 7 inch radius. Cut the circle out and then cut the circle in half. Form each semi-circle into a cone shape like a party hat, where the paper overlaps glue down, and then with one staple secure it together.
- Once the paint is dry, run a ring of glue around the top of the tube and press the cone top onto the tube. Let sit to dry.
- Take the end cap and drill a hole for the twine or twine/wire to come through for your fuse and drill another hole at the edge for your dowel to go through.
- Place the dowel inside the tube and with the duct tape, secure the dowel to the tube. Put the dowel through the plastic end cap and secure the end cap in place.
- You now have a beautiful festive Rocket.
- Wine corks
- Red Spray Paint
- Twine wrapped floral wire
- Drill
- Wire cutters
- Spray paint the corks on all sides — this might take a few coats to cover the winery lettering on the corks.
- Drill a small hole in the end of the cork and push the floral wire into the hole, cut with wire cutters so that each has a fuse about 1 ½ to 2 inches long.
