DIY: Fourth of July Paper Sparklers

Fourth of July is just around the corner and what better way to celebrate than with homemade paper sparklers everyone can love to hold during the fireworks, from babies to adults.

Supplies:

Festive straw (like these striped ones here)

Wooden skewers

Vellum Paper in red, white and blue colors

Scotch tape

Scissors

Cut a piece of paper about 4 inches by 3 inches. Make very small fringe cuts almost all the way through as shown above, leaving about 1/2 at the top uncut.

Starting at one end of the uncut section, carefully roll the paper up as tight as possible (you’ll want that end to fit into the end of a straw so make sure it’s a  super tight roll!)

Stick it into the end of the straw. In all three I made with the dimensions I gave it fit perfectly, nice and tightly into the straw but you may need to snip off an inch or so at the end of your roll to make it work. You shouldn’t need any tape but you can always add a small piece around the top where it meets the straw for added sturdiness.

Festive straws look great but they aren’t very sturdy. Here we cut down a skewer to about the same size (just not larger) of the straw and inserted it into the middle of the straw to add structure to the inside. Use a small piece of tape at the end to keep it inside.

Bend the paper a little bit to give the sparklers a little poofing up

Enjoy! Have a happy and safe Fourth of July!