This original Fourth of July craft was created for Daily Candy Kids. Welcome, Daily Candy readers!

I mourn sparklers. The City of Chicago banned sparklers in 2007 joining most other ousted fireworks.  Yes, I understand that sparklers can be dangerous especially for small children yet my nostalgia for dancing sparks runs deep. What’s a Fourth without them?

In the spirit of all things wavy and shiny here’s a craft for making safer spark-free sparklers personalized for your family’s Fourth of July celebration. And it all starts with an unused pair of wooden chopsticks…

This project can be easily adapted to making fairy and wizard wands, birthday party shakers or pom poms in your school’s colors.

Yankee doodle indeed!

WANNA MAKE IT? Free template, supply list and DIY step-by-step instructions for creating my Sparkless Sparklers for kids for the Fourth of July using chopsticks, ribbon and party garland after the jump –>

Supplies:

• Unused wooden chopsticks – the disposable kind you would break apart if using to eat; alternatively, an unsharpened pencil or a dowel rod
• White 3/4″ electrical tape
• Grosgrain ribbon in various widths (I used 5/8” blue, 3/8” red, 1/4” white and 1/8” tri-stripe royal all by Offray)
• Foil fringe multi-color party garland (mine was 15” x 20 feet at Party City for $6.99)
• Scissors

Please post a comment below if you use this project so I can smile when I see that it’s being used. Craft and pass it on!

Optional supplies to personalize your sparklers:

• 1-1/2” wood letters (comes in packs of 2)
• Colored markers or kid-safe paint
• Strong craft glue like Gorilla Glue

WARNING: This project contains potential choking hazards due to small parts. It is intended for ages 3+ and assumes parental supervision. Please decide if your child is old enough to use scissors; if not, parents should cut all pieces.

1. Cut your sparks.

Cut 10-14 pieces of grosgrain ribbon at varying lengths, snipping 45-degree angles on one end to make them pretty. I used four 8” blue, four 10” red, two 12” white, two 12” tri-stripe and two 8” tri-stripe.

Unroll the foil party garland.

Cut 1-1½ inches of silver, blue and red strips, keeping the connected base intact. Stack them into a pile.

You could substitute anything shiny here – leftover Christmas tinsel, curling giftwrap ribbon. Personally, I like using foil fringe garland because it’s easier and faster to work with and you get a range of colors in one package – red, blue, gold, silver, green and purple – that you could use for fairy and wizard wands or pom pom shakers in your school’s colors.

Be creative! Each child can have their own combination of sparkles and ribbon depending on how shiny or wavy they’d like their sparkler to be.

3. Bundle sparks.

Make two even stacks of ribbons, making sure the ends are even.

Place the foil stack on top of one of the ribbon stacks. The foil base is long so I staggered the pile so that the ribbon started 1/2” below where the fringe begins (or you can cut it but it works fine this way). Place the other ribbon stack on top. Your foil is now in a ribbon sandwich.

3. Attach sparks to your wand.

Unwrap the unused chopstick. Gently slip the ribbon and foil stack between the sticks, making sure to avoid breaking them apart.

Starting at the ribbon end, wrap the electrical tape around the wand.

Wrap the tape around ribbon until secure…

…then go down the stick by overlapping tape a bit on an angle, just like you would change a tennis grip.

Trim the foil pieces to various lengths so they complement rather than overpower the ribbon.

3. Personalize (optional)
Decorate your wooden letter using markers or paint.

Once dry, glue the letter securely to the base and allow to dry completely before using. Happy and safe Fourth of July, everybody!

COPYRIGHT NOTE: You’re more than welcome to use this idea and project instructions for personal use. Contact me for any commercial use – this includes etsy sellers.

Please post a comment below if you use this project so I can smile when I see that it’s being used. Craft and pass it on!

Comments (12)  | Permalink  | By Kathy on 6/28/2010