4th of July Coffee Filter Fireworks Pom Poms

Summer is the perfect time to try new crafts, especially on rainy afternoons. If you are in search of an easy and entertaining craft that results in a cute 4th of July decoration this is your project. I expected my girls to decorate maybe 10 coffee filters before moving on, but nearly two hours later we decorated more than 50 filters. And my six-year-old would have kept going if wasn’t time for dinner.

This is a sponsored post. 

So what did we make?

4th of July Coffee Filter Fireworks Pom Poms

Cute, right?

And easy enough my toddler loved joining in the fun.

One of the great things about this project is that it is made with ordinary household items. Even if we don’t actually use coffee filters any more — thanks to single-serve brewers, some people still have them on hand, right? And for the rest of us, a quick trip to Target yielded 100 filters for $.99. You’ve gotta love a craft inspired by coffee!

Materials:

• Coffee Filters
• Food Coloring / Markers / Water Colors
• Paper / Plastic Straw
• Tape

There are many ways to paint coffee filters. We started with food coloring in water. It worked great, and was perfect for Sissy. She loved painting (soaking) the coffee filters. But the colors were a bit more subdued than I wanted. (Hint if you go this route, mix the food coloring with just a little water.)

Then I remembered the dried up markers I had been saving for a science experiment on wicking. (Because yes, I am that mom who saves completely dried out markers — I save everything!) Using a pair of pliers, I removed the inner core of the markers and added it to the colored water. The result was much more vibrant and exactly what I was looking for. Not to mention that K was fascinated by the dissected marker!

If you don’t have markers to dissect, the alternate is to decorate with markers and then spray the coffee filters with water to let the colors bleed. Or just use watercolors. Lots of options!

Whatever you do, prepare for a mess. We decorated our coffee filters outside on a glass table, so everything wiped down cleanly. Anywhere else, I would lay down a thick layer of newspapers.

In addition to paintbrushes, we also used baby syringes to squirt the dye and dipped the filters into the water. We tried many different methods, K loved to watch the colors bleed and change. It was very cool.

Lay your coffee filters out to dry and admire.

After the filters are dry, fold the coffee filter in eighths. Make two cuts in the folded coffee filter about 3/4 of the way up. Then cut up each of the folds to about the same height. Unfold the filter, and you will have fringed edges.

Next gather the center of three filters and tape them around the top of a straw.

Fluff the fringed filters and you have hand-held fireworks.

Not only are they a cute decoration in a jar on the table, but they are perfect for little hands to cheer on the fireworks.

And if your kids enjoy dying the coffee filters as much as mine, you will have enough pom-pom fireworks for all of your guests!

International Delight

All of this talk of coffee brings up an important question, “How do you take your coffee?”

Just like a plain white coffee filter, you can make your plain ole’ cup of Joe something special with the sweet flavors of International Delight coffee creamers. Now available in Sugar Free and Fat Free options, there is something for every taste from rich chocolate to toasted hazelnut and even the classic French vanilla. Join International Delight’s Member Delights for a coupon for $.55 off your next International Delight purchase and try something new in your morning routine this summer.

So, what’s your ID flavor?

 

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of International Delight. The opinions and text are all mine.