Balloon Burst Fireworks

This New Years craft activity was inspired by a project I saw done on Play School a few months ago. On the show they tied string between two chairs, filled balloons with dry tempura paint powder and popped them over glue covered paper to make patterns.
We have a few big cardboard boxes left over from Christmas present packaging so today we cut the sides from one of the boxes, painted them black and used the Play School balloon concept to make some glittery firework art for the wall.

WE USED:

* large sheets of cardboard or paper
(we cut the side from a box)
* black paint or paper
* craft glue
* paintbrush
* glitter/sequins
* balloons
* two chairs
(or somewhere to tie your string)

* string/ribbon/twine/wool
* peg
* needle or similar sharp item for popping balloons

recommended :

* balloon pump for inflating the balloons.

After we had cut our cardboard to size we painted the sheets with black paint to make a 'night sky'.

Then we tied our ribbon to the backs of two chairs to create a tightrope. Make sure you have enough space underneath for your cardboard/paper.
I would definitely recommend doing this activity outside - it's very messy! You could use a drop sheet to make clean up even easier.

Next we filled our balloons with the sequins and glitter. We used four balloons for one artwork but you can use as many as you like. We put one colour of glitter per balloon but mixing the would be a fun option too.
To get the glitter/sequins in to the balloons you could use a funnel, we found the sequins easy to just pour into the top though.

The glitter was also easy to put inside the balloons, we just pushed the dispenser into the top of the balloon and the girls were able to fill them by themselves by turning them upside down and shaking gently.
Once your glitter is inside the balloon you can inflate them and then tie them off.
I would recommend using a balloon pump for this stage, inflating the balloons by mouth with glitter inside could be dangerous and lead to inhalation.

We then covered our black cardboard with craft glue.

The glue covered sheets were positioned underneath the line and we then hung our glitter balloons over the top using some pegs.

One by one the girls popped their balloons to create a glittery fireworks effect. It was beautiful watching the balloons explode and all the shimmery bits rain down, similar to the real thing!

Squeak loved this activity but Bubble (who is sound sensitive) opted to use shakers to make her fireworks rather than popping balloons. She watched that action from a safe distance away instead! :-D

The finished artworks were very pretty.

We hung our decorated cardboard sheets using a bulldog clip and a removable 3M hook. We use this technique a lot as it makes hanging bulky art works really easy.

All the best for 2012, we look forward to sharing more craft and learning fun then! Wishing you all a happy and healthy New Year :-)