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July 5, 2013

The Only Kind of Fireworks I Like -- {CRAFT}

Since the girls were born, I've grumbled about the time change twice a year.  "Daylight Savings Time most definitely was NOT invented by the mother of small children," I post as my Facebook status ahead of springing forward and falling back.

Last night, it dawned on me that fireworks also fall into that category.  Surely no mother in her right mind would have invented that kind of TORTURE with small children in mind.

Sigh.

Fireworks are best seen after dark...which, in the summertime, is long after our girls are in bed.  I've shown the girls videos of fireworks displays, just so they would have some reference point as to WHY they hear war zone sounds outside their windows.

The girls know that fireworks are pretty in the sky, but ask them what fireworks are, and they'll explain, "Fireworks are the sound of people being inconsiderate."  (Hee hee!!!  I love it!!!)

So while it would suit me just fine to never again see fireworks...and surely never, ever to hear them again...I ran across this fun craft on Pinterest and decided to make it with the girls.

I cut several pipe cleaners into short lengths (maybe 3 - 4" long) and then twisted them together to make a "stamp". 



The girls dipped one stamp into red paint and another into blue, to create this layered fireworks effect.


This is, perhaps, the only kind of fireworks display I can appreciate these days...and it did look super-cute hanging in the kitchen on the Fourth of July!

Yesterday afternoon we had our favorite friends over for some holiday play, followed by barbeque and s'mores.

We made a couple of crafts, including these adorable necklaces.


This picture makes it look like the daddies should get all the credit!

We got busy with the rest of our festivities, and I could kick myself for not getting a picture of the kiddos in their necklaces...but here's a shot of one of the finished products.


Thin red ribbon, drinking straws, blue pony beads, and red plastic star beads...viola! 

Despite the booming of the fireworks outside, we managed to have a fun-filled day of red-white-and-blue!

3 comments:

Nicole said...

Love your crafts, Mandy! I did the same pipe cleaner craft on t-shirts instead of paper for the girls. They have loved wearing their artwork throughout the week.

I get the annoyance factor, but you may be surprised at your girls' reaction to fireworks -- especially now that they are older. Now fireworks are one of my girls' favorite things. I rarely hear them as excited all year as they are when they see the fireworks. We watched some of the neighborhood ones and even though they were several houses away, the girls kept shouting, "Thank you neighbors for the pretty fireworks!" It was adorable. Then they went straight to bed afterward, and because they were up later than normal, they slept all night despite the lingering boom sounds. Totally worth it to me.

Charlene Juliani said...

They both came out great! I'll have to remember the firework one for next year. Not sure if my boys will get into the necklace thing now that they are a bit older, but who knows.

Unknown said...

Very cute crafts! Love 'em!

We've had a lot of fireworks going ff around here lately too but thankfully with the AC on and windows closed up, it hasn't seemed to keep the kids up. Our dog has been on edge though. We did take the kids to see the real fireworks 2x this week and they loved them. We'd gone before but this was the first year no one freaked out about the noise!