4th of July Fireworks Straw Painting

In the past we have used squish balls to create firework effects, which is always fun, but those can really smoosh up the paint and the effect can be lost. 

Since we have a TON of straws, I was intrigued to try the straw stamping technique.

I had run across the image below of the children's parade, and thought the two would make an interesting craft marriage.

I really wanted to use this image from artist Rose Santuci-Sofranko, but it has a copyright and is not for sale as a SVG. I find it darling, though, and prints are available at Fine Art America.
 

So, I went with this free SVG image from Art by Annel.

 

It was a simple download, add, and print on plain paper, although cardstock would hold up better to the paint and would dry more flat. I didn't consider this to be a portfolio piece, just a quick holiday craft, so we used the cheap paper. 

I gathered up a bunch of bendy straws and bound them with rubber bands right below the bends. Then I pounced the ends on a hard surface to even them up. I cut one set about a 1/2 inch shorter than the other to lend some added dimension to the art work. 

I bent the straws out. The children can do this. I made sure the straws were relatively splayed out around in a circle, manipulating them around just a bit if there was an obvious gap. 

I asked which one they wanted long and which one short, then provided palettes of blue and red paint. They learned that they needed to rotate the straws in a circular pattern both in the paint and on the paper to achieve the starburst effect.

The children really like this activity and were very pleased with the results.

Tags: 4th of July, Independence Day, craft, Veteran's Day, Memorial Day, President's Day, paint, painting, stamping, straw, straws, preschool, toddler, art, daycare, child, care, kindergarten, pre-k, child, kid, kid's, homeschool, USA, U.S.A.