Confetti Launcher
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Fireworks happen only after dark, but this craft creates a pop of color any time of day. Kids pull back on the string to release a shower of tissue paper confetti, then gather it up and refill the launcher again … and again … and again.
What you'll need
- Craft knife
- 2-inch-wide cardboard mailing tube, cut to 9 inches
- Red or blue electrical tape
- Hammer
- Nail
- Rubber band
- 2 toothpicks
- 2 (15-inch-long) pieces of string
- 5/16-inch metal nut
- Plastic from a recycled container, cut into a disk slightly smaller than the tube and with two holes punched in the center, about 1/4 inch apart
- Red or blue star stickers
- Red, white, and blue tissue paper, cut into small squares of confetti
How to make it
Using a craft knife, trim 1 inch off the tube (a parent's job). Cut a 1/2-inch section out of this piece with scissors.
Insert the piece into the tube, about 1 inch from the top, and secure it with electrical tape.
Measure down 1-1/2 inches from the same end of the tube and make a hole with the hammer and nail. Rotate the nail to enlarge the hole. Make a second hole on the opposite side.
Push the rubber band halfway through one of the holes. Insert a toothpick through the outer rubber band loop, then secure it with electrical tape as shown. Tie both strings to the nut. Thread the rubber band through the nut, then push the rubber band through the second hole. Secure it with a toothpick and tape.
Thread the disk onto one string until it's 6 inches from the nut, then knot the string and trim any excess. Pull the other string out the bottom of the tube and knot it. The assembled launcher will look like the diagram. Decorate the tube with electrical tape and star stickers.
To load the launcher, rest the disk on top of the inner cardboard ring and fill this end of the tube with confetti. To launch, have your child hold the launcher firmly, pull the bottom string, then quickly release it. The nut will hit the plastic, sending the confetti sky-high and making a popping sound.
