By Kaila Allen
Are you looking for a quick craft to decorate your table for summer cookouts? This project will help you achieve that and is fun to make for both kids and adults with vision loss. Make several and place them in a vase or bucket as a centerpiece for your table.
Materials
- Tissue paper in red, white and blue
- Wooden dowel or Bamboo skewer
- Glue
- Scissors
Instructions
Step One: Layer one of each color tissue paper on top of each other lining up the edges.
Step Two: Cut all three layers of tissue paper in half, short-ways or hamburger style.
Step Three: Fold one stack (three layers of tissue paper) in half, long-ways or hotdog style.
Step Four: Cut 1-inch strips from the outside edge towards the fold, stopping 1 inch before the folded edge. This will create a fringe.
Step Five: Place your wooden dowel or skewer at the end of your tissue paper with a one inch overlap at the folded side where there were no cuts made. Glue the tissue paper to the dowel or skewer.
Step Six: Roll the dowel or skewer along the folded edge gluing often as the tissue paper rolls around the tip. Ideally, you would like to keep the folded edge lined up as you roll.
Step Seven: Let dry and then place in vase or other container for decoration.
Creative Ways to Display Your Sparklers
Once your sparklers are dry, there are so many fun ways to use them around your home to bring in that festive holiday spirit.
- Festive Centerpieces: Place a bundle of your finished sparklers in a mason jar or a small bucket filled with dried rice, sand, or red, white, and blue beads. This keeps the skewers upright and adds a nice visual and tactile weight to the base.
- Patio and Garden Plant Accents: Pop a few sparklers directly into your outdoor planters or porch flower pots to add a splash of festive color to your entryway.
- Festive Wreaths: Cut the skewers a bit shorter and tuck the sparklers into a foam or grapevine wreath for a unique, textured front door decoration.
- Party Favors: Place one sparkler at each seat on the dinner table, tucked into a napkin ring, as a fun take-home gift for your holiday guests.
Adding More Sensory Magic to Your Craft
Crafting is a wonderful sensory experience and you can easily upgrade these sparklers to engage even more of your senses.
- Add Some Sound: Try wrapping a strip of crinkly cellophane into the tissue paper layers before rolling or tie a small jingle bell to the top of the dowel. When people wave them around or a breeze hits them on the patio, they will make a delightful, festive sound.
- Add a Summer Scent: You can lightly spritz the finished tissue paper with a favorite summer scent like vanilla or strawberry, or use scented glue sticks during the assembly process to add a lovely aromatic layer to the experience.
- Explore Different Textures: Try mixing in metallic foil tissue paper or lightweight crepe paper alongside your standard tissue paper. This gives the fringe a distinct tactile feel and a different weight when handled.
Adapt This Craft for Any Occasion!
Don’t limit the fun to just the summer! Because this project is so adaptable, you can change the colors of the tissue paper to match any celebration throughout the year.
- Halloween: Use black, orange, and purple tissue paper.
- Winter Holidays: Mix red and green or silver and blue.
- Spring and Birthdays: Use bright pastels or the birthday person’s favorite colors.
- Graduations: Use specific school or university colors to celebrate the graduate.
Because the steps for this craft are highly tactile and don’t require intense visual focus, it makes for a wonderful social activity. Gather some friends, family or neighbors for a “Craft & Chat” session where you can create these together while sharing stories and enjoying summer treats.
About the author: Kaila Allen is an Assistive Technology (AT) & Activities Specialist for Future In Sight. She holds many of our free activities for individuals who are blind and visually impaired, including crafting and life coaching. Sign up for activities here.