Firework Tablecloth
I can't tell you to do this project. It's crazy messy, not entirely kid-friendly, and it takes an eternity to dry. But I had the idea for this project and I became obsessed when it started not working the way I envisioned. Then it turned out cool. And maybe you are as crazy as I am?
I started with water based paint, water balloons, and a gang of willing kids to throw balloons at a tablecloth. But it didn't work.
So I tried a tennis ball dipped in paint.
And food coloring.
Finally, I broke down and bought oil paint. I did not want to use oil paint because I did not want my children anywhere near oil paint. And if I don't, I'm sure you don't either. After doing this project so many times with every other kind of paint, I knew it would get messy. And it did. My hands looked awful and it took forever to wash off.
But I finally got it to look the way I wanted and it's incredibly therapeutic to throw water balloons at a hard surface.
If you want to take the leap and create your own Firework Tablecloth for the Fourth of July, here's how to do it.
You'll need
1 white tablecloth
water balloons
water balloon filler
oil paint
plastic syringe {available at the drug store}
Step 1 :: Fill water balloons with ½ teaspoon paint and top off with water.
Step 2 :: Set tablecloth on a hard surface outside.
Step 3 :: Throw water balloons at the tablecloth until it looks the way you like.
Step 4 :: Let dry {takes about 72 hours}
This project is a part of
, a collaboration between Alexandra Hedin,
,
, and
to bring you fabulous summer projects for the whole family for the whole summer.
We took pictures of the first failed attempt, click through the jump to see them. It was really fun.
