Firecraker Designs by Pamela- GDT

Hi friends,
I'm so excited to have been asked to be a Digi Guest Designer for July for Firecracker Designs by Pamela! Today, I'm sharing two fun projects geared for the kiddos at our 4th of July get-together. My SIL asked if I would do an arts & crafts hour for the kiddos. I said "Yes!" cuz they were thinking of getting a clown- I don't think so :( So Auntie Karli needed to come up with inexpensive, yet fun activities for them & I thought Pamela's digi would be PERFECT!
For both projects, I used the Grand Old Flag Digi stamp:

Here are both projects: 1) a Wishcaster Wand  2) a twirly bird aka- Helicopter

I've created mini-tuts in case you'd like to make some with your kiddos.

The first project: Wishcaster Wand

 You'll need:
a skewer
markers or crayons
star punches
cardstock (fit 2 stars on an 8 1/2 x 11 CS)
paint
adhesives
Transparency (optional)

First, paint the skewer any color you'd like. Put it aside to dry.
Color 2 Grand ol' Flag digi stamps & cut them out.

 I added crystal laquer to the red stripes so they would be shiny :) (Our kiddos will use modge podge once they're done making it)

Add strong adhesive (scor-tape) to secure the skewer & to hold the strips your stars will be on.

Add your dangly strips. I cut old transparency sheets (we don't use at school anymore) in different lengths, so that it looked like the stars were floating in the air. You could also use ribbon scraps, paper strips, yarn- anything you'd like.

Add a "wish cloud" - aka cotton ball ;) to the center to make it puffy & to add a special wish. Puff the cloud out but it shouldn't be too puffy that it makes it hard to seal the star.

Add strong adhesive to the edges & seal with the second star. You're done! I also added the sentiment that also comes with the digi stamp with foam dots.

Second project: Twirly birds aka Helicopters

You'll need:
the template (yes, I've included it for your downloading pleasure!)
a paper clip
colors

You'll need 2 much smaller stars. Print them out on copy paper (or CS if you'd like.) Color & cut out.
Cut out template -print on copy paper ( I put 3 templates on 1 sheet)
 All the solid lines are cut lines, the dashed lines are fold lines.
(Please ignore this line- scissors are pointing to it- I just couldn't get rid of it for some reason :( but you don't need to do anything with it.

To begin, cut on the long solid line:

Cut the 2 small solid lines along the sides: snip, snip

Fold one of the long strips back & fold the other strip forward.

Fold down one of the side tabs:

Now fold the other side tab on top of the first one to overlap:

You'll have a little end tab to fold down:

Now simply add a paper clip to serve as a weight to that tab:

Add your little stars to the paper clip (one on each side) & let them drop!

They can also decorate the paper itself before assembly. You may want to try larger paper clips, adding multiple paper clips to see how it affects the helicopter.

Now you can take the time to teach a mini lesson on the basic principles of physics & aerodynamics to the kiddos! ... or you can just have fun watching the helicopters twirl to the ground :) Hee! Hee! BTW, this project is one we teach to our 2nd graders in our study of Balance & Motion so if you DO want this lesson I can give it... no??? Oh, OK ;)

The great thing about Digis is that you can size them to whatever you want as I did for my projects. To get the Grand Ol' Flag digi (and lots more) visit Firecracker Designs by Pamela---> HERE. You may also want to visit her blog---> HERE, cuz she posts contests & FREE digis too :) and you should definitely check out what happens on Wednesdays... I'm just sayin'....

I'll be sharing more projects featuring more of FCD Digi images throughout this month!
I hope you like these two very simple projects & you give them a try- the kiddos will enjoy them ;)

To my US friends- have a safe & fun 4th of July and to my friends everywhere else...
Thanks for peeking!




Here's the twirly bird/ Helicopter template. Enjoy!
Helicopters