Do you love fireworks? I have such fond memories of the annual firework displays that used to take place on the stray each November 5th when I was growing up. Cold toes, hot chocolate from the flask and sparklers in gloved hands. I remember looking at the sky in awe at the beautiful bright bursts of colour and them making the fact that I was cold so worthwhile. We loved making these zip tie (cable tie) firework sculptures, just look how beautiful they are and they were super fun to make too.
This is a great activity that was fun for everyone and is mess free and takes no set up at all. It is also great for fine motors skills. Plus they look amazing and as they are plastic you could even hang them up outside as a mobile.
Firework Art with Cable Ties
Materials
- Zip Ties (Cable ties)
- Scissors
- Fishing line (optional to hang your fireworks)
We got our zip ties from EBay and Amazon. You can pick up lots of different sizes and colours really inexpensively. We chose 10cm and 20cm long ties. Even better some of them are fluorescent, so glow with a blacklight making the firework art even more spectacular.
Instructions
We used the white cable ties as our centers for the spokes of the firework to come off and to ensure that it stays circular, you just overlap them and not zip them together.
Use different numbers of white cable ties to make many different sizes of circle. Above we used one cable tie and two cable ties. The photos show two circle sizes using 1 or 2 zip ties. Making different sizes will help in making the whole thing really look like fireworks exploding at different moments. Small circles with short ties make the ones that have just exploded, large ones will look like the ones that have exploded a little earlier and have expanded bigger. It made for a great conversation about perspectives as we made them.
Add the zip ties round the internal circle. The boys loved making patterns with the different colors. We talked about density and perspective again.
This was a great activity to home fine motor skills too. Just remember not to leave small children alone with cable ties and also to make sure that they do not put them on their fingers or any part of their body.
This was a fun family craft project that we all enjoyed and I loved as it sparked conversation and was really inexpensive. The bonus being the clean up was super fast.
So have fun and make our totally child safe firework sculptures.
Other Firework art, crafts and activities
These are stunning Jen – absolutely beautiful and so simple!
You are a clever clogs x
Thanks Gude, The boys actually loved this one, which is happening less and less as they get older!
These would also look amazing around some glass to make a mirror x
What a fab idea. They reminded me of the mirrors and clocks from the 70’s!
They look really cool! I’ve never seen such colourful cable ties, where did you get them?
The cable ties were all from ebay or Amazon. I just did a search. They are really inexpensive!
what a clever idea – do you think that you could paint with them too?
Oh wow those look amazing, I would never have guessed they were made from cable ties! x
I saw you share this on Facebook earlier. It’s very effective. What a clever idea.
These looks very effective – not sure Eliza would manage just yet but Isaac would love it
These are so pretty and they really do look like fireworks. Lovely!
I really like this, colourful and no mess – a winner! Can’t believe it’s Halloween and Bonfire Night time of year!
Very simple and yet fancy at the same time 🙂 wish I was half as creative!
These look fun. I’ve not thought of using cable ties in art before.
ooh these are pretty ones, I love the multi coloured ones the best I think x
oh Jen these are blooming genius! i love them
very creative and artistic , looks fab and also the catherine wheel is my most loved firework
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