Easy and Inexpensive 4th of July DIY Decorations!

I saw these giant firecracker decorations at Hobby Lobby but they also came with a big price tag of $17.49 each.  So, I decided to make a few of my own on the cheap instead.

For my giant firecrackers I used old cardboard tubes (my hubby found some large ones at work, but you could you any size - even mix it up), acrylic craft paints (red, white, blue), fine sparkles (I purchased a combo pack), and gold pipe cleaners.  *Don't have any large tubes?  Make a smaller version using paper towel or toilette paper rolls.

I cut a piece of cardboard to fit inside the tube, poked a hole in the middle, and hot glued it on the inside about 1" down from the top.  Then, I painted the base colors (dry time is very fast with a single coat on cardboard) and the following day I added the sparkly stars (just paint and sprinkle immediately with sparkles).  Then I stuck the pipe cleaners (about 5 each) in the top hole - DONE!  I love them!  Just what I needed to jazz up my house for Independence Day!

My messy little workspace.  Keeping it real: just crafting in family room while binging on Netflix.

I wanted a hand painted - rustic look, but you could use stencils, stickers or even decorated papers for a cleaner look.  If you are making these for the outdoors, I would recommend using wood or pvc pipe with outdoor paints or clear coat lacquer spray so they'll hold up in the sun and rain.

Since I made some very large decorations, I wanted something a bit smaller that we could light up, so we made some Flag Luminaries using the tutorial by Keep Calm and Decorate as a guide.  This was insanely easy!  It only took me about 10 minutes to Mod Podge them.   I found the 3 pack of flags in the Target $1 section (they were perfect- not plastic) and grabbed some Mod Podge at the Dollar Tree.

Super pleased with my new 4th of July decor!  These projects were very easy and affordable - I hope you'll give them a try.