Fireworks at the Washington Monument
Growing up in the DC area, the Washington Monument being illuminated with fireworks in the night sky has become an iconic symbol for the 4th of July. As you may already know, I love creating theme platters for my events like I did here and here. I thought a miniature Washington Monument, surrounded by fireworks would be a great decoration for my 4th of July barbecue. It also is a great conversation piece.
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Materials
- Large Freezer Paper or Kitchen Wrap Container
- Cardboard Box
- White Cardstock
- Gray Cardstock
- Americana White Acrylic Paint
- Americana Green Acylic Paint
- Krylon Stone Paint
- Crepe Paper
- Flag Picks
- Star Garland
- Bamboo Skewers
- LED Lights
- Duct Tape
- Beacon 3-in-1 Craft Glue
Instructions
Step 1: To make the pyramid, draw four triangles on the cardstock, making the base the same size as each of the sides of the end of the box. Add an extra 1/4 inch on each side on two of the the triangles and 1/2 inch on the bottom edge of all triangle shapes. This will be used to glue the sides together.
Step 2: Cut out the shapes and fold in the extra 1/4 allowance. Glue the side edges together to form a pyramid.
Step 3: Glue the flap opening of the freezer paper box down so it no longer opens. Glue the pyramid to one side of the box to form the monument shape.
Step 4: Cut a piece of cardboard the size of the back of the monument and glue to the back of the box with a glue gun.
Step 5: Paint the inside of the box green and on glue layers of grass on the outside edge of the box made out of crepe paper. Instructions on how to make the grass can be found here.
Step 6: Paint the cardboard piece and the freezer box white. Let dry. Painting the box white will make it so the box will not show throw once the stone paint is applied.
Step 7: Spray paint the monument with the stone paint. You may need two coats.
Step 8: Hot glue the monument to the cardboard strip with a hot glue gun. This will secure the monument so it does not fall over.
Step 9: Poke the flags through the corrugated edge of the cardboard as if the are planted in the grass.
To Make the Fireworks:
Step 1: Cut two pieces of foil tissue 5 x 7 inches. Put the two pieces of foil together and cut slits ¼ inch apart on the 7 inch length, leaving about inch uncut at the end.
Step 2: Wrap the uncut edge around the top of the skewer and tape with gift wrapping tape to hold.
Step 3: Cut six 8 inch pieces of the star garland…you can use the same color as the foil or add different colors to make a more colorful array.
Step 4: Cut a 3 inch piece of duct tape and wrap the end around the top of the skewer overlapping the taped end of the foil tissue.
Step 5: Lay all of the star garland pieces, evenly spaced on the sticky side of the tape. Wrap the tape around the skewer.
Step 6: Pull the foil strips down and curl the edges of the strips as you would curl ribbon. Adjust the star garland so it looks like fireworks. Loop the ends of the wire on the garland so there are no sharp points.
Step 7: Take the LED lights and wrap them around the base of the fireworks as shown. Do not unravel the cords.
Step 8: Wrap duct tape around the LED cords to secure. Fan out the lights so they are evenly disbursed around the tinsel.
Step 9: Wrap black duct tape or electrical tape around the cord to attach it to the skewer.
Step 9: Attach the fireworks to the back of the Monument with duct tape. Use white tape if you want it to be less noticeable…I used silver so I could illustrate how it is attached. I used self adhesive Velcro to attach the battery packs.
Step 10: Cut small rectangles of gray cardstock and attach it to the pyramid to represent the little windows.
Line the box with a green napkin and fill with your favorite dessert or appetizer.
