Add to your patriotic decor this year by creating your own unique set of DIY wood firecrackers for the 4th of July!

We love big statement pieces at this house! Whether it is giant framed photos, unusual furniture or front porch decor, the bigger the better. That’s why I love these DIY wood firecrackers- you can customize the size to fit any space! {Disclosure: This is a sponsored post from Rust-Oleum but the opinions and projects are mine all mine! This post also contains affiliate links so I may make a small commission on purchases at no additional cost to you.}

patriotic decor: DIY WOOD Firecrackers:

The “how to” of these firecrackers gives you lots of options depending on what you’ve already got at home. Don’t have a miter saw? Use a hand saw. Don’t have a Xyron machine? You can paint the stars on by hand. The possibilities are endless!

SUPPLIES NEEDED:

4×4 lumber (we used one piece but if you want bigger firecrackers you can use more than one)
measuring tape
miter saw (or hand saw)
painter’s tape
Plaid Stiffy Fabric Stiffener
white rope
utility knife
drill
gloves (optional)
hot glue gun
Rust-Oleum 2x Ultra Cover High Gloss Spray Paint (red, white, and blue)
Rust-Oleum Comfort Grip
Xyron Creative Station (with repositionable adhesive)
star stencil or star pattern (I cut mine with a Cricut, but you could also hand paint the stars with acrylic paint)
brown paper or newspaper

Do you want to order your Xyron products from amazon.com? Then check out my Adhesives & Fixatives page!

Ordering from cricut.com? Use code CRICUTCREATORS10 for 10% off and FREE shipping on any order over $50. Includes sale and clearance prices, does not include machines (anything with a plug). Cricut items can also be found at HSN, Amazon, and JOANN stores.

Ordering from amazon.com? Then check out my Cricut Tools and Accessories page!

How to Make patriotic decor: DIY WOOD Firecrackers:

1: PREPARING FIRECRACKER WICKS:

1. Measure how long you want your firecracker wick to be (we made ours 8”) and make a mark on your rope. Then, before you cut your rope, wrap a piece of painter’s tape above your mark. By doing this, your rope will not fray when you cut it.

2. Cut the rope with your utility knife. Leave the painter’s tape wrapped around the cute rope because it will make it easier to handle during the rest of the project.

3. Dunk each piece of rope in to the Fabric Stiffener. Once each piece is fully covered, set it aside to dry on wax paper.

woman dipping rope into Plaid Stiffy Fabric Stiffener

2: CREATING FIRECRACKER BASE:

1. Using a measuring tape, mark out how tall you want your firecrackers to be. We decided to make three firecrackers out of one piece of wood, so their sizes were 18’’, 24’’, and 30’’.

2. Cut your lumber using a miter saw or hand saw.

3. Find the center at one end of each of your lumber pieces and drill a hole. This is where you will place your wick and is the “top” of your firecracker (important as you start decorating it).

Tape Tip: Determine how deep you want the hole to be and add a piece of painter’s tape to the drill bit at that measurement. That will prevent you from drilling too deep!

3: PAINTING FIRECRACKER BASE:

1. Paint your firecracker bases with a coat or two of white spray paint and set them aside to dry.

2. To further decorate your firecrackers, tape off different patterns using painter’s tape. You can either measure out your designs or eyeball them, depending on the look you are going for.

3. To add stars to your firecrackers, simply cut out star shapes (I used my Cricut Machine) and run them through your Xyron Creation Station (using repositionable adhesive) to turn them into a stickers. Then place the stars onto your firecracker base.

If you don’t have a Xyron Creative Station, you could always add your stars using vinyl or even hand painting them!

4. Paint your firecracker bases with a coat or two of red spray paint and set them aside to dry.

spray paint firecracker base with red paint

5. Using brown paper or newspaper, tape off and cover the areas you have spray painted red. Then lay your firecracker base on its side (hanging off your work area) and spray paint the tops of your firecrackers with blue spray paint. Flip each side to cover.

By spray painting the firecracker base in this way you will avoid having blue paint drip or seep into the areas you’ve painted red.

spray paint firecracker base with blue paint

4: ADDING FIRECRACKER WICK:

1. Once all your paint has dried, remove the painter’s tape, brown paper, and stars.

remove painters tape from wood patriotic decorations

2. Grab your hot glue gun and add some hot glue into the hole you drilled earlier. Then quickly insert the taped end of the rope wick in to the hole.

hot glue wick into firecracker base for patriotic decorations

Once your wick has been added to your firecracker base, you are ready to display them on your porch!

Patrioitc Decorations DIY Wood Firecrackers

Prefer a video tutorial to written instructions? Head on over to Hometalk for full step by step action!

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Patriotic Decor: DIY Wood Firecrackers

Add to your patriotic decor this year by creating your own unique set of DIY wood firecrackers for the 4th of July!

Author: Beth Kingston

Materials

4×4 lumber (we used one piece but if you want bigger firecrackers you can use more than one)
measuring tape
miter saw (or hand saw)
painter’s tape
Plaid Stiffy Fabric Stiffener
white rope
utility knife
drill
gloves (optional)
hot glue gun
Rust-Oleum 2x Ultra Cover High Gloss Spray Paint (red, white, and blue)
Rust-Oleum Comfort Grip
Xyron Creative Station (with repositionable adhesive)
star stencil or star pattern (I cut mine with a Cricut, but you could also hand paint the stars with acrylic paint)
brown paper or newspaper

Instructions

PREPARING FIRECRACKER WICKS:

Measure how long you want your firecracker wick to be (we made ours 8”) and make a mark on your rope. Then, before you cut your rope, wrap a piece of painter’s tape above your mark. By doing this, your rope will not fray when you cut it.
Cut the rope with your utility knife. Leave the painter’s tape wrapped around the cute rope because it will make it easier to handle during the rest of the project.
Dunk each piece of rope in to the Fabric Stiffener. Once each piece is fully covered, set it aside to dry on wax paper.

CREATING FIRECRACKER BASE:

Using a measuring tape, mark out how tall you want your firecrackers to be. We decided to make three firecrackers out of one piece of wood, so their sizes were 18’’, 24’’, and 30’’.
Cut your lumber using a miter saw or hand saw.
Find the center at one end of each of your lumber pieces and drill a hole. This is where you will place your wick and is the “top” of your firecracker (important as you start decorating it).
Tape Tip: Determine how deep you want the hole to be and add a piece of painter’s tape to the drill bit at that measurement. That will prevent you from drilling too deep!

PAINTING FIRECRACKER BASE:

Paint your firecracker bases with a coat or two of white spray paint and set them aside to dry.
To further decorate your firecrackers, tape off different patterns using painter’s tape. You can either measure out your designs or eyeball them, depending on the look you are going for.
To add stars to your firecrackers, simply cut out star shapes and run them through your Xyron Creation Station (using repositionable adhesive) to turn them into a stickers. Then place the stars onto your firecracker base.
If you don’t have a Xyron Creative Station, you could always add your stars using vinyl or even hand painting them!
Paint your firecracker bases with a coat or two of red spray paint and set them aside to dry.
Using brown paper or newspaper, tape off and cover the areas you have spray painted red. Then lay your firecracker base on its side (hanging off your work area) and spray paint the tops of your firecrackers with blue spray paint. Flip each side to cover.
By spray painting the firecracker base in this way you will avoid having blue paint drip or seep into the areas you’ve painted red.

ADDING FIRECRACKER WICK:

Once all your paint has dried, remove the painter’s tape, brown paper, and stars.
Grab your hot glue gun and add some hot glue into the hole you drilled earlier. Then quickly insert the taped end of the rope wick in to the hole.