These salt-painted fireworks are enjoyable to create for any holiday featuring fireworks, such as July 4th or Memorial Day. This free fireworks template works perfectly for salt painting, or children can decorate and paint the designs themselves. Just print the free fireworks printable, then gather some glue, salt, and paint!
RELATED: Salt-Painted Snowflakes
Salt-Painted Fireworks
Children will enjoy designing and painting their own fireworks with this easy art project.
Setting up this salt-painting project is simple with our free fireworks template. Scroll down to the end of this post to download the free template.
Kids really enjoy salt painting! We also tried salt painting during winter. These fireworks are just as entertaining! Combine different shades, or stick with patriotic red and blue for July 4th.
This project also provides excellent fine-motor practice, as children use glue to follow the template. Toddlers and preschoolers will especially enjoy scattering the salt over the design.
Supplies Required
Tip: Extra-large cardstock (12 x 12) is generally heavier and helps prevent the paint from spreading across the paper.
- White glue – works best for outlining our template because the nozzle is narrow. Applying salt over the glue lines will help prevent the fireworks from becoming overly thick.
Watch the complete tutorial video before beginning!
Instructions for Firework Salt Painting
1. Print the free template.
To begin, print our free firework template on large white cardstock paper.
Tip: To print on 12 x 12 paper, trim it to 8.5 x 11 inches so it can pass through your printer. We prefer 12 x 12 cardstock over purchased 8.5 x 11 white cardstock because the larger sheets are usually much thicker.
If you locate especially thick 8.5 x 11 paper, you can use that instead! Regular cardstock is also fine if you do not plan to preserve the painting for very long. Keep in mind, though, that the paint may spread slightly.
Use our free fireworks template, or let your children sketch their own fireworks! You can also try creating the design on black paper for an interesting contrast.
2. Start by outlining the fireworks with glue.
We prefer this bottle of glue because its narrow top makes tracing easier. Larger bottles have wider nozzles, releasing more glue and causing the fireworks to look lumpy.
Trace each line across the page, and you will finish with something similar to this!
3. Next comes the exciting part – sprinkle on the salt!
Tip: We recommend storing a separate supply of salt for craft projects. Afterward, collect any leftover salt and save it for another activity, such as our spring salt painting.
Be certain that the glue is completely covered. Add plenty of salt so no areas are missed! Thorough coverage will make painting easier.
After that, shake the extra salt off the paper, and your project should look similar to this:
4. Now, use watercolors to decorate your fireworks!
We prefer liquid watercolors because they are simple to work with and brighter than food coloring, although food coloring can be used as well. Standard watercolors are another option; simply remember to add plenty of water to the watercolor palette.
For an affordable liquid watercolor brand, we recommend these ones.
Mix the watercolors with just a small quantity of water so the shades remain vivid.
Now observe the magic! Lightly tap the salt and see the watercolor travel across it. For this project, we combined only red & blue, though any shades can be used.
Helpful Salt Painting Tips
- Prepare a very concentrated mixture of liquid watercolors. Add only a little water so the color stays bright.
- Lightly touch your brush into the liquid watercolors so you collect just a small amount at once. Using too much water while painting can cause it to run over and leave the paper extremely wet. That is perfectly okay for a fun art project, but if you plan to save the artwork or are doing this activity with older children, we found that using only a little paint gives the best results.
- We prefer painting immediately after applying the salt and glue, as the color seems to spread more effectively this way.
- Place a piece of cardboard beneath your cardstock to protect your counter or table from moisture, since the liquid watercolor can soak through slightly.
5.Once the painting is complete, leave it aside to dry. Avoid touching the salt, or it could fall away.
Should some salt get knocked off by accident, scrape away the remaining salt and you’ll reveal a watercolor painting underneath.
Find the Template Here
Looking for more enjoyable summer activities?