Handprints on the Walls: Back to School Pencil Poppers

I got this idea from the Confetti Popper Rockets on Alphamom. But instead of Fourth of July, I made them look like pencils so we could have one last BANG before back to school! You could really use this concept for every holiday if you want! This activity definitely takes some prep work but your kids will LOVE it! And if you have older kids, you can put them to work on the assembly.

Supplies: paper towel or toilet paper tubes, colored paper (I used yellow and pink scrapbook paper but plain paper works just as great), cardstock (for the bottom of the rockets & 'tip'), tissue paper (I used pink to match the 'eraser' part of the rocket but any color would work!), confetti (I used what was in the paper shredder but you can punch out holes or have your kids tear up a bunch of paper... whatever you want to clean up later), string, tape, glue, beads, ribbon, stapler, scissors, needle, hole puncher

1. Make the bottom of the rocket. Cut a 3"x 3" square of tissue paper. Cut a small circle out of the cardstock that will just fit within the radius of the tube. Glue the circle to the center of the tissue paper. Let dry. Thread 2'-3' of string onto needle (this will be your fuse so you can cut it to the desired length when you are done). Tie a bead on the end. Push needle through the center of the paper circle that is attached to the tissue paper.

2.Glue the tissue paper/cardstock/bead trapdoor to the bottom of your tubes by putting glue around the outside of the tubes. Make sure that the bead and cardstock are inside the tube and the string is on the outside like a fuse. You can add a pull tag to your fuse or leave it as is!

3. Time to decorate it! Cut your paper the height of your tubes. (To make the 'pencils' I taped a little strip of pink paper to the bottom of the yellow paper). Attach ribbons (optional) by taping to the inside of the paper. Roll the paper around the tubes and attach to tubes by stapling the top and taping down the side.

4. Now that they are all decorated, it's time to fill them with confetti!

5. For the top of the 'pencil popper': Punch two holes on opposite sides of the top of your poppers. Thread a string through the holes then thread the string through a bead to keep the popper centered while hanging.

6. Now it's time to make the 'tip' of the pencil. This part if optional unless you really want to make it look like pencil poppers! Cut a circle out of brown cardstock 3.25 inches wide. Cut one snip to the center of the circle. Slide the cut onto the string above the bead. Take the edges of your cut and pull them together to make a cone then staple at the base.

Here is the diagram that ALPHAMOM used to explain the construction of this project!