Patriotic Confetti Poppers

What a more perfect way to celebrate George Washington’s birthday today than to make these beautiful, easy-to-make Patriotic Confetti Poppers! Founding father, America’s first ever president, cherry tree cutter, father of his country, incessant fighter, wise and honest man. He deserves confetti all over the place on his birthday so let’s give it to him.

For the Americans reading it, I know we celebrate this day as “Presidents Day” in order to honor all the presidents that have come before us, but; being that today is actually Washington’s birth I want to talk about how he believed in us before there even was an us like the United States, pun intended. Of those who are reading this post, are you American? If not, where are you from? Let me know in the comments.

Anyhow, Washington fought for what he believed in and he didn’t give up until we were independent from Britain, or anyone else who tried to take America from under him. Each time they came to our land in attempts to steal our land from us to call America theirs, he jumped in and put his foot down. How could anyone even doubt that he deserves some Patriotic Confetti Poppers and traditional fireworks for his birthday? He’s the true example of an American warrior, a man who had a dream that he would not give up on. Do you have dreams you want to accomplish? I think we all do. I’m sure there are even dreams some of you have already achieved, as have I, or maybe even some dreams that adapted over time as you changed. Looking back, there might have even have been times where you thought your dreams were absolutely impossible and you might have lost hope for a moment. What walls have you broken down and battles you’ve overcome to make a dream come true?

Yes, there is some debate about what kind of man he really was. There’s bias in the common misconception of George Washington being in complete and utter support of slavery. As a young man, he became in charge of a big inheritance consisting of family-owned plantations overloaded with slaves. You guys, he was born in a different time, into a world where slavery was the norm and he was accustomed to these behaviors. Can you imagine a life like that, born and raised into a culture that commonly accepted the torture of other human beings? That must’ve been terrible! That is not to say there is no more slavery in the world. Human trafficking and slavery are still common worldwide and people are born into that disgusting part of life that we may never have to experience.

Pray for them because they are out there suffering. Off track…we will have to save that in-depth topic for another day. Over time, George actually changed his views on such heinous beliefs; although, there is not much talk of it because people love to point the finger without considering people can actually change, if they are determined to do so.

God is a true example of change in my life each and every single day. He provided when I could not see a way to do so. Sometimes change seems so impossible to us. We become overwhelmed as we step out and look into it from the outside. We don’t see a way for growth to take place. Believe me I have been there. I was a slave to the flesh. I was broken and bound in chains. In some way, I feel similar to him. He grew up in an environment that taught him to be that way and he had to explore life to find other ways to live besides that of what he knew, as did I.

Personally, I am not too sure on his stance with God and if he had a relationship with Him, but; In my darkest hour, I sought out God in my own way to seek change and peace. He found a way to adapt his views of slavery as I adapted out of slavery from the flesh. Were you freed from bondage at some point in life? We are all on common grounds, some in ways more than others. This is a day of reflection for me, a day where I can celebrate change and peace in George Washington’s memory, as well as all other presidents that came before me and after him.

Being outside gives me a lot of time to reflect, and with time to reflect I read to inform myself of world history. This allows me time to come up with ideas for the blog as I explore more of the backstory about President George Washington, such as these Patriotic Confetti Poppers. They mean much more than just popping confetti all over the damn place, trust me that’s my favorite part about this whole DIY. Something about glittery things and shiny confetti just gets me jumping for joy!

On the real, today is about liberty and the free will we have to go outside in broad daylight, or past midnight, to celebrate the true spirit of American patriotism. Even if you don’t have a moment today to stop and make some Patriotic Confetti Poppers, go on a walk or head to a park with your family. Don’t ever take your life for granted, we are only as free as we are right now in the moment. And, if you do happen to make these little fun creative goodies, enjoy them and let confetti sparkle everywhere until you run out and let me know how it went. Much love!

XO

Patriotic Confetti Poppers

The funnest part of a party is to throw confetti everywhere. With these easy-to-make Patriotic Confetti Poppers, you can celebrate America in a jiffy with only one trip a local dollar store.

Prep time:  10 mins

Work time:  20 mins

Total time:  30 mins

Makes: 10 poppers

Materials

• 10 toilet paper rolls, insert only

• 1 pkg red water balloons

• Scissors

• Ruler

• Scotch tape

• 3 rolls American flag duct tape*

• Confetti, LOTS OF IT

Instructions

1. The most important thing is to save the inserts/tubes of toilet paper rolls until you've saved up just enough, maybe even more for different holidays.

2. Tie the knot of 10 balloons without blowing them up—seriously. Cut the top half of your balloons with a scissor. Stretch the open part of the balloon and place it on one end of the toilet paper insert. Using tape, secure it to the tube. Repeat until all are secured.

3. Cut your duct tape into 5 inch pieces. Wrap around the tube as desired. Repeat until all are decorated.

4. Fill your poppers with that confetti, pull down the end of the balloon and POP, confetti everywhere!

Notes

* I got a bunch of different styles of these at my local Dollar Tree!