Confetti Firing Shoes

We bring to life kids' invention ideas on our youtube channel and next month we will be building our 70th kids' invention idea on our channel and to celebrate we decided to build 10 year old Megan's Confetti Firing Shoes!

If you know of any 4-11 year olds who might like their invention brought to life then check out our website to find out how. 

Happy Inventing,

Ruth & Shawn

Are you a teacher or a parent? See our attached Invention worksheet to use at home or in the classroom.

-Confetti Poppers

-Shoes in your size with flat soles (we used these for Ruth and these for Shawn)

-Soft Wood (25mm thick) with width of your shoe width

-Rubber Bench Block- like this

-M8 Nut & Bolts

-M8 Penny Washers

-Chopping Board

-Rubber Matting

-Shoe Tacs

-Wood Glue

-1cm Confetti

-Foam circle (optional)

-screws

-M6 threaded inserts and countersunk bolts

-Fabric Pens (optional) we used Tulip Pens

-Spray Paint and primer suitable for wood

Tools

-Jigsaw

-Chisel

-Clamps

-Hole saw

-Forstner bit

-Countersunk dill bit

-Drill or Pillar Drill

-Saw or Chop Saw

Use a hole saw to cut out a circle of rubber, from your rubber bench block, that is slightly bigger than the end of your confetti popper (you might need to sand it to the right size). Put a M8 bolt through the piece of rubber and sandwich it between two penny washers. Then cut out a small leaver from your chopping board material. Drill a M8 hole in one end and thread it onto the bolt (next to the penny washer) using a nut to secure it. Insert it into the end your confetti popper (the bit you twist), this is your firing device.

Cut out two bits of wood (big enough for your shoe to sit on) and using wood glue glue them together (keep them clamped overnight). Do two of these for each shoe (so four in total for one set of shoes). The next day once the glue has set, draw around your shoe and cut out two wooden soles for each shoe. Using a hole saw and forstner bit drill a hole big enough for your confetti cannon and using a saw and chisel to create a channel for the leaver to go through. Also drill out holes to join the two sections of your wooden soles. We used M6 threaded inserts and countersunk bolts to do this so the top and bottom of the soles stayed flat.

This stage is optional but decorate your shoes. We used tulip pens and spray paint, but you can be as creative as you like.

We would also advise putting on a rubber sole to your wooden shoe soles. We used rubber matting and shoe tags. This allows grip while wearing the shoes. Add the matting to the side with the countersunk bolts.

Using screws and washers attached the shoes to the wooden block. If you have added the rubber to the correct side them you should be able to remove the bottom section of the wooden sole to get to the confetti popper should you need to replace it.

Load your shoes, we used a piece of pipe slightly smaller than the diameter of your confetti popper. We used 1cm confetti and closed the end with a foam circle, although you could use the card that comes with the confetti poppers.

Celebrate EVERYTHING! We tested the shoes at a friends wedding and also while doing everyday jobs.

Enjoy!

Don't forget to check out our other projects on instructables and subscribe to our YouTube channel HERE

Happy Inventing,

Ruth & Shawn