Paper Snowflake Tutorial!

I hope you are all having super duper merry Christmases, and/or whatever winter holiday you enjoy the most. My apologies to everyone who has not been able to access my site for the past few days. I hope it has been remedied, but if not, please let me know via twitter, FB, email, ravelry, or whatever form of contact you like best.

Here today (on Christmas Eve, since my family does not arrive til tomorrow night so tonight is pretty ordinary) I bring you a photo tutorial on how to make paper snowflakes! Snowflake making is a must in every household, and I tend to be a stickler for more accurate shapes. Not that I look down upon the everyday square snowflake, but snowflakes are magical because of their amazing symmetry, so why not try to replicate it?

So.

Step one: Locate paper (white paper or colorful wrapping paper), scissors, and lay out a blanket to catch all the confetti you will be making. You'll thank yourself for that last bit when it's time to clean up. (Christmas story optional, but recommended.)

Step two: Sit down with your favorite form of flakey inspiration. Be it a snowflake outside (they are a bit harder to sit and study), our favorite snowflake book, its corresponding snowflake photography website, or your pure imagination, anything will do.

Step three: Cut your paper into a circle. We are fans of the bowl/plate trace method.

Step four: Fold the circle in half lengthwise (heehee get it? oh, nevermind.) and then begin to fold that in half, but only just make a tiny crease in the corner to mark where the center is.

Step five: Fold the half-moon into three even triangles, using your tiny crease to keep the partitions centered. THEN fold that triangle in half. (whew.)

Now you're all set to cut and get creative! Have your inspiration at the ready, but know that any cuts you make will now be (mostly) symmetrical in sixes, and since all snowflakes are unique, you can do no harm.

Try all sorts of different cuts, the more the merrier. Lacey snowflakes are pretty snowflakes, in my opinion. You just have to make sure not to cut all the way through the paper. Cut off tips, cut off edges, cut into sides, here, there, everywhere.

It probably won't look anything like your snowflake as you cut it, but feel free to unfold and re-fold as you go to see if you are getting the right effect.

Or, you can just WAIT and watch magic happen as you unfold to reveal your beautiful snowflake!



That's it! Not so bad, eh? Hang them on strings from the ceiling, or tape them to windows. These make a great project for people suffering from Snow Deprivation Disorder (me.) OR people stuck under a snowdrift who are unable to actually go out and enjoy the snow. Or perhaps they already have, in which case be sure to add hot chocolate to this endeavor.



And, last but not least, be sure to recycle the scraps AS SOON AS YOUR TODDLER'S ATTENTION SPAN IS UP, or you will find they truly do become confetti.