Bring Out Your Inner Child With Paper Snowflakes

Does anyone else remember making paper snowflakes as a child?  Something – perhaps a Christmas movie I watched last night – made me think about them.  Since I couldn’t remember exactly how to do it, I looked up some directions and decided to share them with all of you. 

1. Start with a square piece of paper.  (Basic copy paper is fine, but you can also get creative with wrapping paper, colorful foil paper, etc.)
2. Fold the paper in half diagonally, to form a triangle.
3. Fold the triangle in half to form a smaller triangle.
4. With the folded tip (the center of the paper) pointed down, fold the right “third” toward the center.
5. Now fold the left “third” over the other portion.  You will end up with a shape that looks something like an arrowhead, with a narrow tip at the bottom and two points on the top.
6. Flip the folded paper over so you can see the back. (You will see one edge of the paper going horizontally across the middle, a little below the two points on the top.)
7. Starting at the horizontal edge of the paper where it wraps around the other side, cut down at a diagonal, roughly perpendicular to the opposite side.  (You can adjust this angle to change how “skinny” the six snowflake points appear.)
8. Start snipping away small portions from the sides of the folded shape.  Experiment with different patterns, but make sure you leave enough paper to provide sufficient support for the resulting snowflake.
9. Carefully unfold your snowflake.  (If it doesn’t look done, you can refold it and snip some more until you are satisfied.)
10. To flatten the snowflake, you can press it inside a book.  Alternatively, you can layer the snowflake between two pieces of paper and carefully iron it (don’t use steam) to flatten it.

 
Have fun making paper snowflakes,  perhaps with your children or grandchildren, to decorate your home.  Merry Christmas!

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