In our home summer means a more relaxed schedule, playing outside, boating, swimming, ice cream, flip flops, family time, blowing bubbles and pinwheels too!
Pinwheels are not only a throwback to my childhood but a hot trend in paper crafting right now. I like the fun whimsical feeling they bring to a layout. You can buy them pre-made but they are surprisingly easy to make. The pros to making your own is that you can make them in a variety of sizes in any color or pattern of your choice in less than a minute.
To make a pinwheel, cut a piece of patterned paper into a square. The larger the square the larger the finished pinwheel will be. The squares shown here and used on my layout are 1 1/2 and 2 inches.
To begin, fold the square in half on the diagonal. Open it up and fold it in half on the other diagonal.
Next, using your scissors, cut from each corner, following the folded line. Stop cutting about 1/4 of an inch from the center of the square. Repeat this on all corners.
Once all the cuts are made, place an adhesive dot in the center of the square and fold up every other cut section to the center of the square and press firmly onto the adhesive dot.
To complete the pinwheel, embellish the center with a button, brad or other item of your choice.
Easy, right?!
Here is how I used the pinwheels I made on a layout.
I hope you'll try making some pinwheels this summer. They are a great way to embellish a layout, jazz up party decor or simply attach several to a stick and place them in a tall glass as decor.