Thursday, December 12, 2013

Pretty Paper Snowflakes

Hi guys! Today I'm sharing a tutorial for these pretty 3D paper snowflakes, which happen to be one of my favorite holiday crafts!

Not only are they completely lovely, but they're also incredibly simple to make. The best part is, you can make them in just about any size, so you could make little ones to hang on your Christmas tree, or big ones to hang from the ceiling! They're a lovely, wintery decoration that really pretties up any space you put them in. In fact, I made some to hang in the office at work out of some recycled paper, and they look absolutely lovely.

So! Let's jump into making them!
As usual, it all begins with some supplies!

To make one snowflake you'll need:

- 6 squares of paper in the color and size of your choosing. I made mine 8 1/2"x8 1/2" when I made the large snowflake and 4 1/4"x 4 1/4" when I made the smaller ones.
- Scissors
- Glue dots. Or a glue gun. Or tape and a stapler. I prefer glue dots, but you can choose what works best for you, or what you have most readily available.
- A stapler
- A hole punch
- Pretty string for hanging your snowflakes
1. Fold one of your paper squares in half along the diagonal to form a triangle.
2. Use your scissors to cut lines parallel to the non-folded edges of your triangle. You'll want to cut from the folded edge towards the center point, being sure to stop a little bit before you reach the center. Repeat until you have three lines cut into each side of the triangle. Be sure to space the lines evenly so you'll have a consistent looking snowflake when you're all done.

When you're done, you should have something that looks like the above photo!
3. Next, open up your triangle and bring the center two points up towards each other. Apply your adhesive and bring one point over the other to form a cylinder.
4. Next, turn everything over and bring the next two points up towards each other, apply your adhesive, and form another cylinder. Repeat this, alternating sides, until all the points have been joined.
5. Once you're done, you should have something that looks like this! Repeat steps 1-4 until you have all 6 squares of paper done up like this.

Aren't these pretty just on their own? Love!
6. Next, take three of your pretty shapes and bring their bottom points together. Once you get them evened out, staple the points together.
7. Next, use your stapler to join the edges of your shapes.

Repeat steps 6 and 7 for the other 3 shapes.
8. Now that you've joined your smaller shapes into groups of 3, you should have two pieces. Bring the bottom points together, overlapping them, and staple them together.
9. Then, staple the last two sides together, and you'll be just about done!
Ta-da!!!!!! Isn't that lovely???
10. Now that your pretty snowflake is all made up, you just need to hang it! Punch a hole in one of the points of the snowflake, knot a piece of your pretty string through the hole, and hang away!
Aren't they the prettiest?

I know they seem like they take quite a few steps, but each one of these only takes about 5 minutes to put together. Once you get the first one down, you'll be churning them out faster than you know it!

I hope you enjoyed following along with this tutorial and I hope you get a chance to hang some of these pretties in your home this winter!

Til next time!

-Becca
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39 comments:

  1. I love this! I was thinking of making some of these, so I'm so glad you provided a tutorial! They are so pretty:)

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    1. Thanks, Kari! I hope you try them out soon. They're so fun to make!

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  2. Wooooow! These are AMAZING. I'm the worst paper snowflake maker on planet earth, so I can't wait to do this! Thanks for sharing with us!

    Elyse @ Cuddly as a Cactus

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    1. Thank you! I hope this helps you make some awesome snowflakes! I've never been too good at the traditional paper snowflakes, myself.

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  3. Just the refresher I was looking for, Becca! These might look complicated, but as you said, they're simple to get the hang of after making just one or two. They're so pretty hanging down from the ceiling or in front of the fireplace. Thanks!!!!

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    1. Oh good! I hope to see some at the house next time I come over!

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  4. So pretty, and they look very professional!

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    1. Oooh thank you! Professional, even! Make a girl blush, why don't ya!

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  5. that is an awesome DIY. So festive :)

    i hope you can stop by and return the favor.
    http://abeautifulheart07.blogspot.com/2013/12/baby-its-cold-outside.html

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    1. Thank you so much! I'll try to stop by soon!

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  6. These look absolutely amazing, Becca! I am definitely going to make these! I loved making things out of paper when I was younger. These would really look great in our house! Ooh, I'm very excited about making them already :) Thanks for sharing!!

    Sofie x
    Little green Sofie

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    1. Thank you, Sofie! Paper crafts are so fun. I hope you have a blast making these!

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  7. Oh wow these look so awesome! And so easy to make too :)


    AHKA VINTAGE BLOG
    AHKA VINTAGE SHOP

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  8. Another gorgeous DIY. :-)))

    Emory

    helloscarlettblog.com

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  9. I am in charge of updating our work bulletin board (or rather, it was so ugly that I MADE MYSELF be in charge of it) and I am totally going to do this and hang them on the top of the bulletin board for winter quarter. so cute!
    Katie

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    1. Haha, that's awesome! I bet that will look great. They're seriously fun to make!

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  10. Wow, Becca, these are fantastic! When you said they were "simple" I had a little silent guffaw--but your tutorial explains it so well!

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    1. Thank you so much, Marlene! I'm glad I got you to come round! When I learned how to make them I was shown a picture and was like, "Haha. Right. I'm supposed to make that?" but then once I started, I got on a roll and made like 5, in 20 minutes! I hope you try them out. I bet you'll put some sort of really amazing twist on the idea!

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  11. I've seen these before but never known how they were done. Thanks for sharing the secret with us! ~___^

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    1. Of course! I hope you get a chance to try them out!

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  12. Where did you get your paper and do you have any recommendations? I'd like to make a bunch of these this weekend.

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    1. Hi Jason! The paper I used was from a multi-color pack of printer paper I found at Target. You could opt to use printer-weight paper like I did, but you could also get something in more of a cardstock weight, or use construction paper. I've found that these snowflakes work well with any of these.

      I hope you have fun making them this weekend!

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  13. The snowflakes do indeed look amazing. However, I found that the steps were hard to correspond to your pictures. I stopped being able to follow each of the steps as clearly as the first few. Could you maybe insert a few more descriptions to go along with the photos? I get especially confused between steps 5 and 7.

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    1. Thank you-I'm glad you like them!! I'm sorry you're having some trouble following along with the steps, though. I try to explain things as well as I can, but occasionally things are still a bit tough to write out. I try to balance this with detailed photos of each step, so you may have more luck if you follow the photos.

      If you're still having trouble, you can feel free to email me at ladyfaceblog@gmail.com with any specific questions you're having and I'd be happy to try to help you out!

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    2. Thank you, Becca! Not sure exactly when I'll get to it, but I'd really love to try it!

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  14. Thanks, Marlen! I hope you get a chance to try them out!

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  15. Hello Becca!
    I love this project, it looks amazing!
    Regards from Spain!

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  16. Pretttty...
    I really like these :).

    Isabelle @ Head Red + Blondi

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  17. These look so beautiful. I love the blue paper you used!

    Xo, Hannah

    sweetsweetnoir.net

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  18. Love these!!! Making them in blue and white for my granddaughters Frozen birthday party. Thanks for the tutorial. I will send you a pic.

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