the shop sweet lulu blog: Bike Parade Decor Part 2: Paper Pinwheels

Today we are going to cover the paper pinwheels that we made for our "goodbye, summer" bike parade.

paper pinwheel tutorial {stevie pattyn for shop sweet lulu}

There are two different types that we made: decorative & functional {actually can spin} and we will cover how to make both.

First, here are all the supplies you will need:

1.) double-sided scrapbook paper cut in squares {we used 5"x5" & 3"x3" for our pinwheels}
2.) buttons {for the decorative pinwheels}
3.) hot glue gun
4.) hole punch
5.) brads {for the functional pinwheels}
6.) stripey straws
7.) treat sticks {decorative only}
8.) scissors {yes, I know I forget to get them in the picture -- pure mommy brain!}

Decorative Pinwheels

I find these to be less time consuming and easier to make then the functional ones, but that is just my opinion.

Let's get started!

1.) Grab one of your square pieces of paper. Folding diagonally, fold in half & then into quarters
{see figure no.1}

Next, open & flatten the piece of paper you just folded. Using scissors, cut along the creases. Make sure to leave about a 1/4-1/2 inch from the cut to the center of the paper {see figure no.2}

Decide which side of the paper has your favorite print on it and make sure that side is facing up.

Using your glue gun, put a pea sized amount of glue in the center of your piece of paper. Grab a corner and bring the the tip to the center. Repeat this step, using EVERY OTHER corner, stacking the tips one on top of each other {see figure no.3} You may need to apply another small amount of glue to get the 3rd & 4th tips secured down.

Once you get all your four corners glued down, it should look like this.....

Now add your button to the center......

Next, if you are using a straw for the wand, take your stripey straw and flatten one end about an inch of the way down from the top

{see figure no. 4}

Now, flip your pinwheel face side down and glue the flattened part of your straw to the back. If you are using a treat stick, just glue directly to the back {no flattening needed}

And that is it!!

Functional Pinwheels

Here are the supplies that you will need to make the functional pinwheels

1.) double-sided scrapbook paper cut in squares {we used 5"x5" & 3"x3" for our pinwheels}

2.) brads

3.) hole punch

4.) x-acto knife

5.) stripey straws

8.) scissors {yes, I forgot them again! Apparently, I need sleep!}

First, follow the folding directions from the decorative pinwheel tutorial. Next, flatten your piece of paper and score a tiny "x" in the center using an x-acto knife.

Insert brad** and cut along creases of the paper leaving yourself about a 1/2 inch from the center. Once done cutting, remove brad. {see figure no 2}

**Feel free to skip inserting the brad if you like. I did this as a safeguard when cutting to make sure I didn't cut too close to the center.**

Now, punch a hole in EVERY OTHER corner {figure no.3}

Next, take one of the corners with a punched hole and insert a brad so the head of the brad is on the back side of the paper, fold towards the center. Now, take the next corner with a hole punched in it and place in underneath the corner you just threaded the brad through, push the brad through. Do this with every other corner until your pinwheel looks like this..........

Now, push your brad through the tiny "x" you scored in the center of the paper and fasten it

{figure no. 5}

Next, take a stripey straw and flatten one end about an inch of the way down from the top. Make a small vertical score about a 1/4th of an inch long in the center of the straw about a 1/4 inch from the top

{see figure no. 6}

note: I like to insert a brad before attaching the straw to the pinwheel just to make sure it fits and that my cut was big enough. If you do this, make sure to remove the brad before attaching to the pinwheel, as you will be attaching the two together using the brad that is being used to hold the pinwheel together.