Watching a child play with a pinwheel for the first time is such a thing of wonder. So before Easter arrived, I thought it would be fun to share the technique of creating a working pinwheel. These look great as decor, I have a couple "bouquets" of them around the house with matching banners for some wonderful spring color. It is so fun to walk by and pick one up, give it a strong gust of breath, then watch it whirl (still a child at heart!) The pinwheel is also a very fun trend this year, so I also have shown how to simplify the process and create the shape on a smaller scale that can be added to a card or other type of project.
I started with a few different pieces of Basic Grey's 12" x 12" Kioshi paper. It is perfect for this type of project because it is double sided, and the colors are so beautiful and springy!
I cut 3 different patterns into 3 different sizes. The first is sized at 6" x 6", the second is 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" and the third is 3" x 3".
Draw lines from corner to corner using a straight edge.
Cut along the lines until you are about 3/4" from the center intersection.
Repeat on all the sides.
Adhere the tip of one of the sections into the center, apply more adhesive and repeat with another tip until all of the tips are layered in the center of the piece of paper.
Punch a circle and adhere it in the center of the pinwheel.
Using a Maya Road Vintage trinket pin, poke a hole into the center of the the circle. I use a mouse pad to make it easier for piercing things like this.
Remove the pin, and then poke the pin through both sides of the top of a straw. I used straws that we get in our daily 7-11 fix, a little re-purposing is always a nice thing.
Remove the pin from the straw and then put it back through the pinwheel and then the straw.
Use pliers to bend the pin about 1/2" from the pin head so that the pinwheel has plenty of room to spin.
Of course the pin is sharp and this makes it unsafe for children to play with, so we are going to cover it.
Cut a piece of paper that is 1 1/2" wide and the length of the straw and wrap it around the straw, making sure to cover the pointy end of the pin.
Repeat in different sizes and patterns to create a playful centerpiece for your holiday table.
To make an accent for a card or scrapbook page, repeat all of the steps until you get to the pin. Instead of a pin, adhere to the card with a matching Kioshi brad. It isn't mobile, but still has serious cute factor!
This card was made in less than ten minutes, and that included the time it took to clean and put away my stamp and ink ;o)
Supplies used: Hero Arts Folded Card "Daffodil", Hero Arts Clear Stamp "Life is Not Perfect", Ranger "Walnut Stain" Distress Ink, Basic Grey "Kioshi" patterned paper.
Darling, playful spring pinwheel decor is simple and a great way to use up scrap pieces of paper that are way too cute to throw away! I promise you will smile every time you see them and the temptation to pick one up and give it a whirl is just to much to pass up.
B-
