I made these with the help of my sister Brittany and her friend Victoria. These ones are going to be displayed around food and such at my up and coming baby shower. I wanted a natural themed shower/party so I thought these would be a great touch to the event. I made pinwheels with my elementary students last year so I knew how easy they were to make. Click here to see the inspiration photos: The Sweetest Ocasion
Materials you will need:
*Scissors
*Exacto Blade
*Paper (any will do, but I used a double sided scrap book paper for these)
*Brads (I used mini ones since the fans are mini but you could use any reasonable size)
*Ruler
*Pencil
*Straws (I like to recycle. So, I've been saving my straws every time I get iced coffee. Actually, I reuse them 2 or 3 times, and the coffee shop I go to uses compostable straws. So, the ones I used are being temporarily up-cycled and will be composted after the party.)
Directions:
To start, you will need to cut your paper to a 6x6inch square if you didn't buy it this way. A large paper cutter is MUCH easier than scissors but either will work.
Once you have your paper at 6inch squares, draw an "x" on the paper from corner to corner.
Next, cut on the "x" half way down all around. Do not cut out the "x" completely or you will just end up with 4 triangles. Don't be scared to cut down more than 1/2 way on each line though; because, if you don't go past 1/2 way point, it will make folding the pinwheel harder later.
Take your exacto blade and stab tiny holes into the left corner of each triangle (notice my pointer finger).
Also, Stab a small hole in the center of the "x" with the exacto blade for the brad later.
Take the brad...
...and insert the brad into the first triangle from behind and fold it forward, add each triangle as you go, you will need to place the triangle BEHIND the previous one in order to insert the brad.
Once you have the brad inserted in all 4 corners of the triangles, you will hold the brad with your thumb and push it through the center hole. You can open the brad here if your straws weren't pre-cut to hold the piece together.
The back of the pinwheel should look like this once the brad is through the center.
Stab your straw slowly, and away from yourself. I actually pre-cut mine at the beginning but any time is fine. Do not create a large hole or you can risk ripping the straw. Notice, I did not insert my exacto blade all the way? It would be too big of a hole.
Push the brad through the straw hole.
Open the brad.
Spin the wheel a few times to make sure it's loose for the wind, and you're done. Lighter weight paper will spin faster, however, sturdier paper will last longer.
Happy Pinwheel Making!
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