Paper Snowflakes – Louise Douglas
I can’t remember where I first saw these six-pointed snowflakes being made but it was one of those Christmas crafting programmes on TV (which I LOVE!). The man who was making them decorated a whole Christmas tree with paper snowflakes and it looked absolutely beautiful but not terribly practical, especially if you have pets.
We do have pets, but undaunted, I immediately set to work with paper and scissors. Snowflakes are something you can make in literally two minutes. On craft programmes they always say ‘it takes literally two minutes’ and usually they’re lying. But not in this case! And all you need is some A4 printer paper and a pair of scissors.
All real snowflakes are unique and there is an infinite variety of shapes they can form – a fact I’ll never stop finding miraculous. But one thing they have in common is that they all form hexagonal structures because this is the most efficient way for the oxygen and hydrogen atoms in water molecules to order themselves.
While it’s straightforward to cut four-sided patterns from paper, if you want a really snowflake-esque snowflake you’re going to need six sides, or points. That’s why these snowflakes are special. And this is how you do it!
- Start with a piece of A4 paper. Printer paper is fine. To make a square, fold one corner across to the opposite side and then cut along the line.
- Now you have a square, folded diagonally to make a triangle. Fold the triangle in half
- Now you need to fold this triangle into thirds. Fold one point towards the other….
4… and then fold the other point over so you end up with something that looks like this.
- Turn it over and then cut away all the folded pointy bits.
- Now cut shapes into the folded piece you have left. Take care of your fingers and also not to cut right across the folded paper.
7. You’ll end up with something that might or might not look like this…
8. Unfold it carefully and you have a beautiful snowflake!
9. To stick on your window or hang from your tree!
- Just like real snowflakes, paper snowflakes are unique and they’re so pretty! If you get stuck following these instructions, there are tutorials online. Happy crafting!
