C is for Crafts: DIY Paper Pinwheels
Pinwheels always make me think of springtime and warm weather. There is just something so festive and inviting about their fun shape and bright colors. I made these paper pinwheels to add some color to my spring decor this year. This project is so quick and easy with no fancy supplies necessary. They are easy to customize in any color or pattern and would make darling party decorations as well. Let’s get started!
Supplies
Cardstock or scrapbook paper in various colors and patterns – It is easiest to use paper that has a pattern on the back side as well, but you can also glue two squares together back to back to get multiple patterns and colors.
Scissors or paper cutter
Ruler
Straight pins with fun, colorful heads
Paper drinking straws in various colors and patterns
Step One – Paper
Choose your paper. Remember that you will see both sides of the paper in your finished pinwheel. Again, you can always use a glue stick to adhere two squares of paper together. Cut your paper into squares using your paper cutter or scissors and a ruler. I bought a simple paper cutter at the craft store several years ago and I love it for projects like this! To make the pinwheels pictured I used 5″ and 6″ paper squares.
Step Two – Fold
Once you have your paper picked out and cut into squares, it is time to start folding. Fold the square in half on the diagonal, ensuring that the corners line up exactly. Open the square back up and fold on the diagonal again the opposite way. Your paper square should now have a big X folded into it.
Step Three – Cut
Using your scissors cut one of the fold marks from the corner to about 1/4″ from the center. Be careful to leave adequate space and not cut too close to the center point. Repeat this cut on the remaining three fold marks. Your paper square should now look like four triangles all held together by the center point of the paper.
Step Four – Pin
Now for the fun part. Take one corner of one triangle and gently bend it towards the center of the square. Push a straight pin through the corner you are folding in starting through the back side of the paper (which is now facing up). Now take the same corner of the next triangle and fold it towards the center also adding it to the pin starting with the back side of the paper. Repeat for the remaining two triangles making sure that you use the same corner of each one. Once you have all four corners on your pin, carefully push the pin through the very center of the square pulling it through so that the head of the pin holds all of the points down in the middle. It should be looking like a pinwheel now!
Step Five – Attach the Stick
Next we will attach it to the “stick”. Take a paper drinking straw in a coordinating color and push the pin all the way through the straw about 1/2″ from the top. Carefully bend the end of the pin down the back of the straw pushing the sharp end into the straw to secure it.
Adjust your pinwheel as desired and reshape any spots where the paper may have gotten crushed or folded in the process. There you go! A paper pinwheel! Easy Peasy!
My only complaint about this fun little project is that these pinwheels really are just for decoration. I wish they would spin a little more freely. I think the center hole would need to be larger for them to spin and that might not work well with delicate paper. Or maybe they would spin better with lighter weight paper than what I used here. Who knows? Maybe I will play around with them to see if I can find a solution. I can’t wait to incorporate these fun little pinwheels into my birthday party themes for my girls this summer. How will you use your pinwheels? I would love to know. Please leave me a comment with your thoughts!
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Wow, super cute. I love that paper 🙂
Thank you, Emma! They are so fun to make. I appreciate you taking the time to stop by and comment. Have a great weekend!
I plan to make these for a rehearsal dinner decoration. I bought a book of 6×6 double sided scrapbook paper to avoid the cutting. So I will see how that works.
That is a great idea, Rhonda! Let me know how they turn out. I would LOVE to see a picture. Thanks so much for stopping by with a comment. I hope your rehearsal dinner is a huge success!