I saw this great tutorial over at Sugar Bee Crafts (original tutorial from Funky Vintage Lovely) and right away I went out and bought the paper for it! I love pinwheels and these pinwheel stars are so festive!
I know this post is a little late to make one for the 4th of July but I think you could make one of these for any holiday, you just have to buy different season scrapbook paper for each. I think I might make one for Christmas.
Here’s what you’ll need:
Scrapbooking Paper: each star will require 2-12×12 pieces
Ruler
Zots (I just discovered these and they are awesome!)
Blade
First measure the paper and cut them into 6×6 squares.
Next draw the pattern on one of the squares. Measure 1″ in from each side and draw a line. Leave 1/2″ open on 2 opposing ends. Then measure another 1″ in from those lines and draw another square, leaving 1/2″ open on 2 of the ends.
You should be able to see it better in this picture. If you still have questions you can visit the original tutorial here.
Next connect the two ends of each square with a Zot. The center and the exterior will face the same direction and the middle will face the opposite direction.
I used a razor blade and a cutting board and was able to cut about 3-4 pieces of paper at a time which made the process go much quicker.
When you get 3 of them finished face them all the same direction and then staple them together at the base.
When you are finished with the next three it’s time to staple them all together. I tried this 2 different ways and this is the way that I found was easiest. I stapled the 2 outside rolls together first and then stapled the 2 middles together.
Stapling the outside rolls first holds it in place and makes it easier to staple the middle together.
Then go around the star and staple each roll together.
When I put this first one together I was seriously SO excited. I think I was squealing in my mind. I just love how fun and pretty it is!
After I finished them all I laid them out on the floor and spaced them out the way I wanted them. Then I poked a hole in the top of each one and strung a ribbon through it.
I love it! So festive!
I also made a solo one for the side fence where our guests were going to be entering the back yard.
What do you think? I love them and I’m totally going to be making more in the future!
These are super cute! How long would you estimate it took to make these from start to finish?Best,Emily from Nap Time Is My Time
Those are so cute! Thanks for the tutorial.
I saw these too and my first thought was "I can't wait to make some for Christmas!!!" Love the way they turned out (and thanks for the stapling tips – I'm sure you saved me many curses 🙂
I'm with everyone else, too cute for words! They would be so great for birthdays too.
cUte!
Oh are these cute – must put this project on my "to do" list! Thanks for sharing.
These are so cute and so versatile if you used different patterns and colors!egill[at]rams[dot]colostate[dot]edu
Super cute and different!
very simple and yet so festive…thanks for sharing the crafty love on ff!alison
Great tutorial! I've seen these in sparkly white and blue and they look like snowflakes, too! I always wondered how to make them. Thanks!
I just saw these in a store & thought "i bet I can make those" & now I know how!! Thanks so much!!
yours look great!!!
So cute! I remember how we used to make this in my childhood years…. thanks for sharing! hugs,Lelanie
Just made one today – using it as decor on the main door for my sons birthday (his theme is "Down on the Farm" and I'm using Pinwheels for one of the main decor items) My one piece of advice is to have a small stapler 🙂 I only have a standard desk top size (actually I think it is wider) and had trouble getting into the tight spaces BUT it was still very easy to make!! Oh, my other thought for next time is to get double sided paper if possible so instead of white it would be a coordinating color/pattern 🙂