Handcrafted Celebrations

A Pinwheel tutorial- the easiest ever


03.29.10 Posted in 30x30, Party by Vicky

In just a few weeks I will be sharing a sweet one year old’s very special birthday. She will be celebrating under a canopy of glimmering pearls, along side a fence full of pinwheels. Here is your first glimpse…

The invitations have been handmade with adorable pinwheels on the front and stamped in letters to create an artistic contrast. The stage is easily being set for a lovely afternoon party by sending a strand of plastic pearls to each girl invited.


To make our invitations for Pinwheel and Pearls I perused a few Homemade how-to’s only to find everything quite complicated with intricate templates to trace and patterns to cut. Here is our (incredibly easy to make) version…

How to make a paper pinwheel- a super easy tutorial (a.k.a the mom with twin toddlers version)- use it as a jumping off point for your own invitations or as a simple spring craft to liven up a warm afternoon.

Start with one square of paper. Any size will work, we have been busy making both 2 inch & 12 inch ones.

Cut a diagonal line in towards the center from each of the four points. Do not cut all the way through to the center, stop just before it.


Fold over one corner into the center of the square… Repeat with the other four.


Secure your pinwheel with glue, a button, sticker, flower or even a small shiny pearl. Attach with glue onto a dowel. Use for invitations, for party bunting, or even stick a few in cupcakes to serve as adorable pinwheel toppers.


We wanted our larger pinwheels to actually function and blow in the wind. To make working pinwheels follow the directions above, plus…

Use a small hole punch at the pinwheel corners you will be folding in, also punch a hole in the middle of the square.

Connect the edges together by sliding a kitchen dowel through the lined-up holes. We attached a pearl onto the end of our dowels just for a bit of extra loveliness.

Hot glue the small dowel onto a larger stick, place in the ground and enjoy watching the wind blow through your new pinwheel.

Warning: These are hazardous to your babies attention as they will sit mesmerized by pinwheels for hours.

blessings.

PS. Obviously these are paper so they won’t hold up to rain, a little free tip from me.

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6 Responses to “A Pinwheel tutorial- the easiest ever”

  1. Hope Peterson says:

    love, love, love!

  2. Luis Repine says:

    You’ve got your position across much better than I ever could, many thanks!

  3. MissDDT says:

    I love this tutorial! I’ve always wanted to make my own pinwheels (just for the fun of it :D ) but I thought it would be a little challenging. But after looking at this, it really isn’t. Thanks a bunch!

  4. [...] cupcakes were adorned with creamy pink speckled frosting and each was topped with our easy to make small paper pinwheels. They sat in layers on two homemade box [...]

  5. [...] sure to check out Victoria’s DIY tutorials for the pinwheels, party hats, and her free downloads for the labels. Share and [...]

  6. [...] make the pinwheel, I followed the same steps as the paper pinwheel tutorial. Take a piece of fabric cut to a 1.5 inch square. Make cuts in all four corners, then begin folding [...]

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