Winter Activities: Ways to Make Paper Snowflakes

© by Jennifer McLeod writing as jenjen0703, all rights reserved.

When I was a child, my mom always had winter activities to keep us busy. One thing I loved to do was make paper snowflakes. I would make dozens of snowflakes and hang them around the house for others to see. My mom was an arts and crafts "pioneer" and always had projects to work on, so she left much of the Christmas decorating up to my brother and me.

I thought I was the "Paper Snowflake Master" until yesterday, when I visited YouTube to find videos for this hub. I had no idea there were so many types of paper snowflakes. I even saw 3D snowflakes. I realized I was not very good at making paper snowflakes after all, so, I will be learning right along with the rest of you.

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Making paper snowflakes is easy, but you have to understand the basic concepts before getting started. The most important thing to remember about paper snowflakes is that if you do not fold the paper correctly, your snowflake will not turn out like it is supposed to. It will look as if a 2-year old got his hands on a pair of scissors.

Here is a diagram to show you how to fold the paper. After you fold the paper in Step 1, cut off the excess paper so the piece you are working with is square, not rectangular.

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The snowflake in the following video is what I would consider "Paper Snowflakes for Beginners."This video will show you the basics on how to cut out your preliminary snowflakes. The snowflakes in this video look like my paper snowflakes. So much for my being "The Paper Snowflake Master." This simple design is an excellent starting point for kids and will guide them through the instructions regarding where to cut the triangle. Like anything else, making paper snowflakes takes time and practice. "Practice makes perfect." Do not be discouraged when your first few snowflakes looks like a kindergarten display. You can just tell your neighbors and friends that your children made them.

Now that you understand how to fold and cut a paper snowflake, you can move on to more advanced styles and patterns. "No two snowflakes are ever the same." This is true in nature, and holds true with paper snowflakes. No matter how many snowflakes you make, there will never be two of them exactly alike. That is the cool part about making snowflakes (and the best way to cut down on the arguing and competition between children who might be competing to make the BEST snowflake.)

Google Image offers tons of pictures of paper snowflakes, so take a look at some of the examples there. This will help you with creativity issues if you are not sure what to do.

The following video shows how to make a more advanced style of snowflake. This snowflake has the appearance of a flower and is absolutely beautiful.

As I searched for more ideas for paper snowflakes, I found an awesome snowflake called the Lacy Paper Snowflake Decoration. I took one look at it and told myself, "No way. There is absolutely no way I can do this one." But, I went ahead and watched the video. I was amazed at how easy this decorative snowflake is to make. Be sure to grab some glue, a ruler, and a pencil for this project. It took me only 20 minutes to make my first decoration.

Enjoy making your paper snowflakes. Hang them around your house for your family and friends to see. Making paper snowflakes is a wonderful tradition to start with your children (if you haven't already) that will last for years to come.

Merry Christmas to everyone here at HubPages!