Another wet day here, but we had a tiny bit of time when we could go outside and run around with our newly made pinwheels. I have been meaning to make these for awhile to use in the garden as a way to keep the birds away. Emily needed a little help to make hers, but for the most part, she did well on her own.
To make your own pinwheel, you will need: a sheet of paper (we used a 12 inch square sheet of paper, but about 8 1/2″ square would have been ideal), a dowel rod, some thin gauge wire, two pony beads, a hole puncher, a pencil, and a pair of scissors.
If your paper is not already square, cut it so it is. Mark the middle point of the paper and draw diagonals as shown. This gave Emily some good practice using the ruler as a straight-edge.
Using scissors, cut the diagonals about half way up to the center.
Bend every other corner in towards the center. Punch a hole in the tip of each corner that is bent inwards. Poke a hole through the middle point of the pinwheel also. Cut a 12″ length of thin gauge wire, and fold in half. Lace a pony bead on the thin-gauge wire as shown.
Thread the wire though the pinwheel as shown.
Add another pony bead to the back of the pinwheel and wrap the remaining wire around the dowel rod as shown.
Run around and enjoy your handmade pinwheel!
May 28th, 2009 on 3:41 pm
Looks like Emily is enjoying her pinwheel!
May 28th, 2009 on 6:45 pm
Love how big it came out!
May 28th, 2009 on 7:49 pm
How pretty! Another thing we will have to try!
May 28th, 2009 on 8:30 pm
LOL Well I CAN wait for the Palm Pre because there’s no way we can afford to buy a new phone right now but I am excited to see how it does and if it’s as cool as it seems.
By the way I REALLY wish you had posted this LAST week! Would have been perfect for our theme. Oh well…will have to save for another time. Very COOL!
May 29th, 2009 on 6:37 am
That is so fun. Kids love pinwheels. I gave some to my preschool class and they loved them.
Thanks for sharing with Fiday Showcase!!!!
May 29th, 2009 on 8:56 am
How Fun! We are definitely going to give that a try!
May 29th, 2009 on 10:31 am
How fun!
May 29th, 2009 on 7:43 pm
What a great craft for all sorts of skills. I have it on my summer to-do list
May 30th, 2009 on 2:52 am
For some reason, pinwheels look too complicated for me! haha But if your little girl did it, I know have the courage to take them on!!!! Thanks for the tutorial!
May 31st, 2009 on 2:42 am
My wife and i stumbled onto your site and just love these cost saving crafts. And they look so professional