22 January 2010

flakey tute.

i didn't know if y'all were serious. you could just be flattering a girl, after all. but a few of you asked for some snowflake making classes and considering that:

a. every time i spot a square snowflake, a small part of my soul dies,
AND
b. it's friday night, the hubby is not present, and i have been left to my own devices,

i thought a snowflake tutorial might be a wise idea (with the bonus of keeping me out of trouble. and also out of the secret chocolate stash. which generally amounts to the same thing.)

so. Snowflakes 101.

disclaimer: since i didn't know which three people might actually reference this someday, i opted to Play It Safe and structure this as if you have never cut a snowflake before. (and no, the 33 square snowflakes you made in second grade don't count. in fact they're like negative snowflakes. so if all you've ever made are snowsquares, you are LEAGUES behind in snowflake points. grab yourself some scissors and pull up a chair.)

for the rest of y'all who already knew the basics and just wanted a helpful tip or two, this is going to be major overkill, so please get all your insulted feelings over with right now so we can mosey on through the tute.

are we good?

alrighty then.


step 1
snow how-to 1
you need a sheet of paper and a pair of scissors. (with the paper, the thinner the better. this here is standard computer paper, which Generally Does Not Bode Well for dainty flakes.)

fold the paper to make a triangle, like so.


step 2

snow how-to 2
trim the leftover bit. rotate the triangle so the fold is on the bottom.

step 3
snow how-to 3
fold in half. open.

step 4
snow how-to 4
now comes the tricksy part, but i have faith in you. we need to fold this baby in thirds, so eyeball it and loosely fold till it works out right. then strengthen your creases.

step 5
snow how-to 5
flip over. fold in half vertically.

step 6
snow how-to 6
trim the extra triangly bits (cut straight across the line), then cut a meandering curve or angled line across the top (this will form the outline of your snowflake x 12).

step 7
snow how-to 7
aha. the fun part.

alternating sides, cut shapes from the triangle. you must end on the side where you began; DO NOT CUT ALL THE WAY THROUGH TO THE OTHER SIDE.

tip 1: you want mostly space, very little paper left. you can already tell here that i'm going to end up with too much paper.

tip 2: try a mixture of curves and angles to see what suits. follow the lines of the shapes you've already created so that your remaining web of paper is fairly uniform in width.

tip 3: DO NOT CUT ALL THE WAY THROUGH TO THE OTHER SIDE.

step 8
snow how-to 8
open. (i can tell this is going to be too spider-webby for my tastes, which just figures, but since i photographed this much already i'm sticking with the homely guy.)

step 9
snow how-to 9
tada! so ok, a bit webby, but in a pretty way, right? like a perhaps-charlotte-will-be-tempted-to-move-in sort of way? well. so much for being the Resident Expert on Flakes.

anyhow, drop me a note if you make some of your own, but please do not be cruel and purposely link to a snowsquare (i'm talking to you, jeremy. flee from temptation.).

let it snow.

:)

15 comments:

Catherine said...

Thank you for sharing your snowflake making knowledge with everyone ~ I too cringe when my eyes land on a square snowflake! Gaaak!!!

You have just made the crafting world a better place... :)

KS said...

SO COOOL! I can't wait to make some of these with my nieces!

CurlyGirlD said...

Nic,

It was so nice of you to share your knowledge. And these are SOOO pretty! My DD & I will enjoy making some this weekend. :o)

Michele said...

My flake turned out nice and round! Thanks for the lovely distraction!

amy luella said...

WHATEVER about homely!!!=) i look forward to putting these steps to the test soon!

Jenn said...

Charlotte would be so proud :) I think it is just lovely...and I'm thrilled with another use for these reams of computer paper laying about :) You, my dear, Nic are my crafting idol!

Jenn

andrea said...

Nic, your snowflakes are so much prettier than the square kind. Going to make some of these pretties with the kiddos :) thanks for sharing!!
Andrea

Catherine Anne said...

Oh I love your blog!!! Nice to meet you.

Beth said...

Thanks, I actually never knew how NOT to make a square snowflake so now I'll never have to do it again!

Love said...

oh, i am SO many negative snow flakes. i'm going to fix that this week.

Whitney :) said...

AWESOME!!! thanks so much for the tute :) will i be able to search this next Christmas??? my kids would love it!

Cocukla Cocuk said...

awesome , i love it

Cocukla Cocuk said...

awesome , i love it

Catherine Anne said...

Oh I love your blog!!! Nice to meet you.

Michele said...

My flake turned out nice and round! Thanks for the lovely distraction!