Many brides these days are either on a budget (start planning a wedding and you'll understand why!) or just creative and like to make things on their own. It's nice to find some decorative tips and ideas for making some of the details for your wedding on your own! We are going to post some do-it-yourself tips every other week, so you can make your own decorations. If you are looking for anything specific, just let us know!
Our first project is going to be pinwheels. Pinwheels are a great item that can be used for many different things at a wedding. They can be used with a stake and put in the ground as a decoration. They can be incorprated into centerpieces. They can be used as bouquets. They can be used as the going away accessory (in lieu of sparklers, bubbles, etc.). Whatever the reason, they're adorable and super easy to make!
MATERIALS NEEDED:
Scissors
Pencil
Decorative/Scrapbook Paper
Ruler
Decorative Brads (Keep in mind the length of the "tails" on the brads. They must fit through the pinwheel tops as well as the sticks)
Stick (Can use straws, popsicle sticks, dowels, or anything you can put a hole in)
DIRECTIONS:
1) First decide how large you'd like the pinwheels to be. You will be cutting squares out of the scrapbook paper to create the pinwheels. A good size would be 8" x 8", but try one out to see if it's the size you desire. Measure your square and create a "stencil" square. On each piece of scrapbook paper, use the stencil to cut out squares for the number of pinwheels you would like to create.
2) The next step is to cut from each corner diagonally in toward the middle of the square. Don't go all the way to the middle, but leave about 1/2" from the center. See diagram for example.
3) Use the brad (or the tip of a pencil or something that will be able to poke a hole) to poke a small hole in the right corner of each cut that you made (once again, see diagram) and one in the middle. Then pull all of the corners toward the middle and line up the holes. This will create the pinwheel top. Stick the brad through all the holes to hold it together. See photo.
4) Depending on what you use for the "stick" of the pinwheel it may be easy or hard to create a hole. We used a straw for our example and sharp scissors to create a hole pretty easily. You may also be able to use a nail and hammer on some of the harder objects like popsicle sticks or dowels. When using straws I suggest using a solid color and one without the flexible top. Whatever you decide to use, create a small hole for the brad to go all the way through. Make sure the hole is large enough for the brads to go through, but not too large that they'll fall out.
5) The final step is to undo the brad you put through the pinwheel top, push it all the way through the stick, and bend the brads around. You now have a pinwheel!
Check back in 2 weeks for another do-it-yourself tip! If you have any questions or suggestions let us know and we'll help you out. Enjoy!
~ Erin
~ Erin
(Professional wedding photos courtesy of Kate Byars Photography - www.katebyarsphotography.com)
