Fourth of July Pinwheel Centerpiece Tutorial

These Pinwheels are so quick and inexpensive! Make a centerpiece for a fun July 4th get-together, then at the end send everyone home with a pinwheel party favor. You should be aware that the pinwheels may not be appropriate for young children because of the thumbtack.

Materials:

• Double Sided 12″ x 12″ Scrapbook Paper (Different pattern on each side)
• Paper Trimmer
• Roller dispenser with double sided tape or double sided glue dots
• Thumbtacks – beware all thumbtacks are not created equally. Some of the points are not long enough. Get some that are at least 3/8″ long. A little longer would be better, but shorter will not let the pinwheels spin around.
• Pencils with erasers in red, whites, and or blues
• Container for centerpiece – I just used a white milk glass bowl that I had on hand
• Piece of Styrofoam cut to fit inside container
• Masking tape
• Red or Blue shredded paper

Instructions:
Step 1. Using a paper trimmer cut the 12″ x 12″ piece of scrapbook paper into four- 4″ x 4″ squares.

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Step 2. Lay one 4″ square onto the paper trimmer diagonally lining up the corners on the cutting line. Cut down from the top to the 3-1/2″ mark. Make another cut from the bottom of the paper up to the 5″ mark.

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Step 3. Repeat 2 cuts on opposite diagonal.

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Step 4. If you separate the cuts slightly you will see four triangles that join in the center. Roll double sided tape on the top left angle of triangle at top of paper.

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Step 5. Pull angle down overlapping center of paper slightly and stick.

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Step 6. Turn paper one quarter turn to left.

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Step 7. Repeat steps 4 through 6, three more times.

 

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Step 8. Slowly push thumbtack through center taking care to go through all points.

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Step 9. Push thumbtack into the pencil eraser. If the pinwheel won’t turn then pull out the thumbtack slightly.

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Step 10. Make desired number of pinwheels needed to fit into container.

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Step 11. Stick masking tape that has been made into large loops (so that sticky side is on both sides) onto the styrofoam. Press styrofoam into the container.

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Step 12. Use something sharp and pointed slightly smaller than pencils to make holes in styrofoam. Stick pencils into “pre-drilled” holes.

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Step 13. Add shredded paper to cover the styrofoam.

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