Flurries of Fun

 

This project actually took place in the summer, but I've gotten busy and had to wait for Christmas break to display my beauties.

 

Starting with regular white printer paper (8.5" x 11") you first chop of 2.5" so that you can make a square.

 

 

 

From there you fold the opposite corners inward.

 

 

Make sure you press firmly down the middle to create a sharp edge for easier folding.

 

 

Again, you fold the corners in.

 

 

One more time! You can fold your snowflake more than this, but this thickness is optimal. The edges are easiest to cut if they are thin, and the more times you fold the snowflake, the thicker they become.

 

Your final fold should look like this.

 

 

In this picture, my pointer finger is indicating the area of the triangle that will become the center of the snowflake. Of the three triangle corners, this one is entirely comprised of folds.
 

 

Next, we start cutting. I usually start by clipping the centerpiece.

 

 

Remember, your edges are your greatest asset. If your snowflake was folded and remains fairly thin, you may be able to cut some designs in the center, though these cuts are more difficult.

 

 

Next is the top, what will be the edge of your snowflake. Triangles are your friends.

 

 

Then we get to start unfolding!

 

 

Viola! The finished product!

 

 

I churned out about 60 "snowflakes" this day, so I'm grossly unaware of the patterns I used to make these. However, I have them displayed here all the same so you can use them as inspiration (and I've given them names just to make it fun!).

What are some of your favorite snowflake designs? Do you like the curvy ones or designs with sharper edges?

 

Happy crafting!

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1. The Kaleidoscope
 

 

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2. The Celtic Symbol
 

 

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3. The Minecraft
 

 

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4. The Alien Eyes
 

 

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5. The Blocky Christmas Star
 

 

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6. The  Flowy Christmas Star
 

And That's a Wrap!

 I had the pleasure of attending the beautiful outdoor glass chapel wedding of one of my friends this Autumn. Having the gifts in two separate boxes, I wanted to ensure that they stayed together. Using burlap ribbon infused with gold specks, I pulled the pieces together. To hide the crossing point of the two ribbons, I added a bow to the top.

 

I used gold, glitter ribbon to make the bow (because the only time we have bows in our house is Christmastime). Following this tutorial, I was able to make a lovely bow just the size that I needed for my project.

 

Knowing how easily bows can be made, I may broaden my horizons and create bows from various materials. What are some materials, other than ribbon, that you want to repurpose into a bow?

 

Happy crafting! 

Mug Warmer

I thought a mug warmer would be a fun, and useful, item to crochet. I used this pattern from JoAnn's, with slight tweaking for yarn weight and mug size.

This was my piece before connecting the ends. It fit snug around the glass that I had with me at work (yes, because I crochet on my lunch break). With a little stretching, the piece fit much better.

Using the tails, I weaved the two sides together at the top and bottom. The last step is attaching a button to one side to unite the piece underneath the mug handle.

This is another warmer I made with a dip for the mouth; made using slip stitches.