How to make a paper snowflake
Let it snow! Making paper snowflakes is so much fun and an activity the whole family can get involved in. If you're wondering how to make paper snowflakes then let us assure you, they couldn’t be easier! These cheap and cheerful decorations are a great Christmas craft that kids will love to help with.
Make your home feel magical by making paper snowflakes to hang on the tree, from the mantelpiece, on walls or in a window. Get creative and make a display – you could even arrange the snowflakes into a festive garland or mobile. They also make a great addition to handmade Christmas wrapping paper – simply wrap your gift before attaching a paper snowflake for a gift tag with the wow-factor.
Paper snowflakes are simple to make in minutes – and they cost next to nothing. All you need is some paper, scissors, our simple step-by-step how to make a snowflake guide, a little festive creativity and a steady hand. While our step-by-step guide on how to make snowflakes uses a 15cm square piece of paper, you can use any size of paper you wish – just make sure it's square.
Once you've made your paper snowflakes, why not have a go at making our easy Christmas paper decorations for your tree? From paper doves to cookie cutter decorations, we've got ideas galore to get you into the festive spirit.
To make paper snowflakes you will need
Pair of scissors
It’s essential that you have a good quality pair of scissors to make paper snowflakes; they should be sharp and able to cut through thick paper. Large blades are best as they are stronger, but you can also switch to a smaller pair for cutting details.Assorted paper
For this step-by-step tutorial we’ll be using ordinary white printer paper. This is a good paper to start with, then once you’ve happy with the technique you can try using other papers such as tissue paper.
Pencil
Rule
Iron and ironing board
How to make easy paper snowflakes – step-by-step guide
Start by cutting a square piece of paper. You can use any size you like, but a good size to start with is 15cm by 15cm. Once you’ve practiced on this size a couple of times, you can increase the paper size for large paper snowflake decorations or make miniature snowflakes from smaller paper squares.
2. Fold the paper diagonally to create a triangle. If you started with a perfect square, the ends should meet neatly. If there is any excess paper on the edge of the paper you can trim these off so that you have a perfect triangle.
3. Fold the triangle in half again and use your fingers to press along the creases so they are sharp and flat.
4. Fold the left side of your triangle in and make a fold line then open it out again.
5. Do the same again on the opposite side, this time fold the paper in the other direction and keep it folded.
6. Fold the other side back in, you’ll have a shape like an arrow that overlaps.
7. Draw a line across the bottom section of the folded paper triangle and use a pair of scissors to cut the section off, leaving you with a narrower triangle.
8. Next use a pencil to draw on a snowflake design. You can draw shapes to cut out on all three edges. The more you cut out, the more decorative the finished snowflake will be.
9. Open out your snowflake. Don’t worry if not every aspect of your snowflake is symmetrical, remember now two snowflakes are ever the same they’re all unique and special!
10. Experiment with different cuts for a variety of snowflakes on paper. Snip out small squares, strips or wiggly lines. Using a pencil will help you create guidelines that you can cut along, though once you get confident at cutting you can freehand cut out your patterns. We’ve popped some of our favourite snowflake paper patterns at the end of the article if you’d like some inspiration.
11. Don’t stop at white paper, you can use any paper you have, the thinner the better. Tissue paper gives good results as it’s thinner so is easier to cut but it is fragile so can tear more easily.
Finally, turn your iron onto a cool, low setting. Place a piece of paper between the iron and your snowflake and gently iron over each snowflake this will flatten them out and reduce the creases so they are easier to craft with.
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TIP: When you iron your snowflakes if you gently spray on some starch with a spray bottle, you’ll able to be able to stiffen the snowflakes, which may be useful, depending on how you intent to use them.
Now you’ve perfected how to make a snowflake out of paper, what will you do with it? Paper snowflakes make welcoming decorations hung in windows or on your Christmas tree, you can use them in your cardmaking, or even to decorate tables and walls.
Get inspired by these paper snowflake patterns
Here are some easy-to-follow paper patterns and templates that you can use to help you make DIY paper snowflakes. Happy crafting!
Paper snowflakes for beginners
24 ways to cut a paper snowflake pattern
Cut out templates for paper snowflakes
How to make intricate paper snowflakes
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