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Arts & Entertainment

Make Your Own Decorative Pinwheels

Instruction for a do-it-yourself design that everyone can handle.

I am sure you remember making pinwheels when you were younger. They are certainly a craft that brings back memories for me. Whether they are handmade or seen on lawns spinning in the breeze, these nostalgic objects always seem to add a touch of whimsy.

All you need are a few items to create them and it's something you can do with your children as well. Mine are meant purely for decoration and would be perfect for any gathering or party. You can sit them in vases, jars or baskets and even hang them if you want to. They really allow you to get creative and wow your guests.

Materials: decorative card stock paper, pin fasteners, pencil, ruler, straws, hole puncher and scissors

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First, choose the size you want your pinwheel to be and make sure it's a perfect square. Use a ruler to draw light lines from each corner to the one across from it. This will allow you to find the middle. Then, depending on your size, you want to mark a small dot about an inch away from the middle on each line.

Check out the on Broadway and the on Atlantic Avenue for decorative paper.

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Cut along the lines to each new mark and take either side and bring it to the middle. Make sure whatever side you pick, you do the same with each section. You want the pinwheel to be uniform so it looks like it's going in one direction.

Now take a hole puncher and punch a small hole in the middle. Make sure all the section corners are folded toward the middle. Add a paper straw to the back, punch a small hole in the top and with a pin fastener, secure everything and fasten. 

Visit  on Sunrise Highway and on Lakeview Avenue for paper products. You should be able to find hole punchers, rulers and scissors in their stationary aisle. You might even find straws there too.

It shouldn't take much time to do this. The real fun is choosing unique and decorative paper so you have different patterns and colors. Make all different sizes and go nuts. If you don't want to use straws, just attach string to one of the sections and hang. Both ways of showcasing them will look awesome.

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