TIPsy Tuesday: Pinwheels!

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Pinwheels!  Leslie and I love them!  Being that Spring is right around the corner and because they hold a special piece of my Neverland Nook heart, I'm sharing a double dose pinwheel tutorial today!  This will be fun for you and your kids!  Let's begin with the basic pinwheel:

What you'll need:
~ 2 sheets of pretty paper (or a double sided piece of paper - which would save you time)
~ dowel rod
~ scissor
~ pencil
~ ruler
~ hot glue gun
~ glue stick
~ thumbtack
~ bead
~ some water
~ button

I soaked the end of the dowel rod in water while I made the pinwheel, this helps the wood from splitting when pinning the thumbtack into the dowel rod.

First you'll want to measure out 5" x 5" squares on the back of decorative paper and then cut the squares out.

Once the squares are cut out, use your glue stick to glue them together.

Fold the square forming triangles to make an "X" on the square.

Cut along the folded lines, but stop when you are about a half an inch from the center on each line.

Now is a good time to make the hole in your dowel rod that has been soaking in water.  I used a push pin because it was easier to make the hole then the thumbtack was for me.

Use your thumbtack and push it into the right corner of each triangle.  You can do the left if you'd like, just be sure to always use the same corner of each triangle as you go around.

Place a bead on the thumbtack behind the pinwheel before pushing it into the hole you made in the dowel rod.  I find that the bead allows a little more space and for a better spin.

Lastly, I hot glue a cute button on the face of the thumbtack to make the pinwheel even more whimsical!

Ta Da!!!  Fun Pinwheels!

Now for the second dose!  Make an adorable Spring time wreath for your house!

What you'll need: 12 pinwheels you already know how to make, 12 buttons, pins, 12" Styrofoam wreath, strip of ribbon, and a glue gun

Simply push all 12 of your pinwheels into the Styrofoam ring using pushpins as the center of each pinwheel.

Hot glue buttons in the center of each pinwheel.

Lastly (which I probably should have done first), make a loop with the ribbon and attach it to the back of the wreath using a pushpin.

Now you have a beautiful, airy Spring time wreath!

Hope you have as much fun as I have making these!

xoxo