Tutorial: Paper Ornaments

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Another little tute for you to try with your children while pies and cookies are baking.  Our midwife, Sue, posted this craft on her Facebook page to make with last year’s cards (or leftover ones if you have them).  We had neither, so I pulled out our trusty scrapbook paper stack – the same stack we have used for three years running.

This one is a little more challenging than the Vintage Christmas Lights, and should provide some joy for the maths enthusiast in your family, too.  Alternately, have the kids do piles of different sized circles and have them figure up the inscribed triangles and call Maths done for the day. 🙂

You need:

Scrapbook paper or cards

A large paper punch or compass

Scissors

Cardstock or scrap of cardboard (for triangle template)

Ruler

Glue

Paintbrush

Micropunch, awl, or sharp yarn needle

Stringing cord

This is my huge lever punch, which makes a super big 2.5" circle. I LOVE it. Find out why below.

 

Gather your materials. If you're anything like me, this will take half the day because we have too much {stuff} and not enough {space}.

 

Punch out circles from your cards or paper. If you haven't a punch, use a compass to scribe a 2.5" circle onto a piece of cardstock to use as a template. Then cut out a whole bunch of circles.

 

ABout 300 circles done in short order with my punch. Did I mention how much I LOVE this punch? {Save your scraps, this paper is spendy.!}

 

On the wrong side of your circles, make a nice, even triangle or...

 

create a template for an inscribed equilateral triangle. Lots of fun for the engineer in the family. The formula is:: a=3R/√3, where "R" is the radius of the circle. That literally made me lightheaded, but Brian had tons of fun.

 

That formula again::  a=3R/√3

Cut your triangle template out of cardstock. Trust me, you'll be glad you did. Remember to cut it out INSIDE the lines so that it trims out neatly inside the circles.

 

On the wrong side of your circles, score around the template using your scissor blade.

 

Fold all three flaps toward the right side of each circle.

 

You'll need FOUR folded circles for each ornament.

 

Using thinned glue and a paintbrush, glue only the flaps of the circles.

 

Stick flap of the second circle to the first...

 

More glue and the third and fourth circles.

 

Gather the children and have them finish up the rest of the circles. They'll love it!

 

Set your ornaments aside to dry.  You could add glue and glitter around the edges, too.  This hides any mismatched edges, if you’re concerned about that sort of thing.  I like the imperfection – but I also love anything that sparkles! 🙂  When everything is dried, punch a wee hole in one flap of each ornament and thread some cord through for hanging.

About that punch…

It’s a “Recollections” lever punch, available at Michael’s stores.  I bought a 2.5″ circle as well a gift tag cutter.  Why do I LOVE it so much?  I have pretty bad arthritis all over, but the inflammation in my hands can make crafting really difficult and not much fun.  Cutting with scissors takes me extra long and hurts after only a short time.  This lever punch allows me to use my whole palm for pressure, which relieves my fingers enormously.  I punched more than 300 circles really quickly.  I call that a brilliant invention.  Well worth the $16 I paid!

*I don’t get paid by Michael’s, this is my own opinion of a great product I wanted to share with you.