Supplies
- 65 lb paper
- 2 decorative beads
- 7 pony beads
- 20 gauge wire
- Wire cutters
- Needle nose pliers
- Ruler
- White glue (such as Elmer’s)
- Craft knife
Designs Used
Cutting Instructions
1
Load the Playful Pinwheel (Cut & More) file into your cutting machine’s software.
2
This design has two colors of paper, and works best if cut out of 65lb paper. Proceed in the design software until the first piece appears, and is ready to be cut.
3
Smooth the first piece of paper onto the adhesive mat. Make sure the correct knife tool is in place. Then load the adhesive mat into the machine.
4
Score and cut out the pieces. Then carefully remove the cut pieces and excess paper.
5
Repeat to cut both of pieces for the Playful Pinwheel.
Crafting Instructions
1
To begin construction for the Playful Pinwheel, lay both pieces of paper with right side down. For correct spacing keep the fins alternated and with equal spacing between them.
2
Apply glue to the center and press together.
3
After the glue has dried, take one of the top loops and pull it around and onto the back of the fin.
4
Repeat so all of the top loops are now on the back side of the wheel.
5
With wire cutters, cut a length of 20 gauge wire at 25”.
6
Now take one of the decorative beads and center it on the wire.
7
Once it has been centered, carefully twist the wire a few times to secure the bead in place.
8
Loop the wire through the center opening of the pinwheel. Do not pull the wire all the way through.
9
Add the first four pony beads to the wire.
10
Now, take one of the top loops and pull down on to the wire.
11
Repeat with the next fin to the left of the first fin.
12
Repeat and loop all loops onto wire.
13
With all of the loops stacked on the wire, now add the last three of the pony beads.
14
Take the straw and with a craft knife carefully poke a hole in the front of the straw.
15
Feed both ends of the wire into the straw’s opening, and down the inside of the straw towards the bottom.
16
When the beads meet the straw hold on to both ends and bend the pinwheel forward. Check that the wire is still taut, but the wheel is able to spin when blown on.
17
Once the wire sticks out the bottom of the straw, take the second decorative bead and slide it into place on the wire and keep it flush to the bottom of the straw.
18
With your needle nose pliers, loop the wire around the bead, and back up into the straw.
19
This completes the Playful Pinwheel. Repeat these steps to make a collection of pinwheels in different colors and sizes. The pinwheel can be scaled smaller as long as all pieces are scaled together, but be cautious when enlarging the design as the holes may become too large for the beads.
