Many Christmas decorations appear like art projects. You have to cut, fold and color the raw materials before forming a stylish Christmas structure. The paper snowflake isn’t any different. Much paper manipulation is involved when creating the pretty paper-based ornament, especially if it has an intricate pattern. Honestly, the paper snowflake is not easy to create, but with some practice, you can beautify your home using this costless creation.

The beauty of a paper snowflake depends on its pattern’s appearance. You should know, the degree of difficulty in creating the ornament increases as the pattern becomes more intricate. If you plan to create a complex-looking snowflake, you must devote some time for practice. Remember, a tiny error can wreck the design of the entire piece, making it unusable this Christmas. Just settle for a simple design, if you’re not adept at creating paper crafts.

Varying Degrees of Difficulty

Given that making paper snowflakes is not so easy, four different versions of the paper snowflake have been prepared. Each version caters to a different level of difficulty, so you can just find where your craft-making skills fit. Better yet, have a go at all of them to properly valuate your abilities.

• Easy Paper Snowflake - An Experiment with Triangles
• Intermediate Paper Snowflake - Stylized Triangles
• Moderate Paper Snowflake - Cool Paper Snowflake Pattern
• Expert Paper Snowflake - The 3D Paper Snowflake
• Create Your Own Paper Snowflake - optional

If you’re a beginner, the advisable thing to do is to go through all four snowflake variations until you master them. The final step is to actually design your own pattern then create a tangible output right after.

Easy Paper Snowflake - An Experiment with Triangles

Forming a triangle is instrumental if you are to make a paper snowflake. When you have folded a piece of paper into a tiny triangle, you can implement any design that you choose. Just cut shapes and patterns on the folded triangle and you’ll be surprised at what you will find once you unfold the paper.

Materials Used:

• origami paper/thin art paper
• wax paper
• scissors
• flat iron
• ironing board
• string
• hole punch

Procedure:

1. Fold the paper in half crosswise. Fold it in the same way right after.
2. Once done, crease both ends of one side to the middle, creating a triangle. Repeat this two more times. You should be holding a miniature triangle after folding the paper.
3. Cut out various shapes and patterns on the triangle. Remember, the more patterns you cut, the lacier and more intricate the snowflake will be.
4. Take note of the patterns you made with your scissors, in case you stumble upon a design that you like.
5. Place the unfolded snowflake in between two sheets of wax paper.
6. Lay the snowflake on an ironing board and iron both sheets of wax paper. Press on the iron while ironing, so your creation will be thoroughly flattened. This makes the snowflake sturdier, especially for items with thin patterns.
7. Bore a small sized hole on the snowflake’s top portion.
8. Slip the string through the hole then tie a knot using both ends. Hang the snowflake right after.

When making this type of snowflake, you can use the standard eight and a half-inch paper and a smaller four-inch sheet. You can alternate between sizes when hanging them to create a nice contrast. Paint or color the snowflake if you prioritize aesthetics over realism.

Intermediate Paper Snowflake - Stylized Triangles

Let’s take the technical side of folding paper up a notch. Instead of making regular triangles, you will learn how to create stylized ones en route to forming even better paper snowflake patterns. You can apply any pattern you know, even the ones you learned from making the easy paper snowflake. You’ll be surprised with the difference that a tweaked triangle makes.

Materials Used:

• good quality typing paper
• scissors
• marker
• clear tape (optional)
• hole punch (optional)
• string (optional)
• glitter (optional)

Procedure:

1. Crease one of the paper’s top sides diagonally, as if you’re creating a triangle. Unfold the paper, then do the same thing with the other top side.
2. Fold the excess portion at the bottom upward.
3. Cut the excess part, so the paper will form a square.
4. Fold the paper diagonally in half, forming a triangle.
5. Once done, crease the top of the triangle halfway down.
6. Fold the paper in half to form a triangular figure (part of the base is missing for it to constitute an actual triangle).
7. Turn the figure into an actual triangle by cutting the folded side.
8. Get your marker and label the lower left side A, the top side B and the lower right side C.
9. From point B down to point C, sketch flower petal-like patterns. The patterns’ shapes and sizes should vary slightly to make your snowflake look more intricate.
10. From point B to point A, sketch long and thin triangular patterns. Just like in the previous step, the patterns’ shapes and sizes should slightly vary. Make sure that the patterns don’t hit or intersect each other.
11. When you have finalized the design, carefully cut the patterns you sketched with a pair of scissors.
12. Unfold the snowflake to check the design. If you’re not satisfied, consider adding more patterns.
13. Fold the snowflake then place it under a large book or any heavy item for half a day.
14. If you want to hang your creation, punch a hole on the top portion. Slide a string through the hole then knot the string’s ends. If you want to simply stick it on to a surface, just use clear tape.

Having a white paper snowflake is usually enough. If you want to stylize it even further, sprinkle glitter on your creation. You can also sketch and color patterns on the flake’s surface.

Moderate Paper Snowflake - Cool Paper Snowflake Pattern

The moderate level of the paper snowflake is much harder than merely experimenting with triangles. Your aim is to establish a standard pattern on the paper-based ornament, which means you can create it consistently every time you make a snowflake. Don’t worry, the pattern is pretty simple. All you need is a little patience and some cutting prowess to make the flake.

Follow the intermediate snowflake up to step 8. From there, you have to sketch several rows of shapes, which will be the snowflake’s pattern. The left side, which spans from point A to B, should contain the following in chronological order: (Note: all the figures are facing/pointed to the right)

1. a curved rectangle
2. a teardrop curled upward
3. a tiny equilateral triangle
4. a one or two millimeter thin triangle
5. a small curved rectangle facing down
6. a line beneath point B’s tip

On the right side going up (Point C to B), sketch the following shapes: (Note: all the figures are facing/pointed to the left)

1. a crescent moon with a missing right tip and pointing upwards
2. a small half circle pointed to the left
3. a reversed slightly thinner version of the first figure.
4. a tiny equilateral triangle
5. a small half circle

After sketching the figures, cut them all out then unfold the paper. You might be surprised with the results. When you have become adept at this version of the snowflake, you can apply more intricate pattern sets.

Expert Paper Snowflake - The 3D Paper Snowflake

The 3D snowflake is the best looking piece among the bunch. Its realism, given that it is 3D, beats out even well done 2D snowflakes. It is also more durable and more decorative than any of the other types. Clearly, this item will put all of your previous efforts to the test.

If you have mastered creating the moderate paper snowflake, you should have no trouble creating a 3D piece. The only challenge is to create a pair of identical snowflakes. It seems easy at first, but mind you, the patterns can be quite tricky, especially if you’re creating the replica. When you have a pair of identical items, use a hole puncher to create a hole on the top portion of both sides. Affix a string through the holes and knot its ends. Glue both sides of the snowflake to finish your creation.

To stylize the 3D snowflake even further, you can attach strings with beads in between the two sides. You can also place a small bulb inside then sprinkle the flake with glitter, so it will sparkle perpetually.

Create Your Own 3D Paper Snowflake - Optional

This creation, requiring original patterns, gives you a chance to showcase everything you have learned. You can take a detail from each of the four snowflake types to create a visually stunning item. Make your creation in 3D, since it is simply more stylish than single-layered flakes. When you have finished your snowflake, compare it with the expert level 3D snowflake that you did previously. If your original creation looks better, you have already mastered the art. You can even go for mass production if you choose to.

Costless and Priceless

The paper snowflake, intricate patterns and all, is among the favorites when it comes to homemade Christmas ornaments. It blends well with most home themes and is easy to style. If you create an entire collection, you should have no problems making your home’s dullest corners look dainty. Best of all, it is only made of paper, which is practically costless. So what are you waiting for? Grab a sheet of paper and give it a shot.

Watch The Videos

How To Make Picture Perfect Paper Snowflakes

How to Make Paper Snowflakes

Make A Cool 3D Paper Snowflake

3D Snowflake

[Get Updates On How To Make More Stuff]