DIY Giant Glitter Snowflakes
take the full holiday house tour here!
After I showed you part-one of my Christmas decorations, some of you said – wow, you really got your house cleaned up since you showed us the decorating war zone.
And I would like to say – Um. No. I have not. What I DID do was shove all of the piles of crap out of the picture.
I need one of those hotel-bellman trolleys. So I can just load it up and wheel all the junk out of whatever room I want to impress you with.
I guess I could also throw some of this stuff away, but for some reason the bellman trolley seems more practical.
The most tedious part is cutting out the snowflakes… I did it at the edge of the kitchen island. That way I could saw down through the cardboard with a razor knife.
TIP: If you do this on your husband’s free time, you will be amazed at how much faster it goes.
I used cardboard shipping boxes as the base for my snowflakes… But it is possible that if you are not hopped up on one pound of pure Bolivian cocaine German glass glitter that you will not want to stand at your kitchen island for an hour, sawing at boxes like a maniac.
It is also possible that you do not have my gift of foresight—where you hoard boxes for some yet-to-be-conceived project.
I did try to find some precut options, and these looked pretty good. They are large enough, and I did like the shapes, but I could not be sure about the weight of the paper… I do think this would work with cardstock, but I really don’t know how they would hold up over time.
Besides, I am a blogger. I am required to think of uselessly-intense, idiotic projects… Frankly, I am cutting corners by using pre-made cardboard.
I really should have made the cardboard myself, out of recycled leaves that I chewed into paste. Then I could have created a Pinterest-worthy, annotated-image promoting my DIY artisanal cardboard.
My snowflakes are 16 inches wide, but I had to figure out how to give you a template that you can print on regular-sized paper. The best option I came up with was to give you a section of snowflake… When you print it, it should almost fill the paper.
Once you print it out, (right click & open in new tab) you will need to make the whole template.
I think it will work best if you print out the section and glue it to a piece of cardboard before cutting it out… Then you will have a very sturdy template that you can trace repeatedly.
What you’ll need:
- cardboard or heavy card stock
- small sharp knife
- glitter (I used German glass glitter
which I think gives a nicer “silver” but it WILL tarnish over time)
- glue that is not water-based (I used spray glue) you can’t skimp on the glue or you will not get good coverage with the glitter, but at the same time you do not want the glue to take forever to dry. I let them set overnight for good measure.
see all my holiday decorating ideas
I will love you EVEN MORE… If you share me with your friends!
December 6, 2013 @ 11:04 am
Paul, who WOULDN’T like to cut out snowflakes? That is a delightful activity.
I have to ask about the glitter. Have you found the German glass glitter to be superior to our American plastic glitter? I think I need a side-by-side comparison. Just a picture. I’m afraid if it was superior, I would just hoard it in a glass jar and look at it periodically. Then all my snowflakes would be brown.
Actually, all my snowflakes would be boxes because that sounds like an awful lot of work. I’m a terrible blogger.
December 6, 2013 @ 11:04 am
Heh. Oh – I hoard boxes – for sure! I have several cupboards full of the most adorable and darling little boxes in case I ever want to send anyone a present. For years, I didn’t have boxes – and now I do.
But – now, I also just order presents from Amazon and have them “direct ship”. If you need any …
December 6, 2013 @ 11:04 am
Good God.
Did you see who posted up there???
December 6, 2013 @ 4:04 pm
Um, yeah. I’m guessing Victoria will need a fainting couch when she connects the dots!
December 6, 2013 @ 5:54 pm
Holy moly. I read the comment and giggled at comment and cute name, kept scrolling. Got to your post. Scrolled back up and checked out the website. Holy moly, holy moly!
December 6, 2013 @ 10:13 pm
Yeah – I did a triple take too. :>)
She might need a couple of fainting couches.
December 14, 2013 @ 11:04 am
(She whispered faintly:) Is that the SAME Mary whose works I simply adore posting up there???????
December 6, 2013 @ 11:05 am
You are too funny! Also? the glittered snowflakes are lovely. Just keep reminding Paul that’s it’s all about quality of life – only the very best, hand cut, German glass glittered snow flakes will do. 🙂
December 6, 2013 @ 11:09 am
“… Frankly, I am cutting corners by using pre-made cardboard.”
Well, THAT is theeeee funniest line, ever.
Thank you for that.
Sincerely.
December 6, 2013 @ 11:13 am
Love, love, love your blog!
December 6, 2013 @ 11:21 am
You are a scream! You probably have figured out that there are well-defined “cliques” in the world of blogging. I am sure you can find one with a tutorial for making that cardboard!
December 6, 2013 @ 11:52 am
Love, love, love the line about making your own cardboard!!!!!!! If you truly choose to live inside the digital world where everything you read is true and your house is always perfect and your meals are always balanced and you, of course, grow your own food, you will lose the part of you that makes everyone stop what they are doing when they see you have a new post because they just have to read it right now!!!!!
December 6, 2013 @ 12:21 pm
I know I sound like a broken record. I am going to share you on my ‘Favorite Things in December’ post….at least I skipped a month.
December 6, 2013 @ 12:40 pm
No, no…I think the German glass glitter is more than ample compensation for the un-homemade cardboard (masticated yard waste? what? until this moment, I was hoping vaguely for eventual crafty/artsy fame…now I’m thinking even my children might not remember me postmortem. ) I’m looking outside…nope, no leaves left. Darn. Sad, because cardboard actually is hard to come by at my house…My husband is hoarding the boxes for useful, practical purposes. Sigh. On the bright side, I’m thinking used pickle jars, crushed, might stand in for the German glass glitter…once I’ve made enough cardboard out of dryer lint and Walmart receipts.
Love checking into your blog…love your humor, and your reader response. Truly delightful conversation. And honestly, I’m tempted to try the snowflake thing.
December 6, 2013 @ 12:45 pm
I am disappointed that you did not make your own cardboard. *shakes head sadly* And you call yourself a blogger.
Just kidding, of course. Mostly. If I had done this project, my husband would have forced me to make my own cardboard just to save money (despite the fact that hoarding is FREE), and then run away when it was time to help cut out the snowflakes. Also, I wouldn’t have finished the project until June.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be trolling Craigslist and hotel “estate” sales for that bellman trolley. Seems like a better use of my time than actually cleaning. 😉
December 6, 2013 @ 2:17 pm
I hope you do realize that you have a Saint for a husband. The picutre of him behind you looks like a cardboard cutout by the way.
December 6, 2013 @ 2:29 pm
Honestly, you’ve gotta stop this-I sit next to my Engineer husband whose sense of humor runs to jokes about algorithms- snorting and guffawing and even spitting a small blast of tea all over the laptop and I swear he was on the phone with the sons about the “time may have come to do something about your Mother”- they’re coming to take me away Victoria -throw me some garland……………. Quick!
December 6, 2013 @ 4:01 pm
Not the blog to be reading when eating cookies and drinking coffee. I’ll be back after I change my clothes and wipe down the keyboard.
December 6, 2013 @ 4:04 pm
I love, love, love your blog. You and Paul are great together. No Mr. Martha Stewart. Now there is a surprise. That is hilarious. I too hope to see a tutorial on making your own cardboard Victoria Elizabeth style.
December 6, 2013 @ 4:08 pm
Spectacular job, as always. However, I fear that even 100 pounds of German glitter glass will not cure my I-Have-No-Will-to-Think-of-Anything-New-Shoot-Me-Now-Oh-How-I-Love/Hate-You-Pintrest-Christmas-Decorating-Blues.
Wah, wah, wah.
December 6, 2013 @ 5:36 pm
There WAS a Mr. Martha Stewart but he sneaked out many years ago before she became a billionaire. He did not measure up … probably was crappy at cutting out snowflakes.
December 6, 2013 @ 8:14 pm
Do you think that foam-core board might work in place of chewed leaves or cardboard? Keep up the good work of inspiring us and for the laughs! 🙂
December 6, 2013 @ 8:46 pm
Speaking of Martha, I just finished an audiobook called “The Tao of Martha: My Year of LIVING; Or, Why I’m Never Getting All That Glitter Off of the Dog” by Jen Lancaster. It was funny as hell and you might relate to a lot of it. Actually your husband might relate to her husband. Here’s the Amazon link if you want to read about it: http://www.amazon.com/The-Tao-Martha-Getting-Glitter/dp/0451417631
December 6, 2013 @ 9:01 pm
Victoria,
You are one step away from certifiable and I LOVE you!
BTW with 44 years of marriage behind me I feel qualified it say Paul is a keeper!
Denise