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 @ 10:06 pm
I’m glad someone else found a man with the patience of Job. Loved Paul’s comments about Martha’s marital status. Please consider auditioning as a couple for the next version of Regis & Kelly, because with that type of banter your show would be a HIT!
December 7, 2013 @ 8:13 am
I feel so inadequate. And my husband has plenty of time.
I did make words for my dining room ceiling, though. You’ll just have to stay tuned to see what that means.
December 7, 2013 @ 11:28 am
I love these, but would not have the patience to cut them. I’ll have to get the precut version. They really look pretty on your 200 feet of garland. 😀
Karen
December 7, 2013 @ 7:02 pm
Snorting glitter, are you? You could market those bellhop trolley thingamagigs to all us bloggers ’cause ain’t none of us have a purdy house. Just sayin’……
December 7, 2013 @ 8:54 pm
You had me at the Kingdom mirror. My relating to you and your blog entries = hysterial laughter. Keep it coming.
December 7, 2013 @ 8:55 pm
That’s hysterical.
December 7, 2013 @ 9:12 pm
They look lovely!! Great inspiration and now that my daughter is in to all things glitter, she will love looking at these when I show them to her.
December 7, 2013 @ 11:58 pm
You are amazingly gifted. And Paul is a very lucky man!
December 8, 2013 @ 10:33 am
Awesome idea! Recreated these on Friday night with a glass or two of wine :-). The template worked great!
December 9, 2013 @ 12:34 am
Your snowflakes are ohhhh so pretty, thanks for sharing the DIY info!
I can’t help but feel as though you are holding back on photos of you and ‘Mr. Sent-from-above,’ all covered in the fanciest of all glitters for days and days…
December 9, 2013 @ 10:46 am
Cannot do better than what’s already been said. Hilarious as always.
December 9, 2013 @ 5:21 pm
I need to get my husband to read this blog! I think he thinks I’m the only crazy woman who comes up with totally useless and labor-intensive assignments for him. It’s refreshing to know I’m not alone!
Oh and I love the snowflakes! Duh.
~Amy
http://www.lifeonhillst.com
December 9, 2013 @ 5:38 pm
I’m feeling very fortunate that my day job is at a box factory where I have any/all kinds of card stock and corrugated board at my disposal. Even better if I talk to the CAD guys real nice (bribe them with homemade fudge or peanut brittle) I bet I’d have some machine cut snowflakes without even having to look for a razor knife! There are days when the non-glamorous accounting job at the box factory comes in handy! : )
Seriously, I love the snowflakes and you beautiful Holiday decor! AND I feel so much better knowing that my living room isn’t the only one that looks like a disaster area at the moment, with boxes & totes of Holiday items not in place yet! Thanks for your honesty!
December 10, 2013 @ 1:50 am
I just ran across you laugh-out-loud website looking up — oh, I don’t know — medicine cabinets in GardenWeb, where someone posted a link to your blog. All I can say is, despite the near death experience of an old house restoration, you seem to have come out on the side of the “living” if you can actually blog about DIY Christmas ornaments. I myself am renovating a burnt out castle and, all I can say is, I can’t even seem to even THINK about buying present #1 — between figuring the steam shower door, the self-leveling concrete, the reformation of the deck, the ripping out of the termite infested planters, the light fixtures, the cabinets, the plumbing, the ceiling beams, the fireplace, the marble, the soapstone, the stained glass — I swear, I’ve dealt with ALL OF THESE in one day. Today! And tomorrow will just be like today was. Except layer on low voltage electric, add in digital control equipment for a smart home, two residential vaults, “mood lighting” for the steam shower, and, oh yeah, Mr. Steam. And so it goes. Christmas? What Christmas!!???
December 10, 2013 @ 10:04 am
You have planted the seed that I MUST make these… I don’t have the time, supplies, or a plan for using them, but they are SO pretty that I might have to start them when my husband gets off work… after I spend the day driving to various craft stores in search of German glass glitter.
December 10, 2013 @ 10:07 am
I knew it! I knew it! I am NOT the only one that hoards cardboard boxes! I am not crazy! …. Uh, OK, maybe a little, but a good crazy, and not a lonely crazy!
I am actually posting to tell you that your posts remind me of someone. A fictional someone. Have you ever read any Junie B. Jones books? I love the way that kid talks. And, I love the way you talk! 😀
http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&field-keywords=Junie%20B.%20Jones&index=blended&link_code=qs&sourceid=Mozilla-search&tag=mozilla-20
December 10, 2013 @ 11:13 am
Why didn’t Paul cut the snowflakes out of thin plywood with a bandsaw? You draw the pattern, he makes the flakes. You tap your wand and everything sparkles. Jo @ Let’s Face the Music
December 14, 2013 @ 1:17 pm
I like that…then I can save (hoard) my cardboard boxes for other nonsensical projects!
December 13, 2013 @ 1:37 am
This is an awesome idea! I totally wish my wife would have thought of this when Christmas was rolling around this year… she’s a cardboard box hoarder to the max!!!
December 20, 2013 @ 9:52 pm
Okay, I just read your entire archive, and when I got to the artisanal cardboard I totally lost it. You do crack me up!
December 21, 2013 @ 8:09 pm
prepare for a small dose of present day reality-I just read that by 2015 the Artic Ocean will be devoid of all ice-is there anyway we as a species that would like to survive can stop this? I just don’t see any. We have become consuming consumers and we are devouring the world. It breaks my heart.
December 12, 2014 @ 2:30 pm
Victoria, I am seriously behind in making Christmas happen in my house but somehow found time to read this “vintage” holiday post. SO glad I did. I practically snorted my tea while trying to picture you chewing leaves to make artisanal cardboard. Thanks for the chuckle, laugh and smile. Happy Holidays to you!!!