Valentine Snowflakes

By Cindy Higham

(from her book Snowflakes for all Seasons)

To make a beautiful valentine snowflake, you will need: an 8 1/2″ x 11″ (21.6 cm x 28 cm) sheet of paper of any color you choose, a pair of sharp scissors, tape, a glue stick with glitter or a glue glitter pen (optional), and thread.

1. Fold and cut the paper according to the diagrams. Lightly tape the folded sides of your paper to hold them in place.

2. Choose one of the patterns, trace or cut it out, then lightly tape it on top of the triangle. (You can use the same pattern many times by tracing it or photocopying it.)

3. Cut out the white portions of the pattern and the folded paper underneath. Cut the small sections out first and work your way up to the large cuts. This will give you more paper to hold on to for longer. When you are finished cutting, remove the pattern and open the snowflake.

4. If your snowflake isn’t flat, you can press it in a book for a few days or have a grown-up press it with a slightly warm iron.

5. Add the glitter or any other decorations you wish (optional). Then tape the finished snowflake to your window or hang it from the ceiling with thread.

6. After you’ve tried these patterns, make some of your own. With paper snowflakes, as with real ones, no two are alike. The slightest change in the cutting or the folding will give you a whole new snowflake.