Thoughtful Make: Vicky's Paper Fan Wheels

Not yet feeling the festive spirit? Try making your own decorations. We asked Vicky, of The Owl and Accordion, to help us with this one. Here she is to show us how to make easy, DIY paper fan wheels that you can use as decorations or trim gift wrap with too.

How To Make Vicky’s Paper Fan Wheels

Paper fan wheels are my absolute favourite, number one make at Christmas time. They have so many uses. You can decorate them in so many ways too. Today I’m going to show you how to make miniature metallic-edged fan wheel gift toppers.

You’ll need:

• Identical squares of paper (for these ones, I used 15 x 15 cm)
• Glittery or metallic washi tape
• Sharp scissors
• A glue gun and glue sticks

1. Start by cutting your paper into 15cm squares – you’ll need three identical ones.

2. Lay your squares flat on the table. Stick a length of washi tape to two sides of each square, then trim the edges of the tape.

3. Place your first square face down on the table, with the taped edges on the left and right sides. Measure 1.5cm up from the bottom, and then make a fold. Continue up until the whole square has become a concertina shape. You’ll probably find that the last fold is smaller than the others, but this won’t matter.

4. Repeat the process for the other two squares.

5. Fold each concertina length in half. You’ll end up with a small fan shape and the metallic edges should be at the top.

6. Using the glue gun, stick your fan shape in place, and then repeat for the other two lengths.

7. Join the three fan shapes together into a circle. Allow to dry.

The best thing about fan wheels is that they’re pretty solid. This means you can stick pretty much anything in the middle. I love adding fresh herbs and winter foliage, berries and miniature pine cones. You can use almost anything you think of.

Also, fan wheels don’t just have to be used as gift toppers. Try making huge ones to hang on the wall. Or smaller ones to add to your tree. You could string up a whole load of them into a festive garland. Beautiful!

Love making your own cards too? Have a look at Becky’s Lino-Cut Cards and let us know if you give them a go using the hashtag #madewiththought.