How to make Patriotic Pinwheels

When it comes to decorating for holidays, simple is always better in my book. Decor that will be on display for only a short time shouldn't be something that takes hours to make! These Patriotic pinwheels deliver a big dose of patriotic charm, and can be used over and over!

Learn how to make these awesome Patriotic Pinwheels in just a few simple steps! Find the tutorial at DIY beautify!

When I spotted these pinwheels in Martha Stewart, I knew they'd be the perfect little touch for Memorial Day!

I made a few variations to the process, and I'm sharing this simple DIY with you today...so simple, even a 5th grader can do it!

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Little DIY and I made these together and a few days later when she had a friend over, they asked if they could make more. I let them go for it and within half an hour or so they'd both made one. So that's proof that it's not complicated!

Mine don't spin, they're stationary because I glued them to narrow dowel rods. I thought they'd make cute plant stakes. Here's how to make your own Patriotic Pinwheels.

Supplies:

5" squares of double-sided card stock (or glue two pieces of coordinating paper together)
ruler
pencil
scissors
12" long dowel (1/8" thick); bamboo skewers work great too
decorative brad
long-arm hole punch (I used my Crop-A-Dile)
hot glue gun

Instructions:

Step One:

With a ruler and pencil, draw a line from each corner to the 3" mark. Also mark a dot at the middle of the paper.

Step Two:

Cut along the lines you drew (from each corner, 3" into the center). Use your long-neck hole punch to punch a small hole in the center, as well as one in every other corner, as shown by the arrows below.

I use a Crop-a-Dile Big Bite Punch to punch holes. It's a great multi-purpose crafting tool with a long reach, it punches two sizes of holes, sets eyelets; heck, it'll even punch through leather! You can find this tool at Hobby Lobby, Michaels, other craft stores or Amazon. Trust me, it reaches where an ordinary craft punch can't go...and it punches like butter!

Step Three:

I veered away from the original tutorial at this point because I was finding the glue wasn't holding the paper down.

You can see in the picture above how my paper corners are not flat. I primed them for this next step by pre-rolling every other corner (the ones with the hole) to make it easier.

Now, roll up the corners with holes one at a time and match it up with the hole in the center of the paper. Like this. Don't press the paper flat, you want that rounded effect that gives the pinwheel body. Simply hold the paper for a few seconds where the holes meet so the paper gets used to bending this way.

Don't worry about holding all four corners in place; it'll make sense when we go to the next step, I promise!

Step Four:

Attach your decorative brad by putting the prongs through one of the corner holes (from the back to the front - in my case from the stars side to the stripes side, then go through the next corner and so on. When all 4 paper corners are on the brad, poke it through the hole in the middle of the paper and press open at the back to hold all the pieces in place.

Now your pinwheel is securely attached and no messy glue was involved!

Step Five:

The original project used clothespins; I thought these Patriotic Pinwheels would make great plant decorations so at this point you will simply hot glue a wooden dowel to the back.

That's it! Five steps to a great patriotic decoration. Use them on your porch, in your flower pots, as a table centerpiece. If you're careful, you can recycle them again each year!

We made a bunch. That all-red one? That's a little ode to my Canadian heritage and Queen Victoria's birthday (May 24). We're a very diplomatic family!

These Patriotic Pinwheels add a great punch of color to a potted plant!

I hope you're inspired to make your own patriotic pinwheels!

Today we remember those who have sacrificed so much for our freedom! Some of you have family members serving overseas. Some of you have lost a family member in service to our country. Please know that we appreciate you and we are so Blessed by your service to us!