Craft Time: Let’s Make Some Snowflakes!

February in Oklahoma usually means freezing temperatures, ice, and snow. This year is a bit warmer, so we haven’t had much snow. That doesn’t mean we can’t make our own snowy fun, though! This week’s craft is…

Snowflakes!

There are so many different ways to create snowflakes. Cutting designs in paper, painting or coloring, gluing things together in the shape of snow. I had two bags of crafting popsicle sticks, so we decided to make snowflakes out of those! It was simple yet fun, and we were able to make several in a short time. It wasn’t quite a snowstorm, but the snow we had was pretty!

Materials

You only need a handful of items for this craft:

• Popsicle sticks (we used both colored and plain)
• Markers or paint (the markers are faster because you don’t have to wait for it to dry)
• Glue
• Decorations (we used gemstone stickers to decorate ours, but you can use anything crafty)

Step 1

The first step if using plain popsicle sticks is to color them whatever color you want your snowflakes to be. It will take three sticks per snowflake. I used blue sticks for one of mine and left them brown for another. One of the kids used yellow sticks because yellow is his favorite. His sister made each half of her sticks a different color and created a rainbow snowflake. And they don’t have to be solid colors, either. Draw designs, pictures, or patterns to make fancy snowflakes. Don’t glue anything onto it just yet, though. That will come later.

Step 2

When you have the three sticks the color(s) you want them, the next step is to glue them together. Start by gluing two sticks together in the shape of an X. Make sure they cross in the middle so you won’t end up with a lopsided snowflake. Hold the sticks together for several seconds until the top one doesn’t slide around.

Once dry, glue the third stick on top of the others so that you have six evenly spaced points. Again, hold the pieces together several seconds while the glue dries. You now have the shape for your snowflake!

Step 3

Now it’s time to decorate! We made ours sparkle with the gemstone stickers. These are fun because you can get them in a sheet of multiple colors and make different patterns or, like us, use clear to add a little shine. Plus they don’t need glue, so it minimized the mess! You can use as few as one on each end or, like one of my kiddos did, cover the entire sticks. Pom poms, feathers, ribbons…so many possibilities! Have fun with it. Let the kiddos get creative.

Finished Product

Now you have a beautiful snowflake! Make a few more and attach them to the wall, a window, or even a canvas or piece of cardboard. Put a frame around them for a wintery picture. Pretend there’s a snowstorm in your house. Create a game. Use them as sensory objects for infants (with supervision, of course, since there are small parts). Share your ideas in the comments below. I’d love to see what you do with the snowflakes!

*Want some more snowy fun? Make a snow storm in a jar with this experiment from Growing a Jeweled Rose!