50 DIY Days from Roofresh: Pinwheel Christmas Tree Topper

Day 38: I’m Kelsey and my little blog is Roofresh. I love crafting, especially with paper! I decided to do a DIY pinwheel tree topper because I like how versatile it is. You can make your tree whatever color-scheme you want and make a ton of little baby-sized pinwheels to set on the tree branches (which is great for little kids that have a hard time hanging ornaments). My favorite is using book pages for pinwheels, but I’ve done an assortment today that have a bit of a retro feel, because, why not?!

Start by picking some scrapbook paper that is double sided. I use 12×12 paper to make a nice big pinwheel that makes a statement, but obviously, choose whatever size you want. The 12×12 is nice because you don’t have to trim it down and mess with making a perfect square

Use a ruler and X-acto knife to cut diagonally down each corner towards the center. I cut six inches down for the 12×12, but you might need to practice the right cuts on a piece of paper that you don’t care very much about. I like using a grafted pad underneath so that I can line my ruler up with it and make sure that I have a straight line.

Using a paper-hole punch or a book drill like the one shown, punch holes in the top corner of all four opposing corners and one in the middle.

Pull together all four corners towards the center to create the shape of the pinwheel.

Use a grommet to secure the center.

Use some craft wire to thread a button of your choice and twist the wire to keep the button in place. String the rest of the wire through the center of the grommet and thread only one piece of the wire through a pea-sized bead on the other side of the pinwheel. Tie both ends of the wire together on the back side of the bead. This is to make sure that the wire does not slide back through the grommet what the pinwheel is waiting to be hung. Make sure that you have enough slack on the wire to tie around the top branch of the tree.