ECO-CRAFT: Magazine Pinwheels

By Holly Embry

If you love crafting with earth friendly materials and finding creative ways to reuse things you might otherwise throw away, you will definitely want to keep an eye out for a new Eco-Craft project each month at The Green Country Guardian.  These tutorials are purposely designed with our planet in mind, and as an added bonus, they will usually be very inexpensive because the whole idea is to use things you already have on hand.  Expect to see step-by-step craft projects that are earth conscious, family friendly, and fun!

When I took a spin at making this first project (pinwheels made from old magazine pages!), I gave it my crafty seal of approval for many reasons.  For starters, they're basically free.  I'm a big fan of cheap crafts, but free is even better.  They're also quick, simple, and the end product is very versatile.  Of course, you can take them outside on a windy day for a bit of classic childhood entertainment.  But they can also be displayed in vases as a centerpiece for an outdoor get-together or used as party favors.  So, if you're ready for the very first edition of this brand new Eco-Craft series, grab your scissors and let's get crafty!

Magazine Pinwheels

You will need:

-A magazine you've already read

-Sticks

-Scissors

-Thumbtacks

-A ruler

-Glue (optional)

Instructions:

1. Gather your supplies.
2. Use a thumbtack to create a hole in the top of the stick.

3. Choose a magazine page with nice photos on the front and back.  Cut the page into a 6 inch by 6 inch square.

4. Fold the square diagonally.

5. Now fold it diagonally in the opposite direction.

6. You should now have an "X" shape folded across the center of your square.

7. Using the folds as your guidelines, cut about 2/3 of the way to the center point. Continue until you've partially cut all four corners.

8. Fold (but don't crease) the tip of one corner toward the center of the pinwheel and hold in place.

9. Continue folding alternating tips of the magazine pages until all four are positioned. 

10. Remove the thumbtack from the stick and use it to pierce the magazine pages at the center, holding the pinwheel together.

11. Place the sharp end of the thumbtack into the hole you created on the stick.  You may want to add a drop of glue to the end of the thumbtack before placing it in the stick if you are concerned about it coming undone.  

12. Give your new pinwheel a good strong puff of air to get it moving.  Display in a vase on a breezy day with a cool drink by your side (or a warm one, if it's chilly!) and enjoy a moment of hypnotic bliss.