Poster Board Snowflakes for Christmas Tree Decor

Hey friends, if you’ve known me for a while then you  know that I like coming up with affordable versions of home decor items. Especially around Christmas when it can get really pricey with all the breakable ornaments and fast changing trends.
So when I took a trip to Ikea and saw their white Vinter 2016 snowflakes I got really inspired. I know that $2.99 for one large snowflake isn’t all that bad but when I compared that price to the actual price of the poster board they are made from, I knew I could do much better.

Aren’t they pretty?

I’m lucky enough to have a cutter, a Silhouette Cameo that I’ve had for years and I love it.

You can do this several different ways though and you don’t need to have a cutter like I have. I will describe how I made them different ways.

 

 

Poster Board Snowflakes for Christmas Tree Decor

 

First of I’ll show you how to cut one by hand. It won’t be as intricate as the original version but it still makes a pretty statement.

Here is what I used:

• a good pair of scissors (these are my favorite HERE)
• stapler
• craft glue
• curved upholstery needle (click HERE)
• white wool (click HERE)
• white poster board (I think Walmart has a pretty good price). You can cut 4 snowflakes out of one sheet and the sheets run anywhere between 33 to 99 cents. So much better than $2.99 for one am I right 😉 ?

First cut a long strip from the posterboard.

Fold it in a fan.

Cut a triangle at the top. I cut it in sections because otherwise it’s too thick.

It would look great already in a fan shape just like that don’t you think so?

But I decided to nudge out another triangle on the side.

Then you have to glue the edges together so it stays in a circle. I also used a stapler to secure the glued edges.

Then I used the wool and upholstery needle to string through two pieces of wool which are going to keep the snowflake shape securely in shape once tied together.

And don’t; mind my dry fingers please. They are quite yucky!

It’s that easy that my 10 year old daughter (soccer fan) was able to help me with it:

 

And voila here is the simple scissor cut version. Wouldn’t it look pretty in a tree or even just as a tree topper if you don’t have the time to make more.

 

So now let’s show you the Ikea knock-off version which I cut with my Silhouette Cameo. I made the actual cutting file in Illustrator but since most of you don’t have that, you can download the file HERE for free. Merry Christmas from me to you 😉 ! It’s not the exact same version,  just a similar version.

The cutter does all the work for you. Even the perforation were you have to fold the lines and the holes for the wool to thread through.

After it’s all cut out, I folded it in a fan again:

Then glued the edges and stapled them in place.

I removed all the staples when the snowflakes where done and all the glue had dried.

The pre-cut holes for the thread make it easy to pull the wool through. And again I used the curved upholstery needle for that.

Oh and I used a paper clip too because I can out of staples at some point.

All you have to do at the end is pull the wool strings tight and knot them on both sides which keeps the snowflake shape in place just like I did with the hand-cut version.

Here is my exact Ikea replica version:

So you can compare:

And you can see that I went crazy with the amount I cut for out tree. Stay tuned for the Christmas home tours.

 

And this is the slightly different cutting file version which you can download by clicking HERE. But remember you are not allowed to offer it on your website, resell it or sell anything from my version. Please play fair.

Oh and if that isn’t your cup of tea then check out this other Etsy shop HERE that sells a different pretty version of files for 3D snowflakes you can make with your cutter. The prices are amazing and think about how many snowflakes you can make from one cheap file!

 

Or you might like the foldable stars I offered a while back (click HERE for tutorial):

 

 

So is that something you’d do for your own Christmas decor? I love the big impact they make on a simple tree. I wouldn’t even need anything else with them besides lights.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and I might be back on black Friday or next Monday. Not sure yet. Enjoy yourself.

See more of my Christmas ornament DIYs:

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Tschüß

(Youleeya)