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How to Make a Pinwheel With a Brass Fastener

Young children love to play with brightly colored pinwheels, laughing as they blow to make them whirl, or waving them to catch the wind. While pinwheels are an inexpensive toy to buy, they can also make a great craft project. The youngest children will need some help, especially with cutting, while older children with safety scissors can do most of the work themselves. It won't take long for them to have homemade pinwheels spinning in the wind.

Things You'll Need

Stiff lightweight paper, such as construction paper
Drinking straw
Brass fastener
Scissors
Ruler
Pencil
Crayons or colored pencils

Instructions

- 1
  Use the ruler and pencil to draw a 6-inch square on the paper. Draw diagonal lines from each corner to the opposite corner, forming an "X" across the square. Measure and put a dot 1 inch from the center on the lines forming the "X." There will be four dots.
- 2
  Decorate the pinwheel. You might color in the four triangles with different colors, or draw designs. Make sure the lines and dots you have drawn are still visible.
- 3
  Cut out the square. Cut along each part of the "X," starting at the outside corners, until the dots are reached.
- 4
  Use the pencil point to make a small hole about 1/2 inch from the tip of every other point (one per triangle) and at the center of the paper. Use the pencil to poke a hole through both sides of the straw about 1 inch from one end.
- 5
  Bring the points with the holes in them to the center, being careful not to make folds, so all the holes line up. Push the brass fastener though the holes to form the pinwheel. Twirl the brass fastener through the paper a few times so the pinwheel will revolve around it freely.
- 6
  Poke the legs of the brass fastener through the holes in the straw. Spread out the prongs of the fastener and wrap them around the straw to secure it. Don't make it so tight that the pinwheel won't spin.
- 7
  Blow on the pinwheel and enjoy watching it spin!

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