Remember I mentioned, somewhat dejectedly, that it hasn't started snowing yet in Karlskrona?
That was over three weeks ago. Three weeks later, as of today, it still hasn't started snowing. Amazing. It's already January and the streets are still free from the white, powdery, fairytale-like snow.
In hoping that snow would fall soon, I decided to make my own snowflakes and hang them around my house.
Do you like it?
Yeah, it's kinda fake but at the very least it doesn't melt, doesn't go away and doesn't make a mess. More importantly, it symbolises my wish for real snow to fall from the sky because I really want my mom and dad to be able to catch the first snow here before they head back to Singapore.
Anyway, creating these snowflakes are really simple, so read on if you are keen.
What you need:
1) Square white paper - 5 or 6 pieces make 1 snowflake
(I used assorted sizes 2", 3" and 4" squares by cutting them out from plain A4 printer paper, and I used 5 squares for each snowflake just because I like star shapes and 5 is my favorite number)
2) Scissors
3) Glue
4) Thread/Blu-tack
Fold the square diagonally into half, making a triangle as shown. Then fold it into half again. Using a scissors, make four parallel cuts as shown, ensuring that they are approximately equal in widths and leaving a 0.2mm edge at the top.
Open up the square and you should now see the above pattern.
Next, starting from innermost, apply glue and stick the diagonal corners of every square together. See picture in upper right. For the next square, stick the corners together but in the opposite direction. See bottom left. Alternate till you get to the end and you will achieve the pattern on the bottom right.
Tip: Always allow a few seconds for the glue to dry before moving on.
Repeat until you get five of the above patterns.
Lastly, apply glue on each end and stick the patterns adjacently to each other. Position and stick them in such a way that there are no big gaps in between and they spread out neatly like a 5-pointed star.
Ta-dah! You have just made your very own snowflake! Easy, isn't it?
To spice things up, you can make different sizes and stick them onto your window.
Alternatively, if you are like me and prefer to let the flakes swirl around freely, tie a thread to one of the ends and hang them up using blu-tack.
Now, at least I am able to see snow every time I look out of my window. =)
Snowflakes are like butterflies fluttering around in the winter, the small miracles of life that are easily neglected, yet so breathtaking if we just take a moment to admire.