Pencil Pinwheel

A 3½ in square with cuts from the corners: every other corner is bent to the center — and you get a pinwheel. It goes on a paper clip taped to a pencil — blow on it and it spins.

• Easy
• 1 3½ in square
• 4 cuts
• 1 paper clip

Make it with your phone cameraLesson code: 3340

On VanGami the template appears over your sheet through your phone camera — no printer needed. Trace it, cut, fold and glue. Below are all the steps in text.

What you’ll need

• Letter sheet — office paper, 80 gsm (20 lb)
• Markers
• Pencil — and eraser
• Ruler — 8–12 in
• Scissors — small
• Glue stick — or PVA glue
• Tape — clear, wide
• Paper clip — 1 pc, a regular one
• Pencil — the pinwheel’s handle — the one you traced with works
• Modeling clay — two pea-sized balls — stoppers on the clip; bits of eraser work too
• Glass — phone stand

Steps

Trace

1. Square: outline. Trace the square with a ruler: 3½ × 3½ in. You’ll cut along these lines.
2. Cuts. Four lines from the corners to the circle in the middle — with a ruler. You’ll cut along them up to the circle, no farther.
3. Square: marks and drawing. Trace the circle in the middle and the four dots by the corners — you’ll bend those corners in. Polka dots on the triangles are optional.
4. Flower circle: outline. Trace the small circle with a solid line.
5. Flower circle: drawing. A flower with a smile: eight petals and a center.

Color

6. Color the square. Color the four triangles red, yellow, blue and green; leave the polka dots white.
7. Color the flower circle. Petals in pink, center in yellow, eyes and smile in black.

Cut

8. Cut out: square. Cut with scissors along the solid line. Turn the sheet, not the scissors — the cut will come out neater.
9. Cut out: flower circle. Cut with scissors along the solid line. Turn the sheet, not the scissors — the cut will come out neater.
10. Cuts from the corners. Cut the square along the four lines — from the corner to the circle; leave the middle uncut.

Glue

11. Corners to the center. Apply glue to the circle in the middle. One at a time, bend the corners with dots to the center — in a curve, without creasing — and press them down. The other corners stay where they are.
12. Circle on top. Apply glue to the back of the flower circle and press it on top of the corners, right in the center.

Axle

13. Paper clip axle. Bend the paper clip open into an L shape: the long part 1⅝–2 in, the short part 1⅛–1⅝ in. Tape the long part tightly to the top of the pencil, with the short part pointing forward. Stick a ball of clay on it, ⅝ in from the pencil.
14. Put on the pinwheel. Poke a hole in the center of the pinwheel with the pencil tip, with an eraser underneath. Slide it onto the clip face forward, up to the ball, and stick a second ball on the tip of the clip — the pinwheel won’t fly off and the tip won’t poke anyone.

Blow

15. Blow on it. Blow on the pinwheel from the front — or take it out into the wind: it will spin.

Done. The pinwheel is done — blow on it or take it out into the wind. Make a few pinwheels in different colors and stand them in a glass like a bouquet.

Make it with your phone camera

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