Ring Snowflake

A 3D snowflake made from 36 paper rings: paper strips are glued into rings, pinched into petals, and nested inside each other. The rays are held between two white stars, with a gold one on top; it hangs from a thread loop.

• Medium
• 36 rings
• 12 arms
• 2 sheets
• 22 cm in diameter

Make it with your phone cameraLesson code: 1031

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
• One more Letter sheet — printer paper or any thin paper, 80–120 gsm (20–30 lb); if you have kraft paper, use it
• Thread — 11¾ in, for hanging
• Paper clips or clothespins — 6–12 pcs
• Bead — for the center, optional
• Glass — phone stand

Steps

Trace

1. Frame. Using a ruler, trace a rectangle 4⅜ × 3⅛ in. It makes six white strips.
2. Five lines. Inside it, use the ruler to draw five lines ½ in apart: you’ll cut the rectangle into strips along them.
3. Stars: outlines. Trace 3 pieces with a solid line: white star (2 pcs), gold star. You’ll cut along these lines.
4. Fold. On the small star, draw six lines through the center: dashed lines from a point to the opposite point, dash-dot lines between the points.

Color

5. Gold. Color the areas that match this color. Move the marker in one direction — you’ll get fewer streaks.

Cut

6. Cut out: white strips. Cut out the rectangle along the frame. Don’t cut the lines inside yet.
7. Cut out: stars — 3 pcs. Cut with scissors along the solid line. Turn the sheet, not the scissors — the cut will come out neater.
8. White strips. Cut the rectangle along the five lines: you get six white strips, 4⅜ × ½ in.
9. Second sheet: four folds. Fold the second sheet in half lengthwise — long edge to long edge — and crease the fold. Without unfolding it, fold it the same way three more times: you'll get a narrow strip 16 layers thick.
10. Cut along the folds. Unfold the sheet: it has 15 folds. Cut exactly along the folds — you get 16 strips, ½ in wide.
11. Big petals and small rings. Stack six strips with the ends flush. Cut 9 in off the stack, then 1¾ in: the long pieces make the big petals, the short ones make the small rings.
12. Medium and small petals. Stack the next six strips as well: cut 6¾ in, then 3⅜ in. The first pieces make the medium petals, the second ones the small petals; the offcut isn’t needed.
13. Short petals. Three more strips, stacked: cut 5⅜ in, then another 5⅜ in. You get six pieces for the short petals; the last strip is a spare.

Rings

14. Ring. Apply glue to ⅜ in at the end of the 9 in strip, roll it into a ring and press the other end on the outside. Hold for 10 seconds.
15. Petal. Pinch the ring from both sides so the seam ends up in the middle of the side, and crease both tips with your fingernail. You get a big petal, about 3⅞ × 1⅛ in.
16. All the rings. Glue and flatten all the strips the same way — you get 30 petals in five sizes. Don’t flatten the 1¾ in small rings: they stay round.

Glue

17. Long arm. Nest the medium petal inside the big one, and the white one inside the medium one: tips flush on one side. Put a drop of PVA glue between the walls at that end and clamp it with a paper clip.
18. Short arm. Nest the small petal inside the short one and glue it the same way — at the tip, under a clip. Glue a small ring onto the other tip of the short petal.
19. All 12 arms. Build all the arms the same way: six long and six short. Keep each glued tip under a clip for 10 minutes.

Assemble

20. Arms onto the star. Place a white star and spread PVA glue on it. Set the arms with the glued tip toward the center, each one on a point of the star, alternating long and short.
21. Neighboring arms. At 1⅛ in from the center, the walls of neighboring arms almost touch: bring them together wall to wall and glue with a drop of PVA glue. This makes the snowflake rigid.
22. Loop. Fold the thread in half and tie the ends in a knot. Put a drop of PVA glue on the edges of the rings in the middle, lay the knot there, and lay the loop along a short arm.
23. Second star. Put a drop of PVA glue over the knot and thread and lay the second white star exactly over the first one. Press for a minute.
24. Gold pyramid. Fold the gold star along the lines: from point to point, a mountain fold; between the points, a valley fold. The middle will rise into a little pyramid.
25. Star in the middle. Use a toothpick to put PVA glue on the underside of the gold star’s tips and lay it so its points run along the long arms. Press for half a minute.

Done. The snowflake is done. Let the glue dry for an hour, then hang it by the thread loop.

Make it with your phone camera

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