How to Make Paper Snowflakes
Making paper snowflakes is a great family activity; especially on rainy or snowy days when you’re all done playing outside.
Paper Snowflakes are so easy to make, all you need to make these fun festive decorations are scissors and a sheet of paper. It’s best to use a lightweight paper to make it easier to cut through all the layers. The most important thing is to learn how to fold the paper before cutting.
Take a sheet of 8.5×11 printer paper, fold the top left corner down to make a big triangle, and then cut the bottom strip off, like this:
And then:
Fold the triangle in half.
Next, fold the triangle in thirds. You may need to adjust these folds a little, so don’t crease the paper until the folds are just right. Your folds will overlap each other.
And then, Cut across the bottom of your paper so it is straight.
Draw a design on your folded paper. Cut the snowflake following the lines that you drew.
Unfold and you have a beautiful paper snowflake:
Family Fun Craft, make beaded snowflakes:
How do snowflakes form?
A snowflake begins to form when an extremely cold water droplet freezes onto a pollen or dust particle in the sky. This creates an ice crystal. As the ice crystal falls to the ground, water vapor freezes onto the primary crystal, building new crystals – the six arms of the snowflake.
Why are no two snowflakes exactly alike?
Well, that’s because individual snowflakes all follow slightly different paths from the sky to the ground —and thus encounter slightly different paths and conditions along the way. Therefore, they all tend to look unique, resembling everything from prisms and needles to the familiar lacy pattern.
What is the Difference between Sleet, Freezing Rain, and Snow?
Sleet occurs when snowflakes only partially melt when they fall through a shallow layer of warm air. These slushy drops refreeze as they next fall through a deep layer of freezing air above the surface, and eventually reach the ground as frozen rain drops that bounce on impact. Depending on the intensity and duration, sleet can accumulate on the ground much like snow.
Freezing rain occurs when snowflakes descend into a warmer layer of air and melt completely. When these liquid water drops fall through another thin layer of freezing air just above the surface, they don’t have enough time to refreeze before reaching the ground. Because they are “supercooled,” they instantly refreeze upon contact with anything that that is at or below freezing (32 degrees F), creating a glaze of ice on the ground, trees, power lines, or other objects. Even light accumulations can cause dangerous travel, while heavier amounts can cause significant damage to trees and power lines. A significant accumulation of freezing rain lasting several hours or more is called an ice storm.
Snow. Most precipitation that forms in wintertime clouds starts out as snow because the top layer of the storm is usually cold enough to create snowflakes. Snowflakes are just collections of ice crystals that cling to each other as they fall toward the ground. Precipitation continues to fall as snow when the temperature remains at or below 32 degrees F from the cloud base to the ground.
Beautiful snowflake necklace for yourself or a gift:
Family fun activities:
Moms Treasure Chest