Our Little Baby: DIY Pinwheel Place cards

In the final moments of the game, I decided to make pinwheel seating cards for our wedding. I thought about it, nixed the idea, and finally said, "Summer, time to pinwheel up...or go home." So I channelled my inner Martha, and got to work.

Luckily, they are very easy to make so they only drove me mildly insane during the week leading up to my wedding.

I decided to attach them to clothespins because I thought this provided a lot of different options. One could hang them from the ceiling or a branch. They'd make cute napkin "rings." Guests could wear them on their lapels.

For our wedding, they were simply clipped onto long strands of ribbon stationed at the welcome table.

(I actually didn't know how the tables at our reception were going to be set up until about an hour before the wedding, so these kept things flexible in case of emergency. I also never actually saw them because obviously my guests had already taken their seats by the time we arrived in the dining room. If they looked terrible, friends and family....lie. I should be getting the photos back soon and I'll know the truth then.)

Materials

12 x 12 double-sided card stock
clothespins
pearl-headed pins
Scissors
Hot Glue Gun
Pliers
Wire Cutters

Process

1. Make four-inch squares out of the card stock.

I cut mine into four-inch squares. They weren't teeny tiny, but they were small enough to be placed out of the way on the tables once my guests had taken their seats.

However, any size square will work for this project. I made some larger 12 X 12 inch pinwheels attached to wooden dowels to place on the lawn during the ceremony for example.

2. Find the center point of the square.

You could use a ruler to do this, but I simply folded my paper into four equal boxes. The fold marks crossed at the center point. Don't worry, you couldn't see the creases once the pinwheels were assembled.

3. Cut straight lines from each corner toward the middle of the square, stopping about one half inch from the center point.

Again, you could measure, but I just sorta eyeballed it.

When you are finished, it will look like this:

Repeat for all your paper, and set aside. Let's get started on the pins.

The pins will be used to fasten the paper into a pinwheel shape. They will also be used to affix the pinwheels to the clothespins. However, these pins need some cosmetic surgery first.

4. Bend a 90 degree angle into the pins using a pair of needle-nosed pliers.

Bending the pins will allow the pinwheels to spin even after they are affixed to the clothespins.

I placed the pliers directly at the base of the pearl head.

And used my fingers to bend the lower half of the pin.

Ta-Da!

The top half, the part closest to the pearl, will hold the paper. The bottom half will be glued to the clothespins.

5.) Clip the pins.

Poor little pin heads need to be shortened a bit too.

I didn't like the way they looked when left long because the bottom of the pin could be seen sticking out from behind the pinwheel. Once I cut them short, the pins were hidden from view.

I placed my wire cutters about half an inch from the bend in the pin. No, I did not measure. I don't believe in rulers. I believe in freedom. And...

Snippity-doo-dah!

*** Be careful during this step. Sometimes the clipped ends of the pins go shooting off wildly across the room. I did not want an angry pin in my eye. I also did not want any run-away pins finding their way into Madeline's feetsies. I actually placed my hands, pins, and clippers in a plastic shopping bag while I cut. The bag caught all the loose pieces. I also combed my carpet just in case....with a flashlight. ***

6.) Make pin holes in the center of the square, and in the left-hand corner of each triangle. (Or the right hand if you prefer, as long as it's the same side each time.)

I used a leftover, uncut pin to do this.

7.) Choose a corner, any corner, and begin threading a short pin through each hole saving the center for last.

It's beginning to look like a pinwheel now!

Once all the corners are looped together, insert the pin through the center hole. (There's really no better way to say that...I'm sorry.)

It is a pinwheel!

8. Affix the pinwheels to the clothespins.

The back of your pinwheels will look like this.

The bottom half of the pin needs to lie flat against the clothespin.

The tricky part is not getting any glue on the top half of the pin or on the pinwheel itself because then it won't spin.

I gathered the paper up in one hand so that it was out of the way.

Then, I made a thin line of glue away from the edge of the clothespin.

Lay the bottom end of the pin flat against the glue, apply slight pressure while at the same time keeping the pinwheel out of the way. Wait a few moments for the glue to dry.

Ta-DA!!!!