I have a brand new panoply of paper snowflakes on my window panes this year. Creating these inexpensive Christmas decorations is one of my joys. All it takes to make these lacy echoes of real snowflakes, is a bit of folding and snipping.

You will need squares of paper. Computer paper is a good choice for snowflakes. I use different sizes, eight, seven, six, five and four-inch squares. All of these sizes are fairly easy to fold and cut.

Fold the square into a triangle shape by matching catty-corners, or in more modern terms, opposite corners.

After the first fold is complete, using the corners on the long side of the triangle, fold the paper corner to corner once more.

This next part is a little tricky. Let the longer side of the triangle face away from you. Bring up the right corner and fold it about a third of a way from the middle. Turn the paper over and repeat this step. You will have an accordion folded piece of paper with two bunny-type ears if you have folded it correctly. If this step is confusing watching the video at the bottom of the post will help.

After I fold the triangle into this shape, I trim the ‘ears’ off leaving a cone shape. This does not have to be perfectly rounded, you will be cutting into it.

* Important * You must always leave a bit of the folded sides intact to keep the snowflake whole. Don’t worry if you accidentally cut one and have it fall to pieces…it’s only paper after all.

Begin cutting your snowflake. Try to use both rounded cuts and straight snips. The combination of round and straight will give your snowflake a natural look. After cutting, open up, and prepare to be amazed by your beautiful handiwork.

I like to place the finished snowflakes in the windows of the house. Because the indoor heat causes condensation, the next step is especially important if you are using them on windows.

Iron the snowflakes between sheets of waxed paper. The layer of wax deposited on the paper will create a barrier against moisture. If you are using a good iron, protect it and the ironing board.  Cover the board with an old cloth and use layers of newspaper beneath and over the waxed paper before you begin. The heat of the iron will penetrate the layers of newspaper and melt the wax onto the paper. You might need to change the newspaper several times. I use the waxed paper only one time, use a new sheet, top and bottom, for each batch of snowflakes. * Important * Have a lot of newspaper on hand if you are using a good iron.

I remove the waxed paper immediately after ironing by pulling the two pieces apart.  The snowflakes are ready to glue to your windows.

Glue??? Yes, you read right. I recommend Elmer’s Disappearing Purple School Glue. Unless you want to spend hours and hours peeling and scraping tape residue from your windows, use a washable glue stick. A glue stick does leave a bit of residue when you take down the snowflakes, but it’s easy to remove with a wet rag. A spray of window cleaner and you would never know glue had been on your windows.