Snowflakes for All Seasons: 72 Easy-To-Make Snowflake Patterns

I have a previous version of this book which seems to be the same except for the cover. I love it and use it year round. I've been cutting snowflakes this way freehand for about 30 years but it's so nice to have patterns. You really need manicure scissors for some of the patterns but not all. The best way to use this book is to copy the pages you need, cut out the triangular pattern from the copy, fold up your paper and then tape the pattern to the top using a very small piece of tape. Then cut around the white parts and you are set.

"You can use the same patterns many times. Photocopy or trace the patterns rather than cutting them out so you can use them many times. You can also photocopy your patterns smaller or larger so you have a variety of snowflake sizes for decorating." Snowflakes for all seasons is a pattern book to delight the imagination and give children a fun project for the holiday season or any holiday during the year. The snowflakes are not only for Christmas, but also include: New Year's Valentine's Day President's Day St. Patrick's Day Spring Easter Summer Fourth of July Autumn Halloween Thanksgiving Christmas Winter Fun Favorites - Teddy Bears, Football, Ferris Wheel, Pinwheel and many more... To create each snowflake you follow the folding instructions and then use the pattern at the base of any page where you find a snowflake you love. Snowflakes can be used to decorate presents, packages, scrapbooks, invitations, Christmas trees or even the holiday table any time of the year. Buy a few glue glitter pens to decorate the snowflakes or glue and glitter to match any seasonal theme. ~The Rebecca Review

I got this book to use as a means of decorating gifts with atractive but inexpensive ornaments. At first I was unsure if the project would succeed, because the snowflakes seemed so elaborate. I was amazed at the effects that I could produced with very little effort. Each of the designs is based on a simple folding technique that reduces the actual cutting to a minimum. When you see the illustrations it becomes instantly "doable" in your mind. I ran into some difficulty due to the choice of my experiment paper: it was too thick and unyielding when folded as needed. A lighter weight paper cured the problem. Origami paper is beautiful, light enough, and already comes in the required square shape. I also found that, as the author stresses, a very sharp pair of sissors is indespensible to keep the cuts uniform through the entire stack of folds and to achieve the sharp corners and turns required for some of the designs. I found a very sharp pair of surgical scissors did a wonderful job, though the handles were a little hard on the fingers, especially the thumb, when cutting through the thicknesses required.

At some point in our childhood almost everyone has probably folded paper and cut snips out of it to form a snowflake pattern. Now this snowflake tradition is no longer just for the winter. Following Cindy Hingham's specific folding pattern you can copy one of the 72 stencils in the book onto the paper, cut them out and end up with a snowflake pattern for any holiday. The patterns include hourglasses for New Years, hearts, arrows, cupids, and lips for Valentines, shamrocks for St. Patrick's Day, bunnies, lilies and baby chicks for Easter, Liberty Bells, and stars for the Fourth of July, pumpkins, black cats, owls, and ghosts for Halloween, Christmas bells, and snowmen for Christmas, teddy bears, dogs, cats, butterflies, love birds, and many others. Snowflakes for All Seasons is a very creative and fun craft book for children and adults and is very highly recommended.

The snowflakes look difficult to make, but are fairly easy to do with small sharp scissors. It is fun to do each season's snowflakes in a different color of paper and hang on the windows, or refrigerators, walls, doors, etc. I gave a book to the teachers at our school and they loved using it for themselves and for the children.