Snow Storm!

Every year we cut snowflakes after Thanksgiving for our Christmas decorations and this year was no different!  Here is this year's Snowflake display in all it's sparkly glory!

Every year our display looks a little different but it's twinkly and magical and one of my favorite Christmas decorations every year.  As the kids get older the snowflakes become more and more intricate.  I save some of the best specimens from year to year, but most of them are cut fresh for the season.

I've talked about our snowflakes before here and here and here and reminded you how to make them here and even taught you How To Make Giant Snowflakes there.

So, what are you waiting for? Get to cutting!

My Snowflake Display!

As you know, pretty much as soon as Thanksgiving dishes are cleared we are cutting snowflakes around here, and this year was no exception!

Last year, I added a bit of sparkle with plastic icicles and strings of glittered balls...

This year, we made a bunch of GIANT snowflakes to play with the texture and add some depth...

Later in December, I'll teach you how to make giant snowflakes of your own!

My Snowflake Display is Here!

My kids have been known to make hundreds of paper snowflakes in a season, and truthfully, they are one of my favorite things to make, too! I could sit at the table with them and cut snowflakes for hours! But what to do with these delicate, lacy wonders? Last season, a moment of inspiration struck me while watching the movie Elf. My kids looked at his over-the-top snowflake, paper chain display in the department store and let out a collective "oooooooohhhhhhhhh!!!!!!" and I had my solution.

We decided to duplicate the glowing mass of snowflakes in our house and I later used it to decorate for the Polar Express Party. I took some photos last night as we decorated the doorway between the kitchen and family room. This will, literally, cost you less than $5 to create yourself and it's just magical enough for the kids to really appreciate.

I have white woodwork, so I doubled white lights and strung them across the doorway with tacks. Haphazard is best, kind of up and down.

Next, to give it some dimension, tack up a paper chain. It will give it depth yet still have the same glow at the snowflakes.

Attach your snowflakes, some to the chain, some to the light strings, some to the woodwork. I found some snowflake shaped paper doilies to add a bit of blue this year. You could also just cut some flakes from light blue paper.

I went to the dollar store (my favorite place!) and picked up some glittery snowflakes, plastic icicles, and "snow ball" ornaments and hung them from clear thread at various heights. Check out the "glow" when we turned off the lights!


You can see the same idea at work here at our ski condo. This "winter tree" doesn't have to come down after Christmas, and was made from a branch anchored in a flower pot of bricks and stones.


Make some of the flakes from bright origami papers as I did here to kick it up.