I used to love these paper cutouts as a kid, because unfolding them was like unwrapping a present. How many years has it been since I last folded up a piece of paper and trimmed out triangles and circles, curls and corners? Too long! So it was such a treat to work on this project using some awesome materials!
I have made large paper cutouts that can be used as decoration, and small ones that can be used as cupcake toppers. You can also turn these cutouts into gift tags and garlands. The vibrant colours and the gold and silver washi tape make these oh-so-festive… and you may have noticed from my previous articles that I am a huge fan of bright colours!
What You’ll Need:
- Squares of coloured paper
- Sticks and toothpicks
- Ribbons
- Washi tape
- Double-sided tape
- White glue
- Scissors
1. Assemble your materials – in Dubai you can source them from one of the arts and crafts stores at the Beach Centre on Jumeirah Beach Road (just after the Dubai Zoo, right hand side)
2. Wrap your sticks with festive washi tape.
3. Wrap three sticks for the bigger cutout decorations, and three toothpicks for the smaller cupcake toppers.
4. I made the cupcake toppers first. Fold each sheet of small square paper, and cut them as shown. Unfold when done and you should get a beautiful surprise!
5. Fix a toothpick onto one cutout using double-sided tape.
6. Stick another cutout on top using white glue. I intentionally aligned these diagonally.
7. Here are my finished cupcake toppers (just missing the ribbon bow here!).
8. Next are the big cutouts. First, fold your square paper into an accordion, as shown.
9. Fold each strip of paper in half and trim each side of the fold to be symmetrical. Since you will be combining two strips of paper to make one decoration, I recommend you trim out the same shape for the ends. For instance, I trimmed out a V-shape at the ends of my red paper strip and I did the same with my white strip.
10. Fold a paper strip in half and stick both sides together using double-sided tape. Repeat with another strip of paper and then stick two strips together as shown.
11. Fan out your accordion and this is what you should get!
12. Finally, attach your washi tape-wrapped stick using double-sided tape and tie a piece of ribbon to the stick. You can also add some stick-on gemstones as embellishments!
Have fun!
For more fun family-friendly craft inspiration, check out the SweetP website.