*Rustic Snowflake Tutorial*

I have a few requests for a "How-To" on the Rustic Snowflakes I posted a couple of days ago so here it is! This DIY Craft is great because there is no "correct" way of doing it--you can add what you want as you go! The Rustic Snowflakes can be as simple or complex as YOU want! I enjoyed making all 8 of mine completely different to add more visual interest and to keep my creativity flowing! 

Materials needed to create Rustic Snowflakes:

     - Twigs

     - Hot Glue Sticks

     - Hot Glue Gun

     - Pruning shears or really sharp scissors

Materials needed to make your Rustic Snowflakes BEAUTIFUL:

(This part can be totally up to you--it's your craft so make it your way! I am simply suggesting the things I used, feel free to copy or change it up!)

     - Pine needles (Michaels $4.00..Also used to make this)

     - Pine needles with snow

     - Button Stickers (Michaels $1.50 each)

     - Berries 

     - Twine

     - Felt 

I used scraps of twine, felt, berries, and the snow covered pine needles I currently had in my "craft corner" of our spare bedroom. Check out your own collection and see what you have before making any purchases!

Making Your Rustic Snowflake

1. Gather all of your materials.

2. Cut twigs to your desired size, cutting four long and four short.

3. Lay out your twigs in the design of your choice.

4. Cut a small square out of your felt scrap.

5. Hot glue your four longer twigs onto the felt square like shown:

6. Hot glue your four shorter twigs onto the felt square in the four remaining 
     corners. 

    Hint: As you are gluing your twigs onto the felt  
    square, make sure you are putting the prettiest side
    of the twig facing you.

7. This step is the beginning of making your snowflakes look pretty :) Begin 

     hot gluing your pine needles into place.

8. Hot glue your snow covered pine needles wherever your heart desires!

9. Continue jazzing it up with button stickers and a bow made out of twine!

Although it appears finished, I am going to take it a few steps further to show you how I made my other snowflakes with a little more detail :)

10. To add extra detail to your twigs (for more of the snowflake appearance),

       find a thinner stick and cut into very tiny pieces. 

       Hint: Cut one side on an angle as shown:

11. Hot glue your smaller, thinner pieces onto your twigs and create your very

       own snowflake design. The angled side gets glued onto the twig and fits 

       perfectly, making it very easy!

12. Continue hot gluing your smaller pieces of twig until you are satisfied 

       with your design. For this particular snowflake, I was not thrilled with 

       where the design was going, so I simply added more until I liked it! 

13. If you do not want to cut the angled pieces of twig, you can cut straight

        edges to create this effect:

When you are pleased with your work, show it off :) 

Some ideas how to use your Rustic Snowflakes:

     - Attach ribbon or fishing line to make ornaments (great gift idea for loved 

       ones!)

     - Hot glue snowflakes onto red ribbon evenly spaced, to create a banner for

       displaying your Christmas cards

     - Hot glue snowflakes unto a "Merry Christmas" banner you already own 

     - Using ribbon or fishing line, hang snowflakes from chandelier or other 

       light fixture in your home

     - Hang, using thumb tacks or sticky tack, on your wall as art! (Adam's 

       idea!)

(Fishing line works great because it is sturdy and becomes invisible!..Can you tell I grew up with a fisherman as a father?!)

Here are my Rustic Snowflakes displayed in our home at the top of our staircase (Thank you Adam for this great idea!):

Fun centerpiece I threw together with my scraps!

Thank you for reading, happy crafting :)