Steamboat Springs — Skillful craftsmanship is something to be valued, especially during the holidays. It’s a creative solution to holiday gift shopping and shows friends and family the thought, time and effort that went into creating a holiday masterpiece.

It’s a skill I truly do not possess. You may think I’m kidding, but the reinforcements I had to call in earlier this week will tell you I was a hot-glue-gun-stringy-crooked-line-cutting mess.

Even so, I am good at following directions.


Inspired by a friend’s paper art, I leaped out of my comfort zone and make my own paper dahlia snowflake.

For those who could be referred to as a “pro” with a hot glue gun, this project is just for you. Not to mention, it’s a piece that will light up a room with it’s colors and compelling visual elements.

All in all, it’s a great gift idea if you’re still brainstorming your gift list for friends and family.

Materials:

• Cardboard cut into an eight-inch circle (tracing a CD also works)
• Paper — I used about 30 pages of 12- by 12-inch card stock, but construction paper is another option
• Hot glue gun
• Scissors

Directions:

Begin by cutting your paper into fourths. I decided to use 1/2 sheet pieces of the dark blue for the bottom layer.

Roll your cut paper into a cone with the tip of it shaped to resemble a flower petal. Place a small (emphasis on the small) dab of hot glue to the paper to keep it rolled into a cone shape. You want light blue and white cones to fit inside the larger, dark-blue cones.

Keep rolling and hot gluing. Soon, you will have a fancy, snowflake bouquet of paper flowers.

Next, take your cones and flatten and fold the bottom 1/2 inch. Put a small amount of hot glue on the flattened part and place on the outer rim of your cardboard circle. You will want to leave a small gap between these initial cones for the upcoming layers

Continue to fold, glue and place the remaining cones by alternating their placement between the previous round’s cones. Glue each round closer to the center and not on top of the previous row’s flattened ends.

Keep adding your rounds until you reach the center. There, you can choose to make the middle four cones slightly thinner than the previous rounds, but it’s personal preference.

To hang the snowflake, you can just glue ribbon to the back of the cardboard.

And there you have it. If I can do it, you can too.

Happy crafting!

To reach Audrey Dwyer, call 970-871-4229, email adwyer@ExploreSteamboat.com or follow her on Twitter @Audrey_Dwyer1