Home Crochet baby clothesDIY windmill - instructions

DIY windmill - instructions

  • Make your own windmill out of paper
    • Instructions for windmill
    • Small modification of the windmill
  • Wind rosette in rainbow colors
    • Instructions for wind rosette
  • Windflower from a paper plate
    • Instructions for windflower

Wind turbines are great fun for kids. Likewise for adults. Their colorful variety of colors is cheerful and brings a good mood. Everyone knows the flapping sound when the wind makes them turn. We'll show you how you can easily make the colorful wind turbines made of paper and wood yourself.

Make your own windmill out of paper

Home-made windmills are a beautiful decoration opportunity for the spring, if not much flowers in the garden or on the balcony. Depending on the variant, paper windmills are easy to produce and quickly made together with your children. The colorful cogs fit well in flower boxes, tubs and garden beds. These small wind turbines differ from the larger ones in wind farms only in that they are not used for the use of wind power. Otherwise, its basic principle is the same as the big wind turbines: the wind makes them turn. For this, the wind turbines need wings that can be easily made of paper.

Different types of paper produce different effects and invite you to experiment. The wind turbine blades are attached to a wooden stick so they can be put into the ground.

You need these materials and tools:

  • Thick construction paper in different colors or with motifs
  • 10 mm thick wooden rods, round or square (length of your choice)
  • colorful beads with at least 1 centimeter diameter (made of glass or wood)
  • 1 to 1.5 millimeters thick wire, for example copper wire
  • Holzbohrer
  • ruler
  • sharp scissors
  • pencil
  • needle
  • pincers

Tip: You can also use craft paper or calendar pages as paper. The important thing is that the paper is not too thin!

Instructions for windmill

Step 1:
First, the construction paper must be cut accordingly. Use the pencil to draw a square at least 18 by 18 centimeters on the paper and cut it out. If you want your windmill to be a little bit bigger, you can also set a square 20 by 20 centimeters. The wings are then correspondingly longer.

2nd step:
Now connect the opposite corners of the squares with a pencil line. This creates two lines that cross each other in the middle of the square.

3rd step:
Measure about 1.5 centimeters on all lines from the crossing point in the middle of the square. Mark these points with a small line.

4th step:
Now cut all four corners exactly to the mark. This gives you four triangles that are still connected in the middle. From this, the wings for the wind turbine are made.

5th step:
Now make five holes in the square of the paper with the needle: one hole in the corners of the four triangles and one hole in the middle of the square.

6th step:
In this step you drill a small hole in the wooden stick with the wood drill, about 2 centimeters away from the end of the stick.

7th step:
Now cut off the wire about 20 centimeters long piece and pull it through the hole. Wrap the rod several times with the wire. Then twist the ends of the wires tightly around each other so that they can not unwind. Then cut off one of the two long ends of the wire. Use the pincers for this purpose.

Tip: The stronger the wire is twisted, the more stable the bracket for the blades of the wind turbine.

8th step:
Now thread two beads on the remaining end of the wire.

9th step:
Now pick up the square of construction paper. Slide it onto the wire with the hole in the middle. Then push all the wings one at a time onto the wire using the holes in the corners.

Tip: Finishing the wings is easier if you squeeze the paper lightly when sliding it on the wire.

10th step
Now just push a bead on the wire. Cut the wire slightly with the pliers. Finally make a loop and put the end of the wire into the bead.

Small modification of the windmill

You can attach a circle or a heart made of colored paper other than the wings between the final bead and the wing. Simply put the ornament on before threading the last bead onto the wire.

Tip: You get a beautiful high-contrast windmill when you make heart or circle in a monochrome tone and the wings of design paper.

Wind rosette in rainbow colors

Material and tools you need:

  • colorful craft card with rainbow print
  • At least 1 millimeter thick copper wire
  • Round wooden stick
  • wood Beads
  • Lochzange
  • pencil
  • compasses
  • scissors
  • ruler
  • Holzbohrer
  • pincers
  • nose pliers

Instructions for wind rosette

Step 1:
Draw a large circle with the circle on the craft box.

2nd step:
Divide the circle into eight pieces of equal size. After drawing the division, the circle looks like a cut cake from above.

For eight pieces you have to calculate 45 ° for the inner angle of each piece.

3rd step:
Then measure the center on each line and mark it.

4th step:
Now pierce the marker with the compass needle and draw a semicircle above the line to the right from the edge of the circle to the center point. The compass is set so that its radius is half as long as the radius of the circle. Repeat this with every other line. The result looks like this:

Tip: The semicircle overstates the next division line.

5th step:
In addition, a 1-inch circle around the center of the large, split, original circle.

6th step:
Now cut out the big circle.

7th step:
Now cut the circle along the semicircle lines to the small circle in the middle.

Tip: You can cut the tips of the semicircles a bit. This makes the windmill look even more interesting.

8th step:
Punch holes in all tips of the semicircles and in the center of the windmill with the punch.

9th step:
To attach the pinwheel with wire to the wooden rod, it needs a hole. To do this, drill a hole with the wood drill at a distance of 2 centimeters from the end of the bar.

10th step:
Cut a piece of wire at least 20 cm long with the pliers and push a few centimeters of the wire through the hole in the wooden rod.

11th step:
Now bend the wire tightly around the wooden rod and twist the two wire ends together. Use the round tongs for this purpose.

12th step:
Slide two wooden beads onto the wire and then pull it through the hole in the middle of the windmill. Then push the individual tips one after the other on the wire. Finally, simply thread a bead on the wire again like on our first wind turbine. Then make a loop in the wire and put the wire end in the hole of the pearl.

Windflower from a paper plate

A very simple variant for a windmill is a windflower made of a paper plate.

Material and tools:

  • Paper plate
  • colored pencils
  • wire
  • Roundwood stick with hole or groove
  • wood Beads
  • Lochzange
  • pencil
  • scissors
  • ruler
  • nose pliers
  • pincers

Instructions for windflower

Step 1:
Paint the paper plate with colored pencils.

2nd step:
Divide the paper plate on the back with a ruler and a pencil into "cake pieces" of equal size.

3rd step:
Now cut the paper plate along the marked lines. However only up to the flat surface of the plate in the middle. This creates a smooth circular surface with wings.

4th step:
Turn the paper plate over again so that the colorful front appears. Now each wing is cut in half along the central circular and smooth surface of the plate. Then the cut-in half is folded upwards.

Tip: fold all halves up to the same side. This turns the wind turbine better.

5th step:
Attach the finished windflower to the wooden stick with wire and beads as desired. To do this, either pull a 20-centimeter-long piece of wire through the hole or wrap it around the groove of the wooden stick, after which wooden stick you use. Twist wire ends well and cut one end with a pair of pliers.

6th step:
Thread two or three wooden beads onto the wire. Pierce a hole in the center of the paper plate windflower and guide the wire through the hole. Then thread on the final bead and turn the wire into a loop. Just put the wire end in the pearl and the windflower is done.

Tips for quick readers:

  • Cut paper into a square or circle
  • always pay attention to the same wing layout
  • in the middle always a circle
  • Cut in the wings to the circle
  • Holes in wing tips and middle
  • Wooden stand with groove or hole
  • Wire around groove or through hole
  • Twist ends stably
  • to cut an end
  • Thread beads onto the wire
  • Push hole of windmill on wire
  • Slide on the holes of the wing tips
  • Put pearl on the wire
  • Form wire into a loop
  • Put wire end in pearl
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