Pinwheel Windowsill Garden

The Pinwheel Windowsill Garden paper planter makes it easy to grow a colorful garden right in your own home, even during the dead of winter. Just blow gently to set your pinwheel flowers in motion on this paper craft.

Pinwheel Windowsill Garden paper planter
Pinwheel Windowsill Garden paper planter

What You'll Need:

  • Shoe box
  • Floral foam block
  • 2 pieces green corrugated cardboard, 3-1/2x18 inches each
  • 2 yards satin ribbon, 7/8 inch wide
  • Red, blue, and yellow paper
  • 3 new pencils
  • 3 sequins
  • 3 straight pins
  • Plastic drinking straw, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
  • Excelsior or Easter basket grass
  • Serrated knife
  • Pencil
  • Ruler
  • Scissors
  • Glue

How to Make Pinwheel Windowsill Garden:

Step 1: Cut floral foam with knife to fit shoe box. Fill with crumpled paper, if needed. Glue cardboard to box.

Step 2: Measure ribbon around the box, adding a 1-inch overlap. Cut and glue ribbon to box. Tie a bow with the remaining ribbon. Glue to box front.

Step 3: Use a ruler to draw a square on a sheet of colored paper. We used 5- and 6-inch squares. Cut out squares.

Step 4: Use the ruler to draw diagonal lines from corner to corner, making an X. Measure about 1/2 inch from the point where the diagonal lines cross and make a mark. Cut on the lines to the mark.

Step 5: Lightly number all the corners from 1 to 8. Bring corners 2, 4, 6, and 8 into the center, overlapping corners. Place a sequin over corners.

Fold corners to the center.
Fold corners to the center.

Step 6: Push straight pin through sequin, all corners, and the center X. Insert the pin through straw piece and into pencil eraser. Make 2 more pinwheels.

Step 7: Cover foam with excelsior. Push pencils into foam.

Push pencils into foam.
Push pencils into foam.

For more paper-related kids' crafts, see:

ABOUT THE CRAFT DESIGNERS

Pinwheel Windowsill Garden by Sharon Broutzas, Rice Freeman-Zachery, Connie Matricardi, Susan Milord, Lynnette Schuepbach, Kim Solga, and Florence Temko