The Art of Paper Snowflakes

Cutting snowflakes out of paper has been an ongoing tradition for years, but where did it originate from?

The art of cutting paper is called Kirigami and became popular in the United States in the 60's and 70's. It originated in Japan and was used in Japanese temples as a way to make offerings to the gods. It wasn't until the 17th century that it was recognized as a true art form throughout the Asian culture. Kirigami involves folding one or more sheets of paper together without gluing or aping and then using a knife or scissors to cut a design. A number of designs and techniques can be used and over the ears the simplest and widely used example of Kirigami is cutting paper snowflakes.

It's another one of those great crafts that is inexpensive and encourages children to use a number of important developmental skills such as scissor skills, fine motor skills, visual motor skills and planning abilities.

How to make a paper snowflake - Click here