Bright Paper Windmills

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Astrobrights Papers by Neenah Paper for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.


It's hard to believe Summer is almost over, and the kids will be returning to school soon. I'm excited about what the new school year has in store, but will miss the relaxed days of Summer. When AstroBrights Paper contacted me about spreading the word of their "Give a Brighter Year" sweepstakes, I was totally game. Afterall, how amazing would it be to win $30,000 worth of supplies for your favorite elementary school?! And all you have to do is 'Like'  Astrobrights on Facebook!

We've had a crafting dry-spell lately, so I thought it was time to create something together. I added a little Back-to-School flavor to it, as an opportunity to talk about their hopes and fears concerning the new year. Since we're spending long evenings outside, I thought windmills would be the perfect fun project.

AstroBrights sent me a pack of their 23 fabulously bright-colored papers, and challenged us to create a fantastic family project, as part of the "Make Something AstroBright Design Challenge" on Facebook.

So I grabbed my favorite helpers, and we got to it.

1. Start with a square-shaped paper, and fold it diagonally both ways. Then make a cut at each corner, going halfway to the center.

2. Bend every other point towards the center, and secure one at a time with a dot of glue. 

3. Glue a paper circle to the center, covering the folded corners.

4. If you want your windmill to spin, insert a pin through a bead, and push through the center of the windmill.

5. Thread another bead on the back of the pin, and push through a wooden stick or dowel. Cover the exposed pin with a pencil eraser to protect little fingers.

We cut our center circles out of apple and school bus scrapbook paper to tie in with the Back-to-School theme. Not only were they fun and colorful to make, but we had a great talk about the new school year.

Support your local elementary school by entering the "Give a Brighter Year" sweepstakes. You can win a cash prize and school supplies valued at $30,000 for the school of your choice! Have you started talking about Back-to-School in your house?