This take on Minted was made by undefined from , a member of Minted's community of independent artists.
Top off your dessert with these chic pinwheel cake toppers.
I have a fondness for pinwheels (doesn’t everybody?)—they’re fun and whimsical, and remind me of my childhood. But instead of plastic or paper pinwheels, I wanted to decorate with something a little more grown up. These brass pinwheels are fun and easy to make, and are the perfect way to dress up a frosted cake.
Get some heavy-duty scissors (I stole my hubby’s ugly ones from the garage!). (Yes, I took a picture of the pretty scissors I use for fabric, sorry!)
Cut a 3″ x 3″ square from paper to use as a template. Cut a strip of brass about 3.5″ wide; place the paper square on top of the brass sheet and use the template to cut a square. Use a pen to mark a dot in the center of the brass square. Next, cut a slit from one corner of the brass square toward the center dot; however, don’t go all the way—be sure to leave about 1/4″ to 1/3″ from the center. Do this on each of the four corners; this will create four triangle shapes.
Use the hole punch and punch a hole in the bottom-right corner of each triangle shape (just like you’d do if you were making a real pinwheel). Place the brass on a scrap piece of wood and hammer a nail through the center dot. Remove nail.
Gently fold each hole-punched corner toward the center of the pinwheel. Start on one side and work counter-clockwise, lining up the holes. Press hard enough so that they stay but are not creased.
Insert a nail through all of the holes, starting from the front and working your way back.
Press the back of the nail into a paper straw, being careful to only pierce one side of the straw.
Repeat and make as many brass pinwheels as you like! To make them more permanent, add a drop of hot glue to the inside of the straw to secure the nail.
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