If you’ve ever been in the South in the summer, you’ve seen a paddle fan. Every picnic, potluck or summer concert will see these fans pulled out of hand bags and purses to cool off their owners. Most are decorated with business slogans and are pretty ugly indeed. But oh so handy. Create your own handy little fan with some pretty paper and popsicle sticks and keep yourself cool and stylish all summer long!
Things you’ll need:
Heavy cardstock, one sheet (or two sheets of medium weight cardstock)
Medium weight scrapbooking paper, two sheets
Spray glue
Scissors
Pencil
Scrap paper
Two wide popsicle sticks or wavy fan sticks
Craft glue
Things to do:
1. Fold your scrap paper in half and cut a trapezoid with rounded edges. You’ll want your fan to be roughly six inches at the top and 5 inches at the bottom. It should be about 6 inches tall.
2. Use this shape as a template and trace it onto the cardstock and scrapbook paper. Cut out all pieces.
3. Using the spray glue, layer the paper so that the cardstock is covered on both sides with scrapbook paper. Trim any spots where the paper did not line up all the way and smooth out any bubbles.
4. Spread a generous layer of craft glue onto each craft stick.
5. Center one on the stick so that half of it is on the paper and half hangs off to a handle. You want the handle to attach at the narrower end of the trapezoid.
6. Press the other stick over the first on the other side of the fan so that the handle line up. Press the sticks together and wipe away any excess glue. Place under some heavy books and allow the glue to dry before using.
