How to make the cutest wood snowflake!!!

I saw the cutest wood snowflake online but could not find out where to buy it so I decided to try making it!

To my surprise it was really easy!!!

Table of Contents

Materials:

5 pieces of 1/2″ wide and 24″ long balsa wood
2″ of 1″ wide balsa wood
Cutters
Glue gun
Ruler
Paper
Set square or triangle from geometry set with angles 90-45-45
Pen

Step 1 – Cutting balsa wood

Cut three pieces of the 1/2″ balsa wood to 16″ long. For anyone who has watched carpenters work with wood but saws and machinery are a little scary…well you are going to love balsa would. It is almost like cutting paper.

Cut the 1″ wide balsa wood to 1″ long. Then mark the center. You will end up with 2 – 1 inch squares.

1" square of balsa wood for snowflake diy

Marking the center on 1" square of balsa wood for snowflake diy

Step 2 – Gluing the branches of the snowflake

Take your first 16″ piece of 1/2″ balsa wood and glue it to the middle of the 1″ square. Ensure that 8″ is on one side and 8″ is on the other.

Cut the other two pieces of 16″ balsa in half. Then glue them in an x formation as shown below on the right. Glue the other 1″ square on top of the intersection of the branches.

One arm of snowflake on center piece of snowflake diy

Step 3 – Adding details to the branches

Cut the remaining 1/2″ wide balsa wood into 3″ and 1 3/4″ lengths of pieces. You will need 12 3″ lengths and 12 1 3/4″ lengths.

On a piece of paper draw a triangle with the 90-45-45 triangle/set square. This will provide a guide to placing the tails on the branches.

Here is an image of the final snowflake to give you an idea of layout and final dimensions.

Cut a 45 degree angle on on end of each of the pieces. This will allow the pieces to glue on an angle to the main branch. Please see Image 1 below on the far left.

Lay the branch on the triangle you have drawn so that the peak of the triangle would be 3.5″ away from the end of the branch. Glue the 3″ piece on an angle following the angle of the drawn triangle below. Repeat for the other side. See Image 2 in the center below.

Move the branch up so that the peak of the triangle is 2″ from the end of the branch. Repeat the steps described in the paragraph above. See Image 3 on the far right below.

Cutting angle on balsa wood for snowflake diy

Repeat all of the steps above on the end of each branch and this is what the snowflake should look like when assembled.

Step 4 – Staining the Snowflake

Choose a stain of your choice and apply with a paint brush so you can get in to all the tight spaces. Rub off the excess stain.

Sit to dry.

The only thing left to do is to put it on your tree or in another wintery vignette!

Wooden star diy for winter tree or Christmas tree

In the photo above, I used the snowflake in a “winter tree” – so not quite a Christmas tree, but rather celebrating the winter season before and after Christmas. Here is a link to that blog where I shared how I made a decorated dry fruit, pine cones and acorns and used elements from my garden.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this project and that you will give it a try! It truly is so easy.

Lastly, here is some really cute Christmas decor I thought you might like. It is from Walmart and very inexpensive. Should you decide to purchase one of these items, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.