Cinco De Mayo: How To Make Handmade Paper Decorations

Cinco De Mayo is a holiday to commemorate the Mexican army’s victory over France in 1862 during the Franco-Mexican War. Today in the United States this has translated to a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage. A great way to share the history of this holiday is to create handmade decorations.

Supply List:

• Color paper/cardstock
• Surebonder Ultra Series DT-320F Hot Glue Gun
• Surebonder Clear Mini Glue Sticks
• Surebonder Glue Pad
• String
• Scissors
• Craft wood
• Ruler/paint stick

Paper Garland

The first step is to cut out a bunch of cacti from the green paper. You can either find a template online or use your creativity to cut them free hand. We suggest cutting multiple sheets of paper at a time to be more efficient. Set aside.

To make pinwheels take one piece of paper and use a ruler or a paint stick to help lineup where to fold. Make one fold the with of the paint stick then flip the paper over to make the same fold the on the opposite side. Continue until you have done this to the entire piece of paper. This will make your paper look like an accordion. While folded, fold in half and cut into two smaller halves.

To assemble the pinwheel take the ends on the same side and match them up, crease at the middle point. Apply hot glue to one half of the paper and glue the halves together. This will fan half of your pinwheel. Repeat this process on the other side until you have a complete pinwheel. Apply small amounts of hot glue at the touching points inside of the pinwheels to secure it.

Use a different color than your pinwheel and cut out a circle. Glue this circle in the middle of your pinwheel as an accent.

Make multiple pinwheels for your paper garland alternating the colors and cacti. Use your hot glue gun to then glue the paper decorations on a piece of string. Make as many as you need to fill up the desired length of your string.

Table Centerpiece

What is a party without a table piece to match your garland? This added touch will impress your friends and family.

Choose the color you want to make a large fan with. Fold two pieces of paper just as you did when creating the pinwheels except do not cut it in half when you complete the folding. To assemble the fan, take the ends on the same side and match them up, crease at the middle point. Apply hot glue to one half of the paper and glue the halves together. Repeat this process on the other piece of paper then glue the two pieces together to create one large fan.

Take another color and create a small fan, folding the paper to resemble an accordion and cut in half like the pinwheels. Glue one side together to create a fan.

Apply hot glue to the piece of craft wood and glue the bottom of your large fan to it. The wood will act as an anchor and hold your fan down. Using the same color, glue extra pieces of paper to cover the piece of wood.

Take the small fan and glue the bottom to the face of the base on the large fan. When you set up the large fan it will look like a stage for the last step! Glue a single cactus in the middle to display on your fanned out stage and you are set!

Place your paper crafts in your party room and celebrate Cinco De Mayo in style!