Paper Snowflake Surprise

 

            Today's Snack: Here are two things you might not have put together before: snowflakes, and bologna! But anything's possible in this world, so let's make a bologna snowflake.

Just gently fold a circle of bologna in half - don't tear it! - and then fold that half-circle into thirds. You should have a fat triangle. Be as careful as you can not to tear any of the edges!

Now take a tiny bite out of the tip, and bite or cut little slices all along the two sides and the bottom. The more bologna you bite or cut away, the more "air" there will be in your bologna snowflake.

OK, now open it up - and imagine what a snowy day would be like if THESE things came piling out of the sky! Pile your bologna snowflake onto two slices of bread, add a little mayo or mustard, and let it MELT . . . in your mouth.

 

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Here's a fun surprise for your teacher's lounge, a parent's office, the front doors of your school, your classroom walls, a nursing home near you . . . any place that could use a fun little lift during the winter doldrums.

 

Give everyone a pair of scissors, and as many squares of white paper as you have time to fold and cut into winter's favorite symbol: snowflakes!

 

An adult can help you cut paper with a paper-cutter, so if you have standard 8½" x 11" typing paper, you can cut off 2½" strips from the long side to produce an 8½" square fairly easily. Keep the 2 ½" strips for some other purpose.

 

You could cut a quantity of other sizes of squares if you want variety in the size of snowflakes for your surprise.

 

Snowflakes need to be six-sided, and each side needs to be identical. Eek! How to do that? Easy: before you cut, fold your paper in this special way to end up with six identical parts for your snowflake:

 

Take your square of paper, and fold it into a triangle. Press down firmly on the folded edge; it needs to be sharp.

 

Now fold that triangle in half, producing a smaller triangle. Again, make sure the edges are crisp and lined up as straight as you can.

 

Now, with the tip of the triangle pointing away from you, fold over the left-hand edge just past the centerpoint, and press down hard along the edge to make it a crisp fold.

 

Then fold the right-hand edge over the edge you just folded, so that it looks like an arrowhead.

 

Cut the bottom into a rounded shape - you don't want your snowflake to end up square. Who's ever seen a square snowflake? (Don't answer that - they're probably out there!)

 

Now you can cut a circle or a V or some other shape out of the very tip of your snowflake. Cut skinny lines, curves and half-circles all along the two edges, and the rounded bottom. The deeper in to the middle of the fat arrowhead, and the more paper you remove with your cuts, the more "air" there will be in your finished snowflake, and the prettier and more realistic it will appear.

 

Now carefully - CAREFULLY!!! - unfold your snowflake. Pretty, huh?

 

If you wish, you can lightly spread glue over the surface with a foam brush, and sprinkle white glitter on top. Let try. The glitter will make it sparkle like a crystal and make it seem more realistic.

 

As soon as you have a large quantity of snowflakes - remember, they come in big groups!!! - go with some painter's tape or masking tape and put them up around a door or window where people will be sure to see your surprise "snowstorm."