Fans & Fireworks

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It was just before the light reaches the time of tall shadows. The sun, low in the sky, caught the dust that hangs above the road. A thousand flecks of gold in the still, heavy air. It was then summer arrived. The season for simple things. Night breezes, page-turners, the whir of an old electric fan. And, that quiet sort of reverence for home and country.

With those things in mind, I designed these handheld fans for the Fourth of July. You can print and make them yourself; here's how: Click here to download clip art, print on cardstock and cut out. Score and fold along white line. Unfold and lie flat. Now, working perpendicular to your first fold, score at half inch intervals. Fold accordion style. Shape into circle and glue at top using tab. Let dry. Glue wooden sticks to each of the remaining ends and tie or glue sticks together.

A couple of notes: The wooden sticks can be found at Michaels. I stained them using a water-based stain by FolkArt (found with the acrylic craft paints) - it's perfect for these kinds of projects (where it would be too inconvenient to break out the hardware store stuff). Also, a bone folder and scoring board or ruler are extra helpful here — they'll give you those even and crisp folds every time.