Art and Craft Paper Fan

From LoveToKnow Crafts

Making an art and craft paper fan is not difficult, and these pretty decorations are sure to impress your family and friends.

Paper fans are fun to make.

About Paper Fans

For hundreds of years, women across the globe have been making paper fans. Some fans were used as props in religious ceremonies, while others were used to hide a woman's face when she was attending a public event. As you might expect, the fans also served the practical purpose of helping to keep a lady cool on a hot day.

Today, art and craft paper fans are mostly made as decorative objects. Some of the many ways paper fans can be used today include:

Anniversary Parties: Paper fans bring to mind a touch of Victorian romance, which is perfect for setting the mood at an anniversary celebration.
Weddings: If you're planning an outdoor wedding during the spring or summer, consider making a paper fan as a wedding favor. Fans are inexpensive to make, and you can personalize them with photos, favorite poems, sayings, or the program information from the wedding ceremony. You can even add a special touch by making the fan in a heart shape.
Baby Showers: Fans make great decorations for baby showers, especially if you choose decorative papers and ribbons that echo the shower theme.
A Girl's Birthday: A little girl who loves playing dress up will be thrilled with a birthday party that features paper fans fit for a princess.
Christmas Tree Ornaments: If you're looking for a simple, creative, and inexpensive way to decorate, consider using miniature versions of basic paper fans as ornaments for your Christmas tree.
Decorations for Cards and Scrapbook Layouts: Miniature paper fans make cute and cost-effective embellishments for a variety of paper crafting projects.

Make a Simple Paper Fan

You can make a simple art and craft paper fan in about 15 minutes. The project is easy enough for elementary school students to complete with a bit of adult assistance and requires very few supplies.

Supplies:

12x12 patterned scrapbook paper
White craft glue
1/8 inch hole punch
24 inch length of 1/2-inch-wide ribbon that coordinates with your scrapbook paper
Scissors, straight
Scissors, scalloped or deckle edged

Instructions:

Trim opposite edges of your patterned scrapbook paper with the decorative scissors.
Starting with a straight edge of the paper, make accordion style pleats approximately every 3/4 inch across the paper. Firmly crease each pleat with your fingers or a bone folder used for card making.
Fold the pleated paper in half to form a fan and then unfold.
To reduce bulkiness where the unit folds in half, use straight scissors to remove a piece of paper about one inch long from the inside pleat.
Refold the fan and spread out the pleats. Slipping one edge of each inside pleat over the other, carefully glue the pleats in place.
Use your hole punch to make a hole at the bottom of the center pleat.
Thread the ribbon through the hole and tie a bow.

If you'd like to add a bit of extra decoration to your fan, try adding glitter to the paper before folding it or tying beads and metal charms to the ribbon bow at the bottom of the fan. Feel free to be creative!