Snowflake Interactive New Year Cards

These volvelle interactive cards are shaped like paddle fans to make
them easy to manipulate. Hold the fan handle in one hand, slide the tab with the other: Hey presto!... dissolving snowflake pic. Different styles of filigree snowflakes - whoosh!

The volvelle mechanism works via a slotted base layer and a rotating disc. I've been keen to try making one ever since reviewing Helen Hiebert's book Playing with Pop-Ups. There are also volvelles in Jean-Charles Trebbi's The Art of Pop-Up and in Making Mechanical Cards, by Sheila Sturrock (all of which are excellent papercraft refs). 

My design is a hybrid of mechanisms, with the added paper fan base. And yes, it is just a little bit tricky to make, but like most things, easier when you know how. You've got to put the rotating disc behind the paddle fan. The disc segments are brought to the front, and the jaggedy front segments are brought to the back. It is all held together with an indispensible centre brad, with brad mats front and back.

The how-tos are printed on the download files. If cutting out by hand, follow the outlines to cut out the six segments on the fan and the dial (disc). The cut-outs on the paddle fan are jaggedy-lines and the are cut-outs on the dial are flag-shaped. I have added a reinforcement to place behind the bottom edge of the dial and behind the fan handle because they get the most wear and tear.

Here are your free printables:

Night-timeSnowflakeNewYearCard.pdf
DaytimeSnowflakeNewYearCard.pdf

Night-timeSnowflakeNewYearCard.svg 
DatimeSnowflakeNewYearCard.svg 

Depending on where you live in the world, a fan may be the last thing you need on New Year's Day. But wherever you live, an entertaining New Year greeting is tops!