How to Make a Paper Snowflake

I know, I know, it's easy.  Fold some paper and cut it.  But skimming Martha Stewart's post only takes a minute and always yields something better than a rectangle with some holes.  The problem is that you might forget how to do it, and you might forget that Martha Stewart was the one with the post, and you might not want someone to try to sell you a $19 pad of paper and a $12.49 pair of scissors.  Let's agree to be judgmental here - anybody who wants those scissors ought to be doing something more impressive than paper snowflakes.

I'm only gonna tell you what's important, and I'll do it mostly with pictures.  Let's start with three sheets of printer paper.  They're cuter when they're smaller, but we can do that after this post when we're professionals.  If you're cutting your paper down to smaller shapes, you can go ahead and start with squares.  Oh, and if you can find papers you'd normally recycle, that's even better.

Fold the square diagonal.

Bisect the diagonal and quarter that square.

Flip the paper over (left).

Fold one side towards the center to create a 30° angle, a third of the 90° you started with (middle).

Fold the other side 30° towards the center as well (right).

Here's another view with my hand on the once folded snowflake.

When you're done, they'll look a bit like paper airplanes.

Cut along that line.

Bam - dodecagons!

Three of them.

Turn them so they're pointing away from you.

My picture shows flaps opening on the left side, but it doesn't matter which way this happens.  You can even turn your paper upside down so there are creases on both sides.

Now you can cut away.

Asymmetry is your friend here; I've arbitrarily decided to cut each lefthand side shorter.

Angular cuts look like Elsa made them.

Curved shapes create doily patterns and teardrops create hearts.

Long skinny shapes create stars.

There's only one thing left to do.

And that's all there is to it.

Star of Wonder

Off With His Head

Arendelle

Aside: how awesome is my enormous Manhasset Conductor's Music Stand?

Now you're a pro, just like I promised.  Go get 'em.