Introduction: Paper Icicles for Frozen Ceiling Decoration

Inspired by this art installation and the movie Frozen, I created this ceiling decoration for the holiday season. The whole thing took 2-3 hours to create, so it's thankfully quick in addition to being inexpensive and beautiful.

It's also a lot safer to be under than real icicles...

And it solved my dilemma of what to put in the guest bathroom without having to go out and buy something! Huzzah!

Step 1: Gather Materials

You will need:

  • White paper
      Note: I'm using legal size printer paper, but a roll of white craft paper would like be better due to splicing. Splicing doesn't really show unless it's backlit, and thankfully none of mine are.
  • Straight edge
  • Pencil
  • Glue stick
  • Scissors
  • Tape

Step 2: Cut Triangle

Fold your paper in half lengthwise and mark a diagonal line.

Note: You want to keep this quite narrow relative to the length.

Cut along the line and erase any remaining pencil marks.

Step 3: Glue

Fold the cut edges over approximately ¼-½" (1 cm).

Run the glue stick over the top folded edge.

Pull the paper apart and press the glued edge down.

Run the glue stick over the remaining flap and press down.

Step 4: Trim

Snip off the tip to create a crisp angle.

Open and fold, connecting the folded seams together.

Trim the open end to make a crisp line.

Trim down each edge approximately ½-¾" (1 cm).

Fold back each wing. This is what you'll attach to the ceiling.

Step 5: Crumple

Crumble up the paper and open again.

Note: Blowing into the icicle helps.

Note: You do not need to crumble and can opt for geometric icicles instead. Crumpling helps it look more natural, and it also helps to cover various sins.

Step 6: Attach

Keeping the seam to the back, attach each wing to the ceiling using a small piece of tape.

Note: When installing these, work from largest to smallest and fill in as needed. My largest icicle is 4 sheets of legal size copy paper spliced together for a finished length of 4' (approximately 1¼ m).

If your icicles don't disappear into your ceiling, you can add a "shield"/banner of small icicles/pennants as was done in the inspiration piece.

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