With the tulips beginning to bloom, I am thrilled to be sharing a new, vibrant paper craft! And if your trip to The Netherlands was canceled last year, I have some good news: now you can bring some of the Dutch charm into your home with this 3D windmill project.
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Last fall, I decided to rip out some scraggly bushes from my front yard, and plant tulips instead. I planted 50 tulip bulbs, and they are all coming up beautifully now! My 4-year-old son likes to inform me of their progress each day, and we are both looking forward to seeing some colorful petals within the next week or two.
Watching these tulips grow is what inspired me make this windmill design. Because, if you’re going to envision a field of tulips, then why not include a picturesque windmill in your imaginary landscape?
Follow along using the instructions below, or check out this tutorial video.
Supplies
- Cardstock
- Vellum
- Hot Glue
- A Lollipop Stick
- Bone Folder (optional)
- A Cutting Machine or X-ACTO knife
- My Free Template
How to Make It
1. Use your cutting machine or X-ACTO knife, along with my template, to cut out all of the 3D windmill pieces.
Note: If you are using the SVG files that includes the score lines, don’t forget to set them as such in Cricut Design Space and attach them to their shapes before sending them through your cutting machine. I used a lime green color to mark the score lines, so hopefully that helps! If you’re having trouble with the score lines, check out this video.
Prep Work
2. Before you get going on assembly, attach all the windows and decorative elements.
Note: I inked the edges of each wall to give them a little more depth. If you want to do the same, I’d do it before you add the windows and decorative elements to the design.
Glue the vellum window pieces to the inside, and the window frames to the outside. Attach the two door pieces as well.
Layer the white and blue outline decorative tulips together, and place them on the three blank walls of the bottom section. Place the thinner, decorative tulip designs on the top walls.
Assembling the Top
3. Start by putting the little “house” piece together. Fold along the score lines, and glue the tab to the inside. Then, fold and attach the “roof.”
Use the slits provided to attach the little house to the center of the upper tower. Then, attach the tower walls together using the tabs provided.
Fold and glue the balcony sides together. Then, insert the top tower tabs into the slits provided, and glue them down.
Assembling the Bottom
4. Make the base by folding along the score lines, and gluing the tabs to the inside.
Assemble the bottom portion of the tower the same way you did with the top section, and insert the tabs into the base.
Then, attach the top of the tower with the bottom using hot glue.
Attaching the Blades
5. To finish your windmill, cut a lollipop stick to about 3″ in length (shorter if you don’t want it to stick out on the backside). Then, insert the stick into the holes at the top of the tower and the center of the blades.
Cap it off by attaching the small circle to the front of the lollipop stick. Finish with a cute gem or button if you’d like.
Not only did this project come out every bit as cute as I was hoping, but all the pieces fit together on the first try! That almost never happens, so I was doubly proud when I finished assembling it.
I use Adobe Illustrator for all of my designs, and a Cricut Maker to bring my creations to life. For tips on creating fun paper cuts like this one, see the FAQ section on my website. Also, be sure to check out the other 3D freebies available on my blog!
Enjoy making your very own, 3D windmill! I hope you have as much fun putting it together as I did. Be sure to share your beautiful results with me on Instagram!
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Mandee is a professional graphic designer, amateur bird watcher, and rollercoaster enthusiast. She is a wife to hardworking high school teacher and mommy to three adorable little humans. She fell in love with graphic design when she started working on a comedy website with a guy she met her freshman year of college. Design wasn’t the only thing she fell in love with, and they were married a year and a half later. She created Designs By Miss Mandee to be a place where she could merge her passion for design with her lifelong love of crafting. 18 Comments on 3D Windmill – Dutch Windmill Cut File
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Kathy
April 8, 2021 at 7:42 am (2 years ago)Thank you so much for sharing the adorable windmill. Honestly, I don’t know how you manage these creations and raise a family and grow a garden and everything else you do. You are amazingly talented and industrious. This windmill is extra special and will be given as a gift to a friend life long friend. Her parents immigrated from Holland, her father was a tulip salesman and her mother was a hat maker. I always make her birthday cards with a Dutch theme. Your windmill will be much more spectacular than just a card!
Mandee
April 8, 2021 at 5:22 pm (2 years ago)How magical!! I can’t imagine a more fitting gift for your friend. Thanks for sharing! ❤️
nerina
April 8, 2021 at 7:44 am (2 years ago)c’est magnifique.
Merci Beaucoup pour ce partage
Nerina
Mandee
April 8, 2021 at 5:23 pm (2 years ago)Thank you! I’m so glad you like it!!
maman-cocci
April 8, 2021 at 8:36 am (2 years ago)que c’est beau !!!
merci
vikki
April 8, 2021 at 8:53 am (2 years ago)love this ! love all of your designs though xx
Catherine
April 8, 2021 at 4:09 pm (2 years ago)Waouhhh, C’est splendide. Merci beaucoup ♥♥
Mandee
April 8, 2021 at 5:24 pm (2 years ago)Thanks so much!! ❤️
Pam
April 8, 2021 at 4:47 pm (2 years ago)Thank you for the beautiful windmill, I love the flowers on the sides Can you post a picture of your tulips when they are ready too? When I was in college, a nearby house had hundreds of red tulips that came up in the spring. When that house was in bloom, everyone knew it was spring!
Mandee
April 8, 2021 at 5:24 pm (2 years ago)Okay, I will do that! Hopefully they turn out half as beautiful as the ones you use to see. 😊
Melissa
April 9, 2021 at 1:43 am (2 years ago)Thank you so much for the windmill. I want to give you some advice if you don’t mind. In the photo of the windmill the flapes of the blades are just the other way around. In the file itself and the 1st photo of the cutting files at How to Make there are the blades in the right way. Greetings from the Netherlands.
jessie
April 9, 2021 at 9:47 am (2 years ago)Perfect project for Spring.
Thank you!
lia
April 10, 2021 at 12:32 am (2 years ago)Thank you so much for the windmill.
I am from Holland and there are very much of these mills, however they will replaced by the ugly ones from steel.
Mandee
April 10, 2021 at 11:14 am (2 years ago)I’m so glad you like it!! ❤️
Suzanne Deisenroth
April 13, 2021 at 7:32 pm (2 years ago)Thanks Miss Mandee! That was fun and easy to make! I put it on my fireplace mantel and it looks so adorable!! You are amazing!
Mandee
April 14, 2021 at 12:32 pm (2 years ago)Yay! I’m so glad you were able to put it together easily. 😊
Esmaralda
October 26, 2021 at 5:54 pm (1 year ago)Just stumbled on your site and saw this one.THANK YOU!!! I moved here from The Netherlands in 2000 and all my family still lives there, so this one is special for me! I cannot wait to make it.
Mandee
October 27, 2021 at 11:12 am (1 year ago)Aww, I’m so glad this design can remind you o your family!! ❤️