Christmas Papercraft: DIY Star Garland

Handmade paper stars tied with fabric into a garland

Paper star garland for our Christmas tree

One of our traditional Christmas decorations is a paper star garland that I made years ago.  I painted paper with acrylics, and although the colors are not strictly Christmas-y, it brings a scrappy homespun look to our Christmas tree.

Below are instructions for making the paper stars, which can be used individually for ornaments or strung together for a garland:

Draw a six-sided star on cardboard.

I used a compass and ruler to draw a six-sided star on cardboard.  This will be your pattern or template.  You can make the star any size . . . I set my compass so that there was 3/4-inch between the two points.

Your cardboard star template

Then cut out your cardboard pattern to make your star template.  You can slice across one of the points, as the finished star will have only five points.

Trace the pattern onto your paper

Now trace around the template onto your paper.  I used paper suitable for painting on with acrylics, but you could use recycled paper, too.  The paper needs to be a little stiff, but foldable.  You will need to trace two stars for each finished one.

Fold the stars along all of the lines on your pattern.

After you cut out two stars, fold each along all of the lines on your pattern.

Make a slit along one fold line to the center point.

On the side of your star that is missing its point, cut a slit along one fold line to the center point.

Apply glue to the triangle sections next to the slit.

Now you’ll apply glue or rubber cement to just the two triangles next to the slit — one triangle glue the top (painted side) and the other triangle glue the back side.

Now overlap the glued triangle sections to make a star.

Next you’ll overlap the two prepared triangular sections, gluing them together to make a two-dimensional star with a pyramid-like center.

Apply glue to the points.

Next you’ll apply glue or rubber cement to the back side of all five points.

Glue the two star pieces together at the points.

Matching the points as best you can, glue the two star pieces together to form your finished star.  I sometimes have to trim off small slivers of paper from the points where the paper did not match up exactly.  Your star should look good from both sides.

Make hole(s) to string up the star.

Use a hole punch to make a hole in a point of the star.  Then string ribbon through the hole to hang your ornament.  If you are making a garland, you will need to punch holes in two points, then tie the stars together in a long row.

Finished star ornament, decorated with glitter