All this cold weather is serving as a reminder that the festive season is fast approaching! If you're looking for simple Christmas ornaments to decorate your home and let in some of that festive cheer then this is the paper craft project for you! It's also great if you're looking for Christmas crafts for kids. This step by step tutorial will help you make these adorable chunky origami style stars.
I can remember learning how to make them at school and being enchanted by the simplicity - I ended up making hundreds! They can be strung into bracelets, put into bowls with other festive creations to grace the Christmas coffee table, hung on ribbons, stuck onto Christmas cards - the possibilities are endless with these versatile little stars! So, what are we waiting for, lets get cracking.
First you will need to cut some strips of paper, approximately a quarter of an inch thick (or 7mm) and the length of an A4 piece of paper. It's easiest to use a guillotine or paper cutter if you have one. If not, draw a straight line with a ruler down the side of an A4 piece of paper and try to cut with scissors as straight as you can!
Then 'tie' the paper in a knot. You don't want to be tugging it too much, just start with a loose knot and gently pull it tighter so that it sits at one end of the strip.
When you've got your little knot as tight as you can, squash it flat to create a hexagonal sort of shape.
As well as a long strip coming out of one side of your knot, you'll have a little stubby bit of paper stuck out the other side. Just neatly tear it off using the side of the knot as a guide.
The long strip now needs to be wrapped around the hexagonal shape of the knot, being careful to keep the wrapping tight and folds neat.
Continue wrapping the hexagon until you reach the end of the strip of paper. Tuck the end into the 'pocket' naturally created by the wrapping process. You may need to snip a little bit off the end to make sure it fits in perfectly.
Your origami star in the making should look like this now...
Next is the fun bit - creating the pointy bits of the star! You can either do this stage using a hard edge such as a ruler or the side of a pair of scissors, or you can just use your nails. The middle of each side of the hexagon needs to be pushed in, which gives the star its 3D look. When you are doing this, make sure you hold the star at the edges so as not to crush it.
Repeat this process on all sides, then pinch out the corners to make your star nice and pointy.
Et voilà, the finished star! Now you have plenty of time to make lots more before Christmas arrives. Careful though, they're very addictive!
Labels: christmas crafts, christmas crafts for kids, chunky stars, craft tutorial, crafts for kids, origami, origami stars, paper crafts, paper stars, step by step tutorial
