Little bit of an update: Things got a little busy after Thanksgiving. I needed a little break from blogging to get a few things done at home and had some projects to work on. Before the other night, I was also sharing a computer with other family members. That meant that I had to try and figure out when I would write posts around the schedules of other people as well as my own. This is no longer the case! I just got my own computer and can actually get content made in a way that works best for me!
When I get a big creative idea, it can take up hours and hours of my time. Sometimes for days on end. That just happens to be what happened while I was taking a break from writing. I ended up pulling out the hot glue gun and working toward the goal of making a picture in my head a reality. So here we are, at the end of the mission, ready to share!
As many of my friends know, I have a pretty big obsession with stars and other such astral bodies. With Christmas coming up, it felt like a pretty great time to bring some of that to decorate parts of my home. Star of Christmas and all that? So I grabbed my Christmas playlist and favorite Christmas albums and got to work.
Supplies
- Wrapping paper
- Scissors
- Hot glue (or whatever works best for you... hot glue worked best for me)
- Gold wire
- Fishing line
- Lots of patience
I had originally thought that I would only be using scraps of Christmas paper that I had set aside in past years. Then I decided against it so I could have a more uniform look to what I had set out on doing. Besides, I didn't have much of the specific paper left anyway. There was some trial and error with the gold wire and fishing line, but I think I have the process nailed down now.
Cutting and folding the paper
Something that I love about newer wrapping paper is that the manufacturers have been printing cutting/sizing lines on the back. That was especially helpful for this project. That meant that I didn't have to grab a pencil or ruler one time the entirety of the project. For the bigger stars, I cut 4"x4" squares. The smaller ones are 2x2. If you plan on making the stars in bulk like I did, definitely do this step all at once. Remember, you need two squares of paper for every star you want to make.
Once you have your squares ready, you're all set to start folding. Well, more like creasing. Take the paper, fold it horizontally, unfold it, fold it vertically, then unfold again. Now do the same again except this time, do it diagonally. You should have four creases now.
Next, you'll take a pair of scissors and cut about halfway to the center from each of the four sides. Like shown in the picture below.
After you have cut your squares, you'll be folding a little more. Take each "wing" that you cut and fold into the center. Here's another picture to show what that should look like.
I did a ton of stars and folded most of them all at once. While you are folding (or getting close to being done with folding) is a great time to plug in the hot glue gun to start heating up.
Gluing the Stars
Now, the part where it seems like you are actually getting somewhere. 😂 Watch your fingers, it's time to use the hot glue gun. Take one of the "wings" you folded into the center of an "arm" and overlap it with the other. Now glue that. It'll look like this.
Guess what! Only one more step (unless you hang them up like I did) and you're all set! Now, you just have to take the two haves and glue them together!
There you are, a finished star! I made a whole suitcase full of these and still have some leftover (really need to figure out where I'm hanging them 😂). These look pretty great in a vase, but I hung mine up.
Hanging the paper stars
My original plan was to thread a needle with fishing line and just string the stars up like a garland. Of course, not all plans go accordingly and I had to adapt. I scrambled for a fix in my myriad of craft supplies and found a pretty good solution. Gold wire. I wish I knew what gauge or brand, but the label fell off a while ago. I DO know that it was purchased on a 10pm Meijer run.
I take a little more than an inch of wire, pierce it through on the the star's points, and then wrap the wire around a marker to shape a loop.
From there, I either strung them on a long piece of fishing line or tied a super thin strand of line and hung them up from light fixtures. Just like that, it's finished!
-fin
There you are! My finished star obsessed project. I love the way it turned out and definitely think the few hot glue burns were worth it. The art deco reminiscent shape just makes me so happy. That and the fact that I have stars hanging all over the kitchen and dining room.
Thank you SO much for reading. It means so much to me that you do! Keep an eye out for a post on this site eight days from now (a super easy way to be notified is to follow or subscribe 😉), or for a post four days from now on She Be Fierce 2! You can also follow SBF on Pinterest for some inspo, see what I'm interested in, and repin blog posts! If you want to see what I'm up to, you can follow me on Instagram. I am trying to post more consistently on my Instagram, and am actually ok with posting to my stories. So go check it out!
-how are you decorating for Christmas?
-tell me about your latest diy!
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