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| Window Stars Our New Year biscuits didn't last long, so our windows were in need of a new, non-edible decoration. This is the first time I've made these and they really do brighten up a winter's day. They are very simple, just a matter of folding paper, but you do need to be accurate with the folding. Z and E were a little young to be doing the more complicated stars, so they chose the colours and helped with the sticking. We used kite-paper, which you can buy in a little multi-coloured booklet from Myriad Natural Toys and Crafts in their Crafts, then Paper Crafts section. If you live in Bristol you can get the paper from one of my favourite shops, Playful, at 87 Gloucester Road. Eight-Pointed star Preparation Before starting the folding, you'll need to cut the paper to the correct size, using a sharp knife. If you decide to be lazy, like me, and just use the original size (16cm x 16cm), you'll end up with the whopping great star you can see in my top right window. It's nice, but a little OTT, so I'd recommend taking the following step to cut the squares down to a better size.  Firstly, fold a square in half and, using a sharp knife, cut down the crease, creating 2 rectangles, as in photo 2 above. Fold each rectangle in half again, and cut along the crease to make 4 squares, as in the last photograph above. You'll need eight of these squares for the first star, so you'll need to do this with 2 sheets of paper. I found it easier to cut lots of different squares in one sitting to get it out of the way before doing any of the folding. The Folding  Take one square and fold it in half diagonally so the side corners meet, as in the second picture above. Make a firm crease along the fold line, then unfold to create picture 3 above. Fold the side corners into the middle so they meet the fold line to create the last picture above. You can use a dab of Pritt Stick glue to stick the corners down if you like. You're done....oh, you'll need to repeat this with another 7 squares, so you have 8 folded papers in total. Creating the finished star  To create the star, you'll need to stick the unfolded bases of each piece of paper together. Use the centre crease of each paper to position each piece of paper and use a small dab of glue to secure. Continue doing this all the way round to create an eight pointed star. . Eight Pointed Star - Version 2 This creates the blue and purple star in the bottom right of my window - a little more fancy, a little more clever!  Fold the corners into the middle crease as for the star above, and press firmly along the crease lines. Unfold as in picture 2 above. Use the fold lines you have just created, fold the corners in so they meet the crease lines as in picture 3. The fold in again, along the crease line created in picture 1, so you have picture 4 above. Repeat so you have eight folded papers. Create the star using the 'Create the finished star' instructions above. I hope this tutorial is easy to follow. If you've followed my instructions and have any comments or suggestions, please let me know so I can make any amendments. Let me know how you get on and I'd love to see pictures of your finished windows. |
