Folded Stars

Christmas is unfortunately over and the holidays are rolling to an end, but handmade crafts don't go out of season! For this blog post, I attempted to make something that isn't specifically for Christmas or any other holiday. In the book, Artful Christmas: 30 Elegant Craft Projects by Susan Wasinger, I found a cute and interesting origami craft that didn't look too difficult or time-consuming to make.

The materials were fairly easy to access because the only thing this project required was several sheets of patterned paper. To make one folded star, I needed six sheets of paper and I had to cut the sheets into four-inch squares. However, for the first star I made, I kept each square six inches by six inches in order to make a larger star. 

Then, I was instructed to fold the paper in half diagonally by first folding the bottom left corner up to the top right corner and creasing it. After unfolding the sheet, I was to fold the bottom right corner up to meet the top left corner and crease it and unfold it once again (Wasinger 124). The next step was to flip the paper over so the patterned side faced up. "Fold the paper in half along its center... Crease the paper and unfold it. Then fold the paper in half along its other axis. Crease it and unfold it" (Wasinger 125).

With the easier steps complete, I continued to fold. The book directed me to nudge the folds on either side inward so my paper looked like a double-triangle configuration. Finally, I proceeded to, "Fold the right-hand point of the triangle up to the top of the triangle. Fold the left-hand point of the triangle up as well. Turn the paper over, and fold the points of the triangle up on the other side" (Wasinger 125). Once I finished this step for the first sheet of paper, I had to repeat all of the steps for the remaining five sheets. 

The most difficult part of making this craft was combining the six sheets together. To do this, I had to insert the points of one end of the triangular piece into the folds of another piece. I worked my way around the star, and continued adding each piece. At the end, the points of the last triangular piece should have been inserted into those of the first piece. My final product looked okay, but it took me a while to fully insert each piece.

I also made another folded star, but this time I completely followed Wasinger's instructions and cut each of the sheets into four-inch squares. I followed the directions once more and folded each paper into a triangular piece.

In my opinion, the second folded star turned out better because the size was smaller and looked the way the author intended it to.

This origami craft is reasonably easy to make and can be used as an ornament or just simply as a decoration. I enjoyed making it and I plan to create these folded stars again in the future!

Do you like origami and what origami crafts have you made before?

Wasinger, Susan. Artful Christmas: 30 Elegant Craft Projects. Lark, 2014