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Lean how to make a simply gorgeous DIY paper star ornament for the Christmas Holiday. This super star design is easy to make with 8 squares of paper and some glue.

Your finished star looks wonderful as a hanging tree ornament, a wall decoration or as a smaller design to place on the front of your handmade cards and scrapbook layouts.

This fun and easy paper design is based on simple paper (tea bag) folding which is a traditional craft. It is almost like an easier version of origami since there are only a small amount of folds that you need to make.

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How to Make a Paper Star Ornament for Christmas

The completed paper star ornament makes an 8 pointed star shape. The type of star that we are making is known as the Star of Redemption.

There are many meanings for the 8 pointed star across different cultures and religions. In Christian religions, eight is the number associated with regeneration and baptisms.

What You Need to Make a DIY Paper Star Ornament

8 squares of paper for each star. Note that 2.5 inch squares make a 4.25 inch completed design.

Adhesive, I prefer using glue dots for this craft because they glue instantly.

Scissors, hole punch and twine or ribbon for hanging.

Instructions to Make a Christmas Star with Paper

Step 1: Gather a selection of paper. I chose silver colors.

For this folded paper star design, you need 8 square pieces of paper. You can use the same color or design of paper for every piece.

The completed star looks much more interesting, though, if you choose different papers in a color range. I picked out a range of silver colored papers.

If you worry about coordinating your paper designs, look out for pads of Christmas scrapbook paper where the designs and colors are made to all work well together.

You can stick to papers from one main color or pick out a couple of colors that work well together. For Christmas time, red and green are and obvious choice. Other combinations that could look good are white and pale ice blues, golds and reds, purples and silvers or blues, silvers and whites.

Step 2: Cut out 8 squares of paper. I use a cardboard template to trace around.

For tea bag paper folding crafts, I use a standard square template of 2.5 inches. It is a size that tends to work well for making embellishments for the front of handmade cards and on scrapbook layouts.

You can easily measure out and use a square cut from cardboard as your template. Once you have a cardboard template, it is quick to draw around this on any piece of scrapbook paper to make the squares you need.

Alternatively, use a die cutting machine like a Sizzix Big Shot to cut out squares for you using square dies like these ones. Cut out 8 pieces for every star you want to make.

A 2.5 inch square will make a finished star of approx 4.25 inches. I would not recommend going smaller than this as it would be fiddly to fold, but you can make yours much bigger.

Step 3: Position your paper face down with the blank side facing up.

You don't need double sided paper for this since you only see one side of the paper. It is also easier if you use paper that is white on one side and patterned or colored on the other.

Position a square with the patterned or colored side facing down and rotate it into the diagonal position shown in the photo above.

I labeled A and B in pencil to explain where to fold. You don't need to do this on your squares.

Step 4: Fold the square in half to make a triangle.

Look at the previous photo and pull up the bottom corner of the square labeled B to meet the top corner labeled A.

All this does is fold the square in half to make a triangle like the one shown above. Easy.

Step 5: Rotate the triangle around to look like the photo.

Just move the triangle around in the direction shown by the arrow.

You want the straight, folded edge on the left and the point facing right.

Step 6: Fold the triangle in half.

Pull up the bottom corner of the paper to meet the top corner.

This folds the triangle in half to make a smaller triangle.

Step 7: Grab the top point and pull down the top layer only to fold along the bottom of the triangle.

This part looks hard but is actually very easy.

Get hold of the top point of your triangle. This now has two layers because it has been folded. Make sure to pick up only the top layer.

Pull this top layer down, line up the cut edge of the paper along the bottom of your triangle and make a crease to fold.

This makes the arrow shape shown in the photo above.

Step 8: Once all pieces are made, start sticking them together.

Repeat steps 3-7 to fold all eight pieces that you need to make a star. Now it is time to assemble them.

Place one folded piece with the pointed tip facing up. Put a glue dot or some quick stick adhesive on the bottom right of this arrow shape.

Get a second folded piece and stick it on top: the bottom of the design lines up perfectly with the right side of the piece with the glue on.

You may have to study the photo to see how these pieces should fit.

Step 9: This photo shows where I place my glue dots on the design.

You can see how the first two pieces have been stuck together. Add on more glue or a glue dot on the bottom right of the second piece.

I use glue dots because I find these easy for this craft and they stick straight away instead of waiting for a wet glue to dry. They come in different sizes so I can also get mini ones too which I place on with tweezers.

Step 10: Three folded pieces stuck together and you can see the pattern forming.

Once you have the first two or three pieces stuck together, you can start to see the pattern forming. You can see how the folded pieces work round like a wreath shape.

Carry on adding pieces. The next photo shows the last piece being added.

Step 11: The last piece has been added but it is not quite finished.

Stick on the last piece and you will notice that the star does not quite look right. This is because you need to tuck the last piece behind the first one. So do that now.

Step 12: Stick the last piece in place to keep your star together.

Stick down the final piece and your star should look similar to this one. It should have an 8 sided shape formed in the middle, an octagon.

A series of smaller triangles make a wreath style pattern in the middle and then you have the star points.

I like to go around and stick down any loose folds with mini (or micro) glue dots and a pair of tweezers for accurate placement. The mini glue dots on a sheet or roll work best since you cannot get a dispenser into the folds of this design.

Paper Star Christmas Ornament: Looks Great on Handmade Cards Too

The star can look stunning when folded and made with papers that have different textures. Here I used four different styles of silver colored paper but all with different effects and patterns.

One silver paper is glitter, one a pearl sheen, one a dotted texture and the other has a swirl design.

When I assembled the star, I stuck down a lighter shade of silver followed by a darker shade for more contrast between the different sections.

Silver and gold papers are perfect color choices for using this as a tree ornament for Christmas.

To turn this into an ornament for hanging, punch a small hole in one of the star points. Be careful to ensure the hole isn't too near an edge or you could tear the design.

Pop some twine, cord or ribbon through for hanging. I cut a length of ribbon off, folded it in half and then use tweezers to pull both ends through the punched hole.

I pull through enough of the ribbon ends so that I can tie a bow at the front of the star design. Then the hanging ribbon loop is decorative and functional.

This paper folding craft is not origami because true origami never requires glue.

This is called tea bag folding which uses both folding and gluing to make paper style rosettes. These are often used for the front of handmade cards and also for ornaments. See my beginner tutorial for tea bag folding below.

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Page Last Updated: October 29th, 2018