German Paper Stars

I remember making these German paper stars as a kid. I couldn't remember how to do it so I found this great video of the process. I imagine getting the paper ready back then was kind of hard. Now we have large varieties of paper and rotary cutting systems that make the prep work easier.

Paper Stars

To celebrate Independence Day and because it's a "skill" I've been meaning to share, I am posting a tutorial for building a paper star. These stars can be folded to come to a peak in the middle--like the metal star decorations that seem to be so popular. Make them out of printed paper and hang them. Make them in pairs and staple them back-to-back to create 3D stars. Or just make them for fun.



1. Fold your piece of paper in half.









2. Make an angular fold with the vertex roughly centered on the first fold. Fold over the paper as shown to the 32 degree angle mark. If you don't have a protractor, make an educated guess.






3. Fold the left side up and crease it where the extra layers of paper you've folded over in the previous step start. (Just follow the pictures.)







4. I hope you're still with me. Next, you will be folding so that the "outsides" of your angular paper configuration come together. Crease along the line where the layer change begins.






5. Press the new crease down flat and cut a sharp angle from the double-layer side toward the crease. Unfold your paper and you'll have a star! If you don't like the angle of the point, refold it and cut it again.