Getting Crafty: Origami Stars

Mini Origami Stars Tutorial

One of my friends taught me how to make these little mini stars out of paper and I think they are just the cutest thing so I thought I would share!

Okay so all you need for this is some paper, a pair of scissors, and some patience!

Start by cutting strips of paper along the width of the piece of paper. The strips should be half an inch wide or less and 8.5 inches long.

I decided to use one of the colored pieces of paper I had for this. It was a little easier to handle throughout the folding but was more difficult at the end because it's thicker!

Fold the strip into a ribbon shape

Tuck the end of the strip through the loop. This part takes a little tightening and situating of the loop to get it even. Just be patient and gentle, try not to crease the paper or it will be harder to make into the star shape later on!

You will start to see a pentagon shape at this point, trying to get the sides of this shape even is the frustrating part. 

Fold the extra tab down behind the tightened loop.

You can clearly see the 5 sides of the shape now (see how they are all roughly the same size and there are no gaps at the corners)

Take the long tail of the paper and fold it up so it makes the fifth side of the pentagon. Make sure to gently crease it so it stays but don't press it too much.

Wrap the tail around the next side. It should be obvious which side you should go to next because of the flow of the wrapping.

Keep wrapping! 

Eventually you will reach a point where you can tuck it in and finish or you need to trim it up a little bit!

To trim it just take the minimal amount off the end (just take enough off so when you are done wrapping it does not hang over the edge)

Once the tail is the right size, tuck it in to the folds at the center of the pentagon.

Push the tab in so it looks like this and crease it enough that the tab won't slide out if you are not holding it.

Use your nail to push the center of each side and form the star shape.

TA DAAAA! An adorable little paper star!

REMINDER: It may take a few tries to get this right.. I know it took my like 3 failures before I made a good one. Don't give up on it, it's kind of fun once you get the hang of it. I made all of these while watching a movie on TV so if you're just looking for something to do with your hands, this is the craft for you!

I am using mine as a filler for this vase I keep on my desk.

What other uses could you see for these little guys?