How to Fold Puffy Paper Stars

Puffy paper stars are beautiful as decoration but their creation can be difficult to master. This tutorial details each step and includes pictures for better understanding.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Paper
• Scissors (or papercutter)
• Ruler
• Pen
• Glue (optional)

1. 
    

   First, choose your paper- the brighter the better! Pictured is magazine paper, which is 10 and 3/4" in length and cut into 3/4" wide strips. The width of the paper strips can be as small as 1/2" and will require less length, or the strips can be wider requiring longer paper.
   When you've found your paper, measure and trace the desired length and width. Cut just inside the line to avoid pen marks on your stars. This step is much simpler if you have a papercutter.

2. 
    

   To begin folding, place the strip wrong side up. Fold up from the bottom as shown, about one inch at a 30 degree angle. I try to make sure that the top left corner of the folded piece touches the right side of the strip.

3. 
    

   Fold the strip down and to the left, perpendicular to the right side of the previously folded piece. You will start to see a pentagon shape emerge- the strip will be folded around and around the pentagon.
   For orientation, all pictures have been taken with the paper in the same position.

4. 
    

   Fold the strip underneath to the left, perpendicular to the left side of the pentagon.

5. 
    

   Fold the strip up and to the right, perpendicular to the upper right side of the pentagon.

6. 
    

   Fold the strip down, perpendicular to the bottom side of the pentagon. At this point, hopefully the steps have become repetitive. Finish folding the strip around the pentagon, until there is not enough length to cover one side.

7. 
    

   You should end up with something like the picture. Since there is not enough length to tuck into the "V"-shaped pocket above the strip, we will have to turn the pentagon over and work farther up on the strip.

8. 
    

   After you have turned the pentagon over, cut the length so that there is just enough to tuck into the "V"-shaped pocket below.

9. 
    

   The result should look something like the picture. Prepare to tuck!

10. 
     

    Tuck the remaining length into the "V"-shaped pocket. For extra security, you can put a drop of glue on the top of the strip before tucking it in. Just let it dry for a little while before you continue with the steps.

11. 
     

    Pick up the pentagon with your fingers along the sides as shown.

12. 
     

    Carefully and gently push in the sides of the pentagon. This should cause the front and back to puff out, while the sides bend in at 120 degree angles (like a five pointed star). It might help to use your fingernails to get really sharp angles.
    This is by far the most challenging step, so don't be discouraged if it doesn't turn out perfectly the first time. It takes a lot of practice, and you might need to experiment with different types and widths of paper to find what works best.

13. 
     

    Turn the pentagon so that you can press in the remaining side. Your star is complete!

14. 
     

    Now that you know how, you can make a whole collection of stars! Some people display them in jars or vases.

Tips & Warnings

• Using magazine paper with 3/4" width, I made 9-10 folds. The number of folds will differ with different sizes of paper.
• Don't worry about how good the early folds look, they will be covered up in the end.
• Be careful with scissors
• Watch out for papercuts