Olive-Coloured Tutorials
Hello all! Sorry for my extended absence, the summer has swept me away with myriads of projects that call to be done!
Today, I’d like to show you how to make origami stars!
These little paper stars are among the easiest of origami projects a person can do. No glue or tape is required, just scissors and a sheet of paper. They are super cute, and make great gifts or decorations!
To start: cut a strip of paper length-wise on a piece of paper. (For larger pieces of paper, like scrapbook paper – cut on the shorter side.) I’m using an old piece of scrapbook paper in this tutorial, but it’s probably easier to work with a paper that’s thinner – like coloured printer paper.
The strip should be the width of a half-inch. It doesn’t have to be exact by any means. The rule is simply that the thinner the strip, the smaller the star, and vice versa, and a half-inch is relatively easier to work with.
While I would recommend using a cutting tool to make straight and even cuts, the process will work just as well using scissors and intuition, which is what I always do.
1) Curl a strip into a loop and put the shorter end of the strip through the loop.
2) Shift and pull the two ends until the knotted loop is as flat as possible, without pressing it until it is flat.
3) Take the tab and tuck it onto the other side. If its too long to tuck, cut the excess off so that it can. (Though, sometimes, if you are happy with the length of the strip, you may want to readjust the loop to make the tab shorter.)
4) Bring around the long end of the tab so that the colour side is outside and making up the star. Another way of putting it is taking the long part of the strip and folding it so it folds over onto the side where you tucked the short tab into.
5) From there, fold the paper so that it is as flat along the star as possible. This works easily, if you follow the paper where it’ll want to bend (usually in the pattern of right, left, right, left, etc.). Knowing where the paper should fold over will become easier with practice. You may also want to tuck it into the folds for more sturdiness.
6) Tuck the end into the preexisting folds in the star. It should now look like a pentagon.
7) Pinch the corners (use your fingernails for smaller stars and the fleshy part of the thumb for larger, or whatever that star calls for in the moment).
8) Tada~! You now have a star! Enjoy~!
In case of complications of the initial cutting of the strips, here is the process in how to saunter on with your stars:
Even though cuts made with intuition will sometimes go awry (making strips with a super thick end or a super thin end), there is no need to throw them out. There is a trick to making them work.
1) Identify which end is thicker and loop with that.
And fold as you would.
2) For particularly thin ends, either cut them when you come to the end of your folding (make sure you have somewhere to tuck your end into) or push them through a fold every once in a while – preferably near to the end of the folding.
3) And of course, tuck them in and proceed as normal.
Thank you for taking the time to read my tutorial. If you have any questions about this project or any mishaps you’ve encountered in your own stars, leave a comment and let me know! Happy creating!
Stay tuned for an add-on to this tutorial – the adventures of creating a tutorial with a cat. 😛
