Hello dear readers! Do you have time for one more craft before
Christmas?
A few days ago I introduced you to my good friend, Tina, who blogs over at Life is Good. I created a woven star from vintage book pages inspired by her family's heirloom woven star.
Well, today I have a tutorial for another star that was inspired by Tina's antique Scandinavian Star! According to Tina, variations of these beautiful stars hang in windows all over Sweden at Christmastime.
Here is the star I shared a few days ago:
To make today's version of the Swedish Window Star, you will need twelve folded strips of vintage paper. I share how I fold my book pages in this post. Of course, you can use any material that inspires you. Folding strips of paper is time consuming, so cutting strips of scrapbook paper might be a better choice, time-wise. When I choose a vintage book for crafting, I look for one with really good paper that is not brittle. We work so hard on our projects -- why add a level of frustration with a paper that breaks and tears easily? I also find that I need my folded strips to be eight layers thick. This makes them thin enough to be flexible, but thick enough to hold their shape.
Because
the inspiration star has slightly wider strips forming the center
cross, four of my strips are one-half inch wide and eight of the strips
are one-quarter inch wide. My strips are approximately six inches long.
Begin by finding the center of each of the four fat strips and gluing them together at right angles, as shown.
Now weave your narrow strips, as shown. Secure each intersection with a dot of clear drying glue.
Next, glue adjacent corner strips together. This is a tiny bit tricky, as you must twist the ends up and toward each other. Glue to secure.
Now, turn one side over and place on top of the other side. The top side should be rotated forty-five degrees from the bottom piece.
Secure sides together with glue. If desired, you may tuck the ends underneath your star points before gluing, as I have done -- or you may leave them on top of the star points, depending on the look you are going for.
Trim the ends, if desired. Embellish with glitter and tinsel if you want, and add a hanger.
I used a loop of folded vintage paper, but a piece of ribbon or twine would work just as well. Now, you can call things done right now.... or, you can do one more step!
Fold four strips of paper that are one-eighth inch wide and about four inches long. Weave these skinny strips through the center of the star, on a diagonal angle from the original strips. Glue to secure and add more glitter to the edges, if desired.
We are having lots of friends out to our house this week, so variations of these stars will be going home with each of our guests.
A few days ago I introduced you to my good friend, Tina, who blogs over at Life is Good. I created a woven star from vintage book pages inspired by her family's heirloom woven star.
Well, today I have a tutorial for another star that was inspired by Tina's antique Scandinavian Star! According to Tina, variations of these beautiful stars hang in windows all over Sweden at Christmastime.
Here is the star I shared a few days ago:
To make today's version of the Swedish Window Star, you will need twelve folded strips of vintage paper. I share how I fold my book pages in this post. Of course, you can use any material that inspires you. Folding strips of paper is time consuming, so cutting strips of scrapbook paper might be a better choice, time-wise. When I choose a vintage book for crafting, I look for one with really good paper that is not brittle. We work so hard on our projects -- why add a level of frustration with a paper that breaks and tears easily? I also find that I need my folded strips to be eight layers thick. This makes them thin enough to be flexible, but thick enough to hold their shape.
Begin by finding the center of each of the four fat strips and gluing them together at right angles, as shown.
Now weave your narrow strips, as shown. Secure each intersection with a dot of clear drying glue.
Next, glue adjacent corner strips together. This is a tiny bit tricky, as you must twist the ends up and toward each other. Glue to secure.
Now, turn one side over and place on top of the other side. The top side should be rotated forty-five degrees from the bottom piece.
Secure sides together with glue. If desired, you may tuck the ends underneath your star points before gluing, as I have done -- or you may leave them on top of the star points, depending on the look you are going for.
Trim the ends, if desired. Embellish with glitter and tinsel if you want, and add a hanger.
I used a loop of folded vintage paper, but a piece of ribbon or twine would work just as well. Now, you can call things done right now.... or, you can do one more step!
Fold four strips of paper that are one-eighth inch wide and about four inches long. Weave these skinny strips through the center of the star, on a diagonal angle from the original strips. Glue to secure and add more glitter to the edges, if desired.
We are having lots of friends out to our house this week, so variations of these stars will be going home with each of our guests.