Once and a while you get to go to one of those parties that is just extra special, and extra special parties deserve extra special decorations. I was thinking about Snow Ball, a folk dancing Christmas ball held one snowy night, in December up in a cozy remote lodge in the mountains when I decided to make this star garland; but this idea can be used for practically any celebration and is a beautiful addition to any decoration scheme.
To make the garland I used:
• Long strips of paper with a ratio of (1:25) to (1:30) (to make the stars, 4 strips per star)
• Two lengths of ribbon (as long as you want your garland to be)
• Tiny brads (I found mine at a local grocery store)
• Custom Holiday Tags (they come with matching string! I ordered them in Fest.)
Note: While you can make your own long strips of paper to fold the stars with, I strongly recommend purchasing the paper already cut. If you make your own strips, you do have more control over the texture and color of the stars. But I have found it extremely challenging to find paper that is long enough, as the star strips must be 25 to 30 times as long as they are wide to fold a star. Also it is easier to fold stars with purchased paper as the edges of the strips are very straight. There are a few suppliers on Esty, and it’s pretty easy to find others by searching for ‘Froebel Star paper strips’ almost anywhere online.
The first step is to fold the stars. These two YouTube clips show you how:
• Froebel Star Video 1
• Froebel Star Video 2
If you prefer written instructions, click here.
Once you have enough stars, it’s time to start putting the garland together. I tied the two ribbons together with a knot about eight inches from each end of the ribbon (so it would be easy to tie to things).
Next, prepare the hang tags and stars to be hung. I punched a hole in one of the star points and the hang tags already had holes in them, so I simply ran the string that came with the hang tags through these holes and then tied the ends together to make a loop.
Then decide how far apart the stars and hang tags need to be on the ribbon. It is pretty easy to divide the length of ribbon by folding to find out how to space the stars and hang tags evenly.
To attach the stars and the hang tags to the ribbon I took one small brad and punched it through both layers of the ribbon where I wanted the star or tag to hang. Then I pulled the brad out of the second ribbon (leaving a hole to mark where the brad should go later) and leaving it in the first. I strung one string of the loop- right by the knot- between the brad arms and then put the brad back through the second ribbon. Then I folded the brad arms out, securing the brad and string in place. This conceals the end of the string very nicely, leaving only the brad on the outside of the ribbon on both sides for a finished and polished look.
Helpful Links
- Christmas Gift Tags • I chose the new style “Fest” in the color Lapis.
More handmade Christmas ideas…
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Anna was born in Idaho and raised in Oregon. She has traveled the world and lived and studied in far away and exotic places like Illinois, Florida, and Hamburg, Germany. Portland, however, is her favorite place to be. She works for My Own Labels as a data wrangler. In her spare time she likes to write letters, craft, folk dance and read.
Ah this is great! I like the photography.