I have never been much of a paper crafter. My idea of scrapbooking is sticking pictures in an album in a pleasing composition and adding the date the picture was taken. Possibly the location. Those years that I decide to make my own Christmas cards, it almost always involves ornaments made of fabric or wood (this year is no different), and my die cutting supplies are used for cutting fabric pretty much exclusively.
That doesn’t mean I don’t like paper crafts. On the contrary, I have devoted an entire Pinterest board to it. I just never seem to get around to making some. Until a few weeks ago. We were all up north visiting my parents-in-law. While my husband and his dad were out putzing in the woods, prepping for the upcoming hunting season, Lola and I tried our hand at making Finnish Stars. It couldn’t have been easier. And since all you need is one sheet of paper, it’s a pretty cheap craft, too!
What you will need:
- One sheet of 12” by 12” paper, preferably printed on both sides
- Glue stick
- Paper cutter (optional)
- Scissors
- Cutting mat (optional)
- Ruler
- Paperclips
- Small hole punch
- String
Begin by cutting your sheet, I used vintage sheet music, into 3/4” strips. You’ll need twelve strips in total, two sets of six strips.
Start with two strips of paper, crossing one on top of the other, and securing them in the middle with a little glue. Make sure the four ends are of the same length.
Take a second strip of paper and glue it above your horizontal strip, leaving a little space in between, and making sure it is glued on the other side of the vertical strip. You will be weaving your paper strips, one over, one under.
Repeat with another strip below your first horizontal strip.
Now take the remaining two strips and weave them vertically over and under your horizontal strips, securing them at the intersections with a little glue.
Repeat these steps to make the second set.
Now comes the fun part. Take the two ends at the top, fold them towards you and glue in place. Secure with a paperclip while the glue dries. This is especially important if you are using a heavier cardstock.
Repeat this step with all four corners. Don’t worry about the middle strip at this point.
Do this to the other set as well.
When all your corners are glued in place, take one set, flip it over and place it on top of the other set, matching each middle piece of paper to a glued corner.
Carefully insert the middle paper strips into the the corners.
Glue them in place and let dry.
Once the glue is dry, take your scissors and trim the corners.
Take your hole punch and make a small hole in one of the corners and attach your string. Then go overboard and make half a dozen more.
Or bling ‘um up with a felt snowflake and some vintage costume jewelry.
Lovely, aren’t they? And so easy to make. Enjoy!
