Paper Star Christmas Tree Topper

Paper Star Tree Topper — Paper Star Christmas Tree Topper

Lynne: We crafty sisters have been making ornaments all month, but we are not the only ones. Last week, I went to the Pear Tree Gallery to attend Teri Partridge‘s class on making a tissue paper star.

The ornament is not difficult to make, but it is repetitive and good company with good conversation speeds the whole process. Of course that meant Teri had to talk a little louder while giving instructions, but she is a retired middle-school teacher and up to any task.

Materials you will need:

tissue paper

white glue

white colored pencil

scissors

CD for a circle template (or something similar in size)

binder clips

12 to 20 inches of 18 or 20 gauge wire

pliers

buttons or bells

wet cloth or sponge

You need about 14 circles of cut tissue paper for the completed star. Stack your tissue paper so that you can cut all of the circles at once. We used an old CD to draw around as a template for the circles. Hold the cut-out circles together with small binder clips to keep from having to constantly adjust them. Cut into the circles at the 12, 6, 3 and 9 positions of the clock and then cut halfway between each of those quarters. Make sure the cut does not go all the way to the middle. You need the center section to hold the paper on the wire. The photo below should help with my directions.

Have a little glue poured out on a throwaway lid, a dampened sponge or cloth to wipe your fingers free of glue, a white colored pencil (a darker color could mark the paper and show through the point), and the cut circles and you are ready to begin.

Position your pencil with the tip in the middle of each cut and roll the tissue paper around it to make a point. Slide the pencil out and put a little glue on the edge to keep the point from unrolling. Use the 3rd or 4th finger of your hand for the glue and you will not have to keep wiping the glue off the index finger you are using to roll the paper.

When you have all fourteen of the circles finished, you are ready to put the ornament together. Cut your wire anywhere from 12 to 20 inches long depending on how many spirals you want to make and how long a hanger you want. Make a loop in the wire to hold the circles in place. The loop should be several inches from one end of the wire depending on how long you want the hanger to be. You can also use a button or a bell to make a stronger stop to keep the paper from sliding upwards when you tighten the star.

Make a hole with a needle or ice pick in the middle of the circles. String the first 7 circles onto the non-looped end of the wire with their points down and string the other 7 circles with the points up. You want the star to have the top points pointing down and the bottom points pointing up to give the ornament its circular shape. Use a bell or a button pushed up tight to the bottom circle and make another loop to hold the bell on. Arrange the circles so the points show to best advantage and make sure the circles are bunched tightly together to make it pouf out properly. Secure the bottom bell and cut the wire or make some spirals or twists if you like. Bend the wire on the top to form a hanger and you have your star ornament.

When I got home, I liked the star so much I wanted to make a larger one as a topper for my tree. I made the circles slightly larger by using a 7″ plate as a template for the circles. Don’t go too big or the circles get too floppy and do not pouf right.

I needed heavier wire to make the ornament stand on its own at the top of the tree. I found some 12 gauge white electrical wire at the hardware store and took it to Cheri to have her bend the wire into the right shape. She used the neck of a champagne bottle to bend the wire into a coil to fit on the top of the tree.