Have you ever wondered how to make Paper Strip Lucky Stars? These adorable paper stars are lots of fun to make and can be used as decorations or given as a lucky gift to friends. They are also fantastic to make alongside celebrations such as Matariki, Christmas, or the New Year. They really are the perfect thing for busy hands to make!

They are different from traditional oragami in that they are made from a long strip of paper not a square. Extended this papercraft for kids by getting them to decorate a A4 size piece of paper before cutting out and folding lucky stars. Once you make one you will want to make a bunch!

Paper Strip Lucky Stars

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I have fond memories of making paper strip lucky stars while at school. Because we are celebrating Matariki- the Māori New Year, I thought I would give them a go with our girls. They are 6 and 9 so I was a little unsure how they would go. Miss 6 did struggle and needed help but Miss 9 managed to do them without assistance. In saying that Miss 6 really loved decorating the paper, it just got handed over to me to refold and pinch into the star shape!

Materials Needed

• Paper strips

Or make your own. You will need:

• A4 size paper
• Sharpie or other colored pens/ markers
• Guillotine or scissors, pencil, and a ruler

Let’s Get Creating

Paper Strips

If you are making your own paper strips then this needs to be done before you can fold your star! If you already have strips made or have purchased already cut ones then move down to the next section.

Begin by decorating your paper. This is especially good for younger children who want to make their own stars but may struggle with the folding of the star. You can decorate your paper any way you like with pens. Keep in mind that you will only see one end of the paper strip so you may like to focus your designs more on this section.

Once decorated cut thin strips from your paper. These don’t need to be an exact size but should run the length of the A4 paper and be approx the width of your finger. Once you have mastered folding the stars you can experiment with different sizes. The narrower the paper strip is the shorter it can be but be warned it can be fiddly to fold a very small star and hard to puff up a large one!

Fold the Star

The Knot

The star starts by knotting the paper into a flat pentagon shape. To do this take one end of your paper and loop it around and gently form a knot. Pull gently so the pentagon is even and at one end of your paper strip. Flatten to make a pentagon shape and fold the short end over.

Wrap

Wrap the long end around each side of your pentagon. It should naturally follow in the right direction but make sure each fold is in line with one edge and that it is folded tightly. Keep going until you have a small tailpiece left. Tuck the tailpiece into the folded paper.

Inflate

3. It’s now time to inflate your star and make the points. Pinch the center of each side inward, forming the points of the star. Be careful not to squash the star flat as you pinch out the points! If needed go over each point until you are happy with the shape of your star.

Now all you need to do is to decide what you are going to do with your star. Will, you put them in a jar or give them to a friend as a special gift. Perhaps they could be used for another craft project or even as part of a sensory puzzle.

Other Projects To Try

• Paper Flower Monster Craft
• Paper Flower Card Craft
• Recycled Cardboard & Magazine Star Wands
• The Seven (9) Sisters of Matariki Star Printable

Thank you for stopping by. We hope you enjoyed making these paper strip lucky stars today!