*NUO* Paper Starburst Ornaments

I’ve seen paper stars, but this is a new one for me, so I had to give it a try. Scroll to the bottom and check it out! -Erin

*NUO* Paper Starburst Ornaments

Hi there! I'm Cyn from Creative Cynchronicity, and I'm so excited to be taking part in the No Ugly Ornament series. This paper starburst is one of my all-time favorite ornaments to make. Let's get started!


1 - You can use scrapbooking paper, recycled paper such as from a book, or, as I am here, a 6-inch square origami paper. A very light cardstock may work too, but anything heavier than that tends to buckle as you start making your folds. You might want to experiment by making one of the shapes and seeing if it works before cutting all the squares.

 2 - For the ornament, I'm cutting these 6-inch squares into four 3 inch squares. You can work with other sizes too - smaller squares for smaller ornaments or even larger squares to make it into a starburst mini photo album.

3 - Both sides of the paper will show, so you need to bear that in mind. I'm working with double-sided paper because I like the contrast. You can even do some rubber stamping or add photographs to personalize your ornament.

4 - I laid the square red side up and folded it in half. You want to make good crisp folds.


5 - Open up the folded square and fold it in the other direction.

6 - Open the square up.

7 - Flip it over to the other side (so you can see, this time, I have it gold side up).

8 - Fold it in half diagonally.


9 - Open up the square again with the side you had facing up in the first step (in this case, red) face up.

10 - Allowing it to naturally follow the folds that you've made, press and crease the folds so that you've formed a smaller square that folds out into the bigger one. I always think it looks like a mouth at this point.

11 - Make more of these shapes. How many you will need depends on the thickness of the paper, how big your squares are, and how full you want the starburst. I find that 6-8 is generally what I need for most of the ornaments I make. I used 6 this time. I started some with the red side facing up and some with the gold side facing up. Whatever color is facing up when you begin will become the color on the inside of the "mouth" shape.

12 - Start gluing your shapes together. Glue a loop of ribbon between the first two to form a hanger for the ornament. My preferred glue for this is Aleene's Tacky Glue-stick. You can use liquid glue, but some thinner papers, such as some used for origami, I find it makes the paper buckle. Beacon's 3 in 1 is often a good alternative there. Important note: This ribbon loop needs to come out from the side of the "open mouths."
 
13 - Continue gluing your shapes to each side of the ribbon loop so that you have an even number on each side. Be sure that the "mouth" is opening out in the same direction for each shape.

14 - Glue a piece of ribbon onto each of the end pieces. I usually start with pieces about 6 inches long and then trim them down from there once I'm happy with how they tie.
 
15 - When you make the two endpapers "kiss," you'll be able to tie your two strips of ribbon together to form the starburst. Hang it from the ribbon loop, and you've got a lovely ornament for your tree!

16 - One of the things I love best about this ornament is that you can fold it right up, tie the strips of ribbon to hold it in place, and you've got a relatively flat little gift that you can include in a Christmas card. It's a nice way to add a special touch to your cards without costing more in postage!

You can read more from Cyn at her blog Creative Cynchronicity, or you can keep up with her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+. 

As promised, here is what my finished product looked like! Don't you wanna pin it? –Erin