This is the seventh in a series of twelve paper ornaments I’m making this year, one a month, so that when December rolls around I won’t be surprised I’ve done nothing about my wish to have a full paper crafted Christmas Tree.
When I was putting up my glitter wreath decoration for July 4th, it occurred to me that I should do a paper ornament with stars. And maybe they could be done with faux glitter paper with a 3D effect. I toyed with a couple of ideas, and then realized that I was, as usual, making things more difficult than needed.
All I really needed to do was print and cut another two sets of stars – the red ones and the white ones – and then add a string at the top and call them ornaments instead of wreath decorations.
Basically, all of the instructions for this are in the Glitter Wreath post, but I’ve put the short version here, and since this one is so super easy, I’ve included the print and cut files as a free download in case you are a Silhouette user and want to create your own.
There are two files – one is for the red and one is for the white. The cut lines are the same, it’s just the color of the stars and the shading that is different.
To do a Print and Cut in Silhoutte Studio, open the file of your choice, and then click the Print button.
Follow the on screen prompts needed to send the file to your printer. I like to print these on an 80# smooth cover stock so that when they are scored they have enough body to stay in their new 3D shape. Copier paper would be too flimsy.
Once the sheet has printed, place it on your cutting mat so that the little filled in square is in the upper left corner, and load the mat into the cutter.
Then, from Silhouette Studio, choose the Send menu again and adjust your cut settings for the paper type as needed. When you hit send, the Silhouette Cameo will first do a pass looking for the registration marks with it’s laser, and as long as it finds them, it will begin to cut.
If it doesn’t find the registration marks, you’ll get an error message. This rarely happens for me, but if it does it usually for two reasons: 1) it’s too dark in the room where I am crafting and the laser can’t see the lines, or 2) something (a drip of ink?) is in the “no-print” zone on the printout.
Once the stars are cut, carefully remove them from the mat and set them aside.
With a scoring tool and a ruler and a mat underneath the star, score each one from point to edge all the way around. The score lines match the shadow lines, although I prefer to score on the back so as not to risk scratching the printing on the front.
Once all the scores are done, carefully fold along all the scores and then push the star into it’s 3D form. I used a big crafting needle (the package lists it as “Canvas”) to thread twine through the top of each one. Be sure to start your needle far enough down on the point so that it won’t tear through the top.
Pin this for later when you are ready to craft your own stars!
Don’t forget to check out the other ornaments in this series:
No. 2 Glitter Snowflake Ornament
No. 3 Paper Christmas Tree Ornament
No. 4 3-D Paper Snowflake Ornament
No. 5 Paper Strip Ball Ornament
No. 7 Glitter Paper Star Ornament
No. 8 Hipster Paper Reindeer Ornament
No. 9 Peppermint Candy Ornament
No. 10 Brown Paper Packages Ornament
No 11. Chalkboard and Wood Slice Ornament
No. 12 Santa Hat Topper and Full Tree Reveal
This post will be linked up at these great link parties.
Love these – great tutorial. Thanks for sharing with Creatively Crafty.