This is a continuation of my up-cycled cellophane packaging tutorials. I am going to show you how to fold little stars with cellophane packaging. Here is a tutorial on how to fold a paper star or a video version here. With all these cellophane tutorials, it is always best to practice on paper first and get the hang of it before you venture off to cellophane. Cellophane is much harder to work with because it is more slippery and stiff.
These are my pictures, but watching a video on how to do this is much easier.
1. Use a ruled paper underneath as guidelines to cut cellophane into strips. The strips I cut were about .25 in.
2. For larger stars use wider ruled paper. Note that length of paper should be at least 30 times of width.
3. Take cellophane and "tie into a knot" and flatten.
4. Fold over the short end and then the long end along the edges
5. Tuck end into flap.
6. Pinch into star shape.
Father's Day is this Sunday! Here are two simple and inexpensive crafts that you can make dad. The first one is an origami dollar shirt and tie. What dad wouldn't appreciate money folded into a neat little shirt? Tutorial link below image.
If you don't have the funds to make the origami above, you can make the origami below. I typed up some sayings for dad using a computer and printer and made my own personalized origami paper. Write a note to dad and fold it into a heart, simple, personal and cheap. Link to tutorial below.
I know it's a bit early for fourth of July posts, but I'm so bad at timing my posts that if I don't post this now, I'm going to forget and end up posting it too late for July. I made these origami stars to stick onto straws. This would be super cute for fourth of July or birthday parties. I used wrapping paper that was 1 inch by 30 inches. You want to make bigger stars so they can fit onto the straw. I know in the video I say you would never make a star this big but apparently I found a use for these bigger stars.
To place stars on straw insert it though the open flap.
Here is a twist on the origami stars, fill them with candy or small toys for party favors. I used wrapping paper that was 4 inches wide by 40 inches long. Avery loved these large stars and it wasn't too long before she shook them and realized there was a surprise inside.
Here is my video on how to fold these stars.
I saw this on pinterest and thought it was hilarious. But when I clicked on the link, there were no instructions, just a link for a book to buy. Some of the origami looked difficult (so I would probably need the book) but I saw that some of them were just basic origami. I decided to come up with my own basic origami heart on toilet paper. The steps to this heart are similar to the corner heart book mark. Its actually fairly simple once you get the hang of it. It would be so funny to make these randomly in friend's bathrooms or as a surprise for your kids or husband.
I think my mom loves my blog. She's never actually seen it, but I think she loves it because all of my old belongings (what she would call junk) that have been stored in her garage is slowly being transported to my house. This "junk", crafts that I made in high school and college, has found new life with my blog. She recently handed me a box filled with stars that I folded in high school. When I opened the box, I said aloud "Wow, I really had a lot of time on my hands!" My mom smiled, and said "Yes, you did" (probably implying that I had no life back then.) I snatched up the box and stowed it in my car (along with a couple of other boxes filled with "goodies"), because I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them.
Avery's birthday was earlier this month and the stars would make the perfect birthday bunting. Using a sharpie I wrote the letters happy birthday on the stars and strung them together with needle and thread. To mount it on the cake I used bamboo skewers. Easiest and cutest project ever. Everyone that came over to celebrate her birthday asked where I purchased the bunting. I could probably make fifty more signs, with all the stars that I have.
Here is a video tutorial on how to fold paper stars. I used "star paper" to fold these stars, which makes it easier to fold. Star paper is just paper that is already cut into strips. You could cut the paper yourself, or buy quilling paper from Amazon. Here is the link to quilling paper: Craft Quilling Paper 100-Pack, 25 Colors
This origami tutorial reminds me of the notes I use to write in school. Do you remember writing notes with loose leaf and folding them into shapes? We would pass them secretly, as they contained important secrets, such as the latest crush or who kissed who. I don't think kids in school pass notes anymore, they probably just text. Folding notes will probably become a lost art.
This is another heart tutorial. Is the 'book page' trend over yet? I sure hope not, because I just love the look of this corner bookmark folded from a book page. The great thing about origami is that it is cheap and anyone can do it - with the proper instructions.
When I was a kid, my parents bought me an origami book (from Thailand, all in Thai!). I was so excited to get it until I started to attempt to make the figures. Have you ever seen the diagrams in an origami book? There are a lot of arrows, some that swirl around and point back to the same spot. And my book was in Thai, so when I asked my parents to translate the words for me they would say "its says 'Fold Over'" You could imagine how frustrating this was for an eight year old. I'd like to say it was perseverance that helped me figure out most of the instructions, but I think it was just pure boredom that drove me to sit and decode it all.
I still see origami instructions out there that completely confuse me. This corner heart was from that old origami book my parents gave me. I actually lost the book, but remember making this. I hope you enjoy my video tutorial on how to create this cute book mark for someone this Valentine's Day. There are no confusing squiggly lines to follow just my hands to guide you through it.
I used a book page for this but origami paper would make awesome book marks also. The nice thing about origami paper is that you don't have to cut it yourself (if you are making lots of these). I love this origami paper from Amazon. If you go to the Japanese dollar store they should have lots too (Daiso is the name of the Japanese dollar store in our area).
When I was in Thailand, I would see the local people weave palm leaves into beautiful bowls, fans, balls and other amazing things. I asked my aunt if she knew how to make these things and she gave me a book that was all in Thai. I don't know how to read Thai, I can barely speak it. Somehow after a week of fumbling around with strips of paper, I managed to decode the pictures and figure it out. Here is my tutorial for you, it is not in Thai, and hopefully it won't take you weeks to make. I did take pictures, but please watch the video. It is much clearer. The first video is how to create a four strand braid, which is the basic premise behind weaving this ball. If you can do a four strand braid, weaving this ball should be simple (with some practice). The second video is how to use paper to weave the ball.
It was a rainy weekend. We stayed in and folded stars out of the Sunday newspaper. Avery loves playing with these stars, she likes to gather them into a cup, and take one out at a time, then smash them with her little palms until they are flat.
We strung together the stars after she was done playing with them and hung them on our mantel.
Star tutorials here: video or text. Video tutorial is easier to follow.
Are you sick of my star posts yet? If you are, I have good news, this is my last one. If you aren't please read on. This is post is inline with the Pinterest Challenge, where I took inspirations from Pinterest and created something with the inspirations.
In my previous tutorials I showed you how to fold stars and cranes out of cellophane. One question you may have is what do you do with these things now? Here is what I plan on doing with the stars and cranes. For the cranes I simply string them with thread and hang them as Christmas ornaments. For the stars you can buy those clear glass ball ornaments and fill them. I also up cycled metallic packaging from a chocolate chip package (you can also use potato chip bags) and made more stars out of those. Another idea for the stars is to string them all with thread and use them as garland around the tree.
1. Take any packaing with metallic background. I used chocolate chips, potato chip bag works also.
2. Cut open and clean the inside.
3. Cut into strips and follow the star folding instructions.
When I was a nine years old, my cousin told me that anyone who folds a thousand cranes would get one wish. Foolish as I was, I sat in my room for countless weekends folding paper cranes. What was I going to wish for? A childhood crush to reciprocate his feelings. I never did make it to a thousand cranes. My hands started cramping up at a couple of hundred and I ran out of space to store the cranes. My childhood crush never did reciprocate, but one good thing did come of it all - I'm am very good at folding paper cranes. But a paper crane, that's too boring for this blog post. There are tons of how to's online. For this tutorial, I want to show you how to recycle old plastic cellophane packaging into a glass like crane.
Instead of using origami paper, I used a piece of cellophane packaging from a greeting card. You can use any cellophane (from flower wrapping, the packaging of stickers, stationary etc). You just want to make sure its not to thin (do not use saranwrap, it will not work). Cut the cellophane packaging into a square and follow the crane origami tutorial (different link from above, same concept). The clear plastic sparkle and glisten in the light making them looks as magical and mystical as I once thought they could be.
1. Find cellophane wrapper.
2. Remove contents
3. Cut the package open, fold diagonal to create a square
4. Result is cellophane square to start folding with
