Tried and Tested Tip Number 20 [Wish Stars]

I remember being taught how to make wish stars many years ago, and they are so easy to make and fun to have around! They look great sat in jars, sprinkled on tables, or sprinkled inside gift wrap when wrapping presents. You can add messages to your paper before folding, and try different colours and textures of paper.

To start? Gather strips of paper. Mine are approx 1cm wide and 29.7cm high (i.e. the height of A4).

Take one strip, and fold the top down at an angle, like so:

Then fold the short piece back behind the strip at an angle. On the left here you can see the fold, and on the right what it looks like from behind. If there is any excess sticking out you can either trim it like I have or fold it over.

Fold your long strip back behind and up, and you have a pentagon (left)! You really want to make sure these edges are even, so your star has that perfect shape. Bring the strip back over the top, and follow the shape round so that you are wrapping the strip across each side in turn - this should happen quite naturally.

Keep folding your strip until you run out of paper. You do not need to make defined creases when you fold, and don't do it too tightly. You want it to be able to puff up into a star later. Tuck the end (you may need to trim it slightly!) into the star, under previous layers, and you have a rather neat looking pentagon! Here you can see the importance of making your first few folds at the correct angles, so your pentagon is even.

Now simply use your thumb nail and make a dent in the middle of each edge, which will form 5 little points - your wish star!

And now your can make millions of wish stars! Sparkly :)