I love all sorts of star shapes, and a few days ago, I saw a pattern for some large paper stars on another blog. They are similar to some stars that I’ve seen in a local shop, and I’ve always intended to try to make some to hang in my front window. Someday, I’m still going to, but today I decided to make a smaller version of them.
First, I found the original pattern here:
http://thisrecycledlife.wordpress.com/2008/12/17/decorating-for-the-season/
After downloading the pdf, I decided that I’d like to start with making a smaller version. There are lots of ways to reduce patterns, but in this case, I used a setting on my printer. By choosing “properties” and then “paper” I was able to choose an option that says “9 in 1″ that will prints nine pages in miniature form on one page. This basically makes a 1/9 size pattern. There are also other options, such as “1 in 2″ and “1 in 4″ that reduce page sizes as well. I’m sure that other printers offer similar options. I printed this on cardstock, which made a great pattern for tracing onto my paper.
The paper I used for this project was some that I’d purchased with a larger project in mind. Unfortunately, my cat helped make it unusable for my original purpose by running across it with muddy feet, so now I am just working around the muddy spots and using it for smaller projects 
. For gluing this, I used YES! paste, which I really like for a lot of paper carfting. It stays where it’s put, is workable for a longer time than some other glues, but also holds well as soon as you stick it together. A tub of this will last for a very, very long time- I’ve had mine for a few years, I think. I applied it with a smallish paint brush. Here’s a picture of it if you haven’t seen it before- it’s a very useful glue to keep around:
And finally, here is my finished product:
Rather than tying it together as the pattern mentioned, I just glued all of it together. I also cut out a spiral from the paper I used to glue on the center because I like spirals and I thought it needed a little something else in the middle. For hanging, I poked a hole in one of the star’s rays with a needle and threaded ribbon through. I love my new ornament!.
