German Star Christmas Tree Ornaments

Homemade paper Christmas tree ornaments are beautiful. One of my favorites is the German Star. It is made with simple strips of paper folded and woven into a beautiful and sturdy star. When I was nine or ten I delighted in making these stars with my friends at school, at church and at home with my sister. We made them from construction paper, dipped them in melted paraffin wax and sprinkled them with glitter if we really wanted them to sparkle. The stars were not only a fun and easy project but a great activity for fellowship as we shared materials and techniques.

Like riding a bicycle, you never truly forget how to make these star ornaments; but I certainly did need some reminders. I found directions online. After reading through the directions and a few attempts I had a beautiful German Star ornament.

If you wish to maintain the vintage homemade craft look just cut strips from a brown paper bag, construction paper of copy paper. Use a need and string to add a hanging loop before dipping. Dipping the ornaments in melted wax causes the paper to become almost translucent. Extra care is necessary to store the wax dipped ornaments which may be affected by temperature extremes.

You can update this simple paper ornament by making it with ribbon or different kinds of paper. I have found that trial and error is the only way to discover which ribbon or paper works best to make these ornaments. I like the look of ornaments made from the shinny package ribbon however since it is so smooth I have added gluing the ends as I slide them through the points on the final step to keep them from coming apart.

The size of the star ornament is determined by the width of the paper or ribbon that you use. The larger stars are great ornaments for use on the tree or wreaths. By using thinner strips you can make smaller star ornaments for tying on gifts or adding to other decorative elements in your home.

Three sites which offer excellent directions are:

http://www.craftideas.info/html/german_star_instructions.html

http://www.squidoo.com/handmade-german-star-ornaments

http://www.howtomakestars.com/instructions.html

These German Stars join paper chains, folded paper candy holders and porcupine point ornaments as homemade Christmas tree ornaments that are easy to make, can be made from recycled paper and truly do look beautiful.