Lucky Wishing Stars Tutorial
You’ve probably seen these little puffy origami stars before. They are really quick to make, and you don’t need any special materials to make them. You can buy lucky star pre-cut strips from origami stores, but you can just as easily make your own from medium weight coloured paper, e.g. scrapbooking paper, or even strips cut from magazine pages - as the strips are so narrow, the original text or image won’t be obvious in the finished star.
Anti-clockwise from top left: pre-cut strips, paper cutter, scrapbook paper, magazine page.
Now on to the tutorial!
To give you an idea of size, I’ve made stars in 3 different sizes to show you:
- blue stars (from pre-cut strips): 35cm x 1.25cm
- pink stars (from a magazine page): 30cm x 1cm
- green stars (scrapbook paper): 15cm x 0.6cm
The finished star will be approx 1.5 x the width of your strip, so pick an appropriate size for the size of star you’d like to end up with. If you are making your own paper strips, try using a paper cutter or a craft knife with a ruler and cutting mat, so you can easily make straight parallel cuts.
For the rest of this tutorial, I will be using a paper strip cut from a magazine page. For reference, the front is pink and the back is peachy orange with text).
Step 1: Make a loop at one end of your strip, and pass the short end through the loop as if you are forming a basic knot:
Step 2: Pull both ends of the paper slowly to close up the knot. As it pulls tight, it will magically form a pentagon (5-sided) shape!
Step 3: Fold the short end up out of the way (right side facing out). If it is too long like mine, and sticks out beyond the edge of the pentagon, trim the end down. Turn the shape over so the side with the short end is facing you, then tuck the short end under the flap that runs across the pentagon:
Step 4: Now you can begin to wrap the rest of the strip around the pentagon. Fold the strip up over one side of the pentagon, making the fold line along the side of the pentagon. Do not crease the fold tightly. Continue to fold the strip over and over each side:
When you get to the end of the strip, trim off the end if it sticks out beyond the edge of the pentagon, then tuck the end inside the flap that runs across the pentagon:
Hold the pentagon between thumb and forefinger of one hand, then use a fingernail on your other hand to push in the middle of one of the other sides:
Rotate the pentagon and repeat until all 5 sides are pushed in, et voila! A puffy paper star!
Once you’ve made some stars, why not show them off in the Folding Trees flickr group? We’d love to see them!
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Posted: June 17th, 2008 under Folding Trees Tutorials, Origami.
Comments: 48
Comments
Comment from zabacorporation
Time: June 17, 2008, 5:21 pm
Hey, that’s great:-) Thanks for the tutorial. It requires some dexterity to get the shape of the first star, but they are so cute:-)
Comment from Starr
Time: June 18, 2008, 12:05 am
These would be super fabulous strung on a tree during the holidays!
Thanks for the tutorial. Nicely done 
Starr
Comment from joyce
Time: June 18, 2008, 1:15 am
We had an exchange student from Thailand live with us for a while. She said in Thailand, when you liked a boy, you made him a jar full of these. She made a jar for a boy she liked while she was here…wish I had a pic of that to add to your group, but I don ‘t think I ever took one.
Comment from Deb
Time: June 18, 2008, 9:28 am
This, with a little practice, just may be the new Christmas ornaments of 2008 for my family! Thanks for sharing!
Comment from Lori Ann
Time: June 19, 2008, 10:57 pm
What a conveniently posted article! I’ve been volunteering with kids who survived the Sichuan earthquake and are in my local hospital (I live in China), and just yesterday I bought a pack of paper strips that had instructions on the back to make these stars. I thought it would be a great, fun craft project, but I tried one out myself, and couldn’t figure out the instructions at all! I was disappointed and left the stars at home.
This morning though, I was reading whipup.net via bloglines, and was thrilled to see a link to this article! I just followed the tutorial and made an adorable star - I can’t wait to share with the kids next week!
I’ll take photos soon and add them to the flickr group and my blog. Yay!
Comment from Lori Ann
Time: June 19, 2008, 11:00 pm
I just realized - the second picture on this page, top left-hand corner (packaged papers with ribbon tied around them) is the exact package I bought yesterday! I just bought more (a different type) for more cute designs!
Comment from T2
Time: June 20, 2008, 10:23 pm
I make these a lot from straw wrappers. It’s a fun way to kill time while you’re waiting at a restaurant.
Comment from maria
Time: June 22, 2008, 12:27 pm
thats so cool how you make wishing stars i made over 50 i keep making them they are so fun my signiture one is the blue striped one there so awsome i went to micheals crafts store and bought special made paper strips for wishing stars i even made a bracelet and it has secret sentences inside each one i wish on it every day before bed. byes thancks for everythng.
Comment from Megan
Time: June 24, 2008, 8:40 am
I love these stars. I used to know how to make them but had forgotten - thanks for the reminder.
A friend of mine has a jar of these and on each is written a task or activity - things she would like to do and some she should do - like ring someone she hasn’t seen in a long while, go for a particular walk, a recipe to try..etc. Every so often she takes one out and “has” to do that activity. A fun way to remind her of her “to do” list, and those “I’ll do it one day” fun things that you never quite get to do.
Pingback from Folding Trees » Lucky Star Ideas
Time: June 26, 2008, 8:24 am
[...] now, if you’ve followed last week’s Lucky Wishing Stars Tutorial, you may be wondering what to do with the piles of stars you’ve accumulated! As some of the [...]
Comment from Jesi
Time: July 2, 2008, 12:52 pm
For anyone else who is fingernail challenged like myself (nail-biter), use the blunt side of your scissors to make the little indents
Comment from Victoria
Time: July 9, 2008, 8:02 am
Oh my god! That was so easy to make:) I just thought I would try just to try, but I didn’t actually think I would make it just like that!:) And they are soo cute - I loove:D
Yes - what a nice christmas decoration:)
Thanks for sharing!:D
Comment from Cheryl
Time: July 17, 2008, 7:58 am
how perfect is that? I’ve been asked to make up a craft using rolled paper beads for a mother and daughter camp in a couple of weeks. These stars will be perfect addition to add oompf to the project.
Comment from Josefin
Time: July 20, 2008, 6:37 am
Ooh, it was easy! Well, my first star didnt get that nice, but if I do a couple more Im sure they will be great! 
Comment from Triana
Time: July 22, 2008, 8:06 am
Aw They’re so cute. I’ve already made two Thanks for the tutorial!
Comment from Alphabetix
Time: July 23, 2008, 2:19 pm
Cool tutorial. Thanks for sharing!
Pingback from Crafters Medley: 21 Neat-O Projects To Make (August) » TipNut.com
Time: August 16, 2008, 8:37 am
[...] Lucky Wishing Stars Tutorial: Too cute! Puffy origami stars made from strips of paper (you can even use pages ripped from a magazine–great for recycling!). Found at Folding Trees. [...]
Comment from Carolyn Swope
Time: August 17, 2008, 10:37 am
Thank you so much for taking the time to post this wonderful project!!!! A very pretty name tag for the top of a gift. So quick and pretty. The children just love them. Thanks again.
Carolyn
Comment from Lydia
Time: August 26, 2008, 8:47 am
I love these little stars…even though I stink at making them. Practice makes perfect right? I just thought of something else you could use them for: Packing peanuts!
Comment from Seth Adams
Time: September 11, 2008, 11:33 pm
Cheers very well done, and the detailed pictures are amazing!!
Comment from hannah
Time: October 4, 2008, 4:52 pm
mine keep coming out a bit flat as opposed to ‘puffy’! Any ideas what I’m doing wrong?
Comment from Jazzy
Time: October 13, 2008, 2:12 am
Great tutorial, I always wondered how you did that.
Comment from Adrienne
Time: October 20, 2008, 9:43 am
Thankyou so much! I’ve always wondered how to make these…
Comment from Shinead
Time: November 6, 2008, 7:41 pm
these are excellent, really cute but what if you don’t have fingernails?
Comment from Clothdiapermama
Time: November 9, 2008, 12:51 pm
Those are so cute. I do not know if I could do that though.
Comment from Janice
Time: November 10, 2008, 2:12 pm
i remember when my friend Jordan died, we were in grade 8… our class made hundreds of these stars for his funeral..
Comment from Tricky
Time: November 22, 2008, 7:01 pm
I just made 5 little shiny stars and let my cat play with them! He absolutely loves chasing them around! Thank you!
Pingback from Folding Trees » Readers’ Pics
Time: November 23, 2008, 6:00 am
[...] from Argentina is sharing her love for wishing stars. You can find a tutorial by June here if you like to make some [...]
Pingback from fresh:touch » Blog Archive » Lucky stars !
Time: November 23, 2008, 2:02 pm
[...] Folding Trees has a tuto for origami stars! These just look perfect made of chiyogami paper or from any recycled [...]
Pingback from Folding Trees » Festive star garland
Time: November 24, 2008, 6:31 am
[...] a seasonal twist on my origami lucky wishing stars tutorial! Make a pile of stars using strips cut from festive coloured papers (try using offcuts of [...]
Comment from olgica
Time: November 24, 2008, 5:34 pm
it’s a wery nice
Comment from élise
Time: November 25, 2008, 10:41 am
C’est très astucieux et vraiment simple à réaliser! Idéal pour occuper les après-midi pluvieuses!
It is very cunning and really simple to realize! Ideal to occupy the afternoons rainy!
Pingback from In search of a frost hardy, credit confident bibliophile « Lacer’s Life
Time: December 6, 2008, 5:17 pm
[...] only used it once. My second grand idea was origami paper stars, after reading a tutorial on Folding Trees (courtesy of Fresh:touch), I was going to string the little stars onto some thread and turn them [...]
Pingback from Christmas Star — Give LDS Gifts
Time: December 8, 2008, 9:21 am
[...] Christmas Stars as a Gift Idea Paper Stars Tutorial by [...]
Pingback from 16 Amazing Origami Tutorials You Don’t Want To Miss
Time: December 18, 2008, 12:32 pm
[...] Learn how to create your own cute, tiny wishing stars. These are really easy to create, and perfect to spend a free afternoon on [...]
Comment from nitika
Time: December 19, 2008, 5:34 am
i wanted to learn more. specialy the ball made out of paper
Comment from nitika
Time: December 19, 2008, 5:37 am
how to use tutorials. i learnt star & flower.
Comment from desra
Time: February 5, 2009, 10:36 am
wonderfullll:D
Comment from Milka Marzalek
Time: April 4, 2009, 4:10 pm
Hola:
estoy encantada con todos estos origamis. Cada día me entusiasmo más con las posibilidades que me da el papel.
Comment from Paula
Time: April 12, 2009, 6:17 pm
beautiful!!! thanks!
Comment from Rebecca
Time: April 20, 2009, 4:09 pm
That’s amazing! I’m not sure I could make something that small!
Comment from Shannon
Time: April 20, 2009, 5:50 pm
I have small hands and fingers! I bet I could do this:)
Pingback from Lavoretti di Natale | Geekblog
Time: April 28, 2009, 2:52 pm
[...] Stelline di carta Stelline panciutelle per decorare il Natale, si realizzano con facilità seguendo la guida e sono di sicuro effetto [...]
Comment from None-of-ur-beezwax
Time: April 30, 2009, 6:00 pm
I suck at the last step XD (the push in thing) but it doesnt look that bad XD
Comment from Helen
Time: May 2, 2009, 10:38 am
I just followed this tutorial to make my first ever star and it actually looks good! Ah, i’m so pleased, cos I already ordered some strips of lucky star paper off ebay haha.
Comment from jman
Time: May 11, 2009, 10:23 am
i have made a couple of these and the first time is a little tricky but with time it gets better
Comment from Ashley
Time: May 26, 2009, 11:02 am
These are the best! They are so easy and fun to make!! The story about giving a jar of them to a boy you like is priceless!! It is a cute wedding idea thank you guys so much!
Comment from saba
Time: June 17, 2009, 8:33 am
nice and easy.
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