a starry tutorial for you (and me too)

**** after some feedback I received yesterday it seems I'll need to make some adjustments to my photos. Since my computer is on vacation (that is my glass is half full approach, more honestly it is in the hospital) I won't be able to fix the photos for now, but if you double click on the photos they will open larger in a new window.***

I gave myself another assignment -- yesterday was leaves, today flowers. I wanted to employ the little method of making a 5 pointed symmetrical star. Thanks to Betsy Ross we have an easy way to create a perfect little star with a few folds and one snip.

So in honor of the Perseid Meteor Shower, in more magical speak, shooting stars I thought I'd offer this little tutorial for any readers and so I can find it again when I forget the order and proportions needed for this clever little trick.

(I had a star theme for my wedding so we made lots of these little enchanting polygons for decorations. Which are now the background for my tutorial.)

Start with an 8.5" x 10" piece of paper. Yes, you have to trim your standard sheet a bit.

 

Fold it in half.

 

Fold the folded sheet in half vertically and open and then fold it horizontally and open back to the original fold so that it looks like the second picture below.

 

Bring corner A to the right to meet the horizontal center line and crease. Be sure to fold from the vertical crease line. Like so below.

 

Now take point A again and fold it back on itself so the two folded edges are on top of each other like the picture below.

 

Now fold corner B over the top and crease it along the last fold.  The second picture below is a picture of the form from the underside, for reference only.

 

Lastly, fold corner B back and crease it so that the top fold lays along the fold made in the previous step. These directions sound nuts I'd be lost without the photos. 

You should have this nice point where all the folds fall evenly together this is the part that will be your star. All the top points will be cut off. There is a lot of waste.

 

Now the fun part.The one snip that makes all this folding worth it! From corner B cut on an angle down towards the point. Your degree of the angle determines that sharpness of the points on the star.

 

Now unfold...padadadadadadada (that's my drum roll)

 

Magic!

Thanks Betsy!

Now try changing that one straight snip to a curved cut. Flowers! I just love making hand cut snowflakes. Now you can do the same thing to create quaint intricately detailed, five-petaled flowers. Each one a surprise when you unfold it.