Craft Review: FamilyFun Homemade Paper Stars (Ornament)

Last year, I saw this craft idea in the December 2010/January 2011 issue of FamilyFun. I decided way back then that these Homemade Paper Stars would be our craft ornament project that would also be our gift to teachers and a few other people around us. The "recipe" makes 3 stars, so I will give instructions for 3 stars first. However, we made 25 ornaments (stars and trees), and I will also detail our experience with doing the 25.

For this project you will need sheets of construction paper, glitter,
3 inch star cookie cutter, blender, hot water, sieve, plate,
paper towels, cloth towel, baking sheet, oven, and thin ribbon.

Recipe according to FamilyFun: Tear 3 (9-by 12-inch) sheets of construction paper into small pieces, about the size of a domino, and place them in a blender. Pour in about 1-1/2 cups of very hot water and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, put a folded cloth towel on a plate, add a paper towel, and top with a 3-inch star-shaped cookie cutter. Heat the oven to 200 degrees. Pulse the blender until the mixture is pulpy, about 30 seconds. In a sieve set over the sink (or bowl), drain the pulp, then spoon some into the cookie cutter to the top, taking care to fill the points. Sprinkle with glitter. Use a rag to press the pulp down into the cookie cutter until most of the water is gone, then gently push the star out onto a baking sheet. Repeat to make two more stars. Bake them for 2 hours or until the moisture has evaporated (they should be firm and lightweight). Let the stars cool, then glue ribbon loops to the backs for hanging. Makes 3 stars.

Tear Construction Paper.

According to the directions, 3 pieces of paper will make 3 stars. My cookie cutters (we made some trees and stars) are about 4-inches instead of 3, so I decided to tear about 1-1/2 pages per ornament that I planned to make. We needed 10 trees, so we used 15 pieces of green construction paper. We needed 8 yellow stars, so we used 12 pieces of yellow construction paper. We needed 7 red stars, so we used 12 pieces of red construction paper. We had enough pulp to make one extra tree and one extra red star.

Soak and Blend Paper to Pulp. 

Because we were making so many, I did this in small increments, just making sure to use plenty of water. I placed all the pieces of torn paper (by color) in a bowl and poured in hot water to allow the paper to soak. Then I moved the wet paper a little bit at a time, adding extra water as needed, to the blender to pulse it into pulp.

From the blender to the sieve.

From the sieve to the cookie cutter.

Add glitter and squeeze out water.

Is there such a thing as TOO much glitter?

Adding glitter was the best part. It allowed my girls to get creative with what color(s) of glitter to use for each ornament. After you add the glitter, use a rag to press into the cutter to squeeze out extra water.

Bake. 

Okay... this is the part where doing more than 3 threw off the recipe. We started with the yellow stars, and had 8 of them when all was said and done. All eight of them on one baking sheet into the oven for 2 hours at 200 degrees. In the back of my mind, I knew it would take longer for 8 stars to dry out. They'd been in there for a little more than an hour when our trees were ready, so I put them in too. When the two hours for the first batch of stars was up, they were not dry, so I let them stay in there longer. Finally, after who knows how long, I just took them all out to let them dry on a rack.

I had to fix about 3 stars where the paper pulp didn't hold together throughout the process. I also feel that the red stars, even though they spent the shortest amount of time in the oven, look a little bit like they are burned. Just a tiny bit browned. They're not ruined, but it makes me like them a little less.

So as I write this, our ornaments continue to dry. And they do look good, but I think this craft project would best be served sticking to the recipe and just making 3 stars, or trees, or whatever shape you might choose.

The important part is that we had fun making these gifts together. My girls enjoyed pushing the button on the blender, smooshing the pulp into the sieve to drain out water, filling the cookie cutters, and adding glitter. Beware... this will get messy, especially if you decide to make 25 of them.

And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. Matthew 1:21