Paper Bag Stars with Lights

Discover ways to make big paper lunch bag stars that mild up.

Have you ever seen these big 3D stars produced from paper lunch baggage? It’s been a very fashionable craft the previous couple of years however I had by no means tried making them. Then I received the concept to hold them in my entryway window and had to determine a method so as to add lights to them so that they’d look fairly throughout the day AND at night time. And that’s how we ended up right here.

At the moment I’m going to indicate you find out how to make mild up paper bag stars!

Supplies Wanted

You need to use any fairy lights, however I appreciated that these explicit lights additionally had a timer. They robotically come on for six hours and switch off for 18, so I simply turned them on at 5pm the primary day and haven’t touched them since. That’s so significantly better than having to dig round to search out the change and switch them on each night time. I’ll by no means purchase the common form once more!

Some instructions I checked out mentioned to make use of faculty glue, then clamp the luggage collectively whereas they dry, however I’m sorry… I don’t have the endurance for that! Scorching glue is a lot quicker. The one method I’d use faculty glue is that if I had been making this craft with youngsters so no little fingers get burned. In any other case, it’s scorching glue all the way in which, child!

Directions

Step 1: You’ll want 9 baggage per star, so rely these out and make a stack with all the luggage going the identical route. Separate out the primary bag. Make a T form with scorching glue down the middle of the bag and alongside the closed backside edge, then place the second bag on prime, lining up all the perimeters. Repeat gluing and stacking till all 9 baggage are hooked up collectively in a neat stack.

Step 2: Lower out a design. At first I used to be making an attempt to chop by way of all 9 layers on the identical time, however OUCH! That basically hurts your fingers. As a substitute, I simply lower by way of two or three at a time till all of them had been lower. A lot much less painful. You’ll be able to see how I did that within the video tutorial on the backside of this submit.

CUTTING TIPS – Once you lower conventional paper snowflakes such as you did in elementary faculty, you need tremendous intricate designs with plenty of fussy cuts. I’ve discovered with these paper bag stars, the less complicated designs truly turned out extra lovely. Lower some form of level, petal, or star tip form alongside the highest edge, then add round or triangular shapes to the 2 sides and let it’s. Easy. Simply bear in mind to not lower by way of the underside half the place the luggage double in thickness.

Step 3: Use a gap punch to make a gap as near the center of the bag as you may attain. I simply did a number of baggage at a time till I had a gap that went by way of all of the layers. Alternately, you should utilize the sharp tip of scissors to stab a gap. This simply felt a bit harmful to my clutzy self.

Step 4: Connect a string loop to the highest middle of the luggage, then do the identical scorching glue sample of an the other way up T.

glue a stack of paper lunch bags together

Carry the 2 ends of the bag round to kind a circle form and press them collectively. The simplest method is to place your fingers inside the luggage after which simply press your fingers collectively, lining up the guidelines and edges the very best you may.

Step 5: Now comes the enjoyable half… including these fairy lights! Begin on the prime of the star the place the hanging loop is situated and string the lights by way of the holes you punched. As soon as the lights are all the way in which across the circle, tuck the battery pack into the underside of the pouch and your star is prepared for hanging.

how to attach lights to a paper bag star

To hold my stars within the window, I used a push pin on the highest of my window molding, then tied a skinny string to the hanging loop and adjusted the peak, then tied off the string across the push pin. Nobody will ever see the outlet because it’s up excessive on prime of the molding.

Don’t the lights simply take this entire undertaking up a notch?! I like, love, love the twinkle and glow, particularly at night time trying within the home windows from outdoors. So fairly!