Find out how to make paper bag stars and bring a little whimsy to your decor! These paper bag stars a beautiful and the perfect way to decorate for festive occasions throughout the year. Learn how to make a paper bag star and then see how many combinations you can come up with!
While our home is very traditional, I like to add a little whimsy to the decor every now and then – especially around the different holidays. One of the most simple ways to do that when decorating is with paper stars or paper snowflakes for the winter seasons. In this tutorial I’m going to show you how to make a paper bag star so you can add a little magical whimsy to your home too.
To me there’s something magical about all simple holiday decor. These paper bag stars are one of the most simple craft projects you can do and you can even get your children involved as long as they can work a pair of scissors safely.
To buy or to make…
Now before we get started I will say, you can buy paper stars. And if you would rather buy the whimsy than craft it – I get it. Sometimes we don’t have time in our lives for crafting and purchasing these simple items is easier on our minds and our days. If you would rather purchase paper stars or for your home, you can find a few good options {HERE}.
Of course, they will look more structured sine they aren’t the paper bag stars but made en masse. I actually think a few of these along with the handmade ones would look stunning.
For those of you that want to learn how to make a paper bag star, get cozy and follow along with me for this tutorial!
Materials needed for making paper bag stars
When you learn how to make a paper bag star, you will need a few things first. Here’s all the materials I use when making paper bag stars.
- Lunch bags – either white or brown. If you can’t find white lunch bags in the store, you can order them {HERE}. Just note that the white paper bags might be smaller than the brown paper bags.
- A glue gun and plenty of glue sticks
- A great pair of scissors like these ones {HERE}.
- A hole punch
- Fishing string or twine
- Optional: A pencil. I don’t use this but you might find it helpful.
How to make a paper bag star
Learning how to make a paper bag star is easy!
First, gather your supplies and ensure you have enough paper bags to make them. I like to use 9 paper bags per star. I’ve seen people use as little as 7 but to me the more intricate the cut and the more bags – the better.
Once you have everything, double check your glue stick supply. I needed a lot more glue sticks to make these than I originally thought. I think I used 4 small sticks per star. You can also try using Elmer’s glue sticks and bottle glue too. When I ran out of my glue sticks, I used the Elmer’s clear glue for a bit. I prefer the glue sticks though because I believe they hold better when making a paper bag star.
Steps for making a paper bag star
Here are the steps for how to make a paper bag star.
- Lay the paper bag with the bottom side up. Then add glue in a T fashion as the photo shows.
- Place another paper bag directly on top of the original one.
- Cut out your design. You can sketch it out first with a pencil if you like, but as I mentioned above, I like to free hand it. Avoid cutting at the bottom of the bag and too far into the middle where everything will be attached.
- Next, repeat the process. As long as you have a good pair of scissors, you can cut two to three bags at one time. This makes the whole project go faster, especially if you’re making a lot of stars.
- Once you’ve glued and cut 9 bags together, add glue in the T fashion to the last bag. Pull that bag and the bag on the other side towards one another and secure by holding them together until the glue dries.
- In the seam where they come together, use a hold punch to add in a few holes at the top. These will be used for hanging. I like to hang at the seam because the fishing wire will help hold the star together.
- Loop fish string or twine through the holes and hang wherever you like. I use these Command hooks {HERE} when hanging from the ceiling.
Here’s how a few of our’s look hung up in our Christmas living room with everything decorated. You can get more details on our simple Christmas living room decor {HERE}.
Thank. you so much for visiting today, friends! I hope you enjoyed learning how to make paper bag stars and I hope that this simple yet beautiful decor brings some whimsy to your season. You can find printable directions for how to make paper bag stars below.
How to make a paper bag star
Ingredients
- 9 paper lunch bags - either brown or white
- Glue gun
- Glue sticks - about 4 small ones per star
- Scissors
- Hold punch
- Fishing wire or twine
- Optional: Pencil
Instructions
- Lay one paper bag with the bottom side up. Then add glue in a T fashion with the cross bar of the T at the bottom of the bag. (See photos.)
- Place another paper bag directly on top of it.
- Cut out the design. use a pencil to sketch it first if you like. Avoid cutting the bottom of the bag and too far into the middle where everything will be attached with the glue.
- Repeat the process until all the paper bags have been used. Continue to cut the design each time you glue down new bags.
- Once all the bags have been used, add glue in z T fashion to the last bag. Pull that bag and the bag on the other side towards one another and secure by holding them together until the glue dries.
- Hang as desired.
They are beautiful! Seems like an activity older kids would enjoy too. Thanks for sharing.
Wow these are awesome. They’re so elaborate that I can sew myself using making these for many different occasions.
Gorgeous. We need to make some of these for sure. I love them!
They look beautiful! I remember making snowflakes similar to these when I was in elementary school.
What a fun kids’ activity- my boys would love these paper bag stars!
THANK YOU for sharing this! These are just so cute.
These are so cute and shabby chic I need to make them!
This looks great. I’l never have to buy paper bag stars anymore. I can just make them.
LOVE THIS! You are the queen of great ideas! I’m going to try this one now!
Nice! These paper bag stars would also look great for a birthday party decor! Bookmarked for later use. Thanks for sharing the steps on how to make them.
Oh wow, the starts are really impressive. I hope we can follow your instructions well.
Such a simple and timeless craft. Thanks for sharing!
I am loving these this season they are so fun and festive as holiday decor and such easy clean up too!
the stars look so amazing!! we have one paper star at home that I love to hang up every year and while I wondered if I could try to make them, I never did try.. Now with these instructions, I know we will have many more stars in our home 🙂
Seems like a fun activity. I love that it makes cute decorations and is not pricey. Thanks for sharing!
This is such a really amazing craft it is absolutely awesome I love it!
Wow the stars are really amazing! This is such a really fun activity I love it
I’ve seen these and absolutely love this idea! So cute!
What a fun idea, and a great way to use paper bags. I love how these look and it would be neat to see what kind of designs we can come up with.
We made something similar back when I was in elementary. Great job!
My daughter would love to make these! Would be so fun for birthdays too! Love it!
These are SO cute!! They fit the room perfectly and are just so pretty!
Katherine
https://katherinemclee.com
These are so pretty! I need to show my daughter. She likes to do crafts.
These look pretty easy to make and so cute too.
I have never seen these stars before! They look fun to make for the holidays!
Fabulous idea! And they are looking fantastic. I am going try to make a few.
Those stars are so cool. I love that they use paper bags, so smart.
These are so lovely. I can’t wait to start making some of my own now. I think my daughters would love helping me as well.
Wow! It looks absolutely amazing! Thanks for sharing the tutorial on how to do it. This is perfect!
Can’t wait to try this and hang it on our house this is perfect for decorations! I love it thanks for sharing this with us!
These are so cute. I need to make some for our display. I love this idea, thanks for sharing!
These are lovely, I like that we can make something so beautiful while still being thrifty and eco-friendly!
I like how you make it easy for us to follow these steps. I can now make my own paper bag stars. Thank you!
Thses are so cool and I would have thought you bought them! I am pinning this one to my DIY Pinterest board so I ca try and amen them too! Looks so pretty by your tree!
These are super cool. I remember making paper snowflakes in elementary school too. I’ll have to make some this year.
These paper bag stars are so awesome. I love to make some Christmas decoration diy!