Your Complete Guide to Making Danish Christmas Stars

Whether you add them to your Christmas tree, attach them to presents or string into festive garland, these Danish Christmas Stars are my go-to holiday decor. They are a beautiful and easy way to add a homemade element to your celebrations. Follow along for our guide to making your own Danish Stars. You’ll quickly see why they are so fun and addicting to make!

Whether you have a time-honored tradition of taking the family out for a joyful afternoon of finding the perfect tree or forego the mess and upkeep of falling needles and daily watering for a reusable faux tree (as I have), a handmade ornament can transform your tree and bring an appreciation for slowing things down during the busy holiday season. There is nothing like a fun and festive DIY for handmade, holiday magic!

I frequented holiday craft shows in Seattle when I still resided there and fell in love with the handmade paper ornaments. This got me thinking: I should offer paper ornaments with my own patterns when I participated in holiday craft fairs as a seller.

At every holiday craft fair I participated in, my Danish paper stars would sell out the first day. Every night, despite being tired from standing in my booth all day, I’d spend hours that night making more stars for the next day’s event.

I noticed simpler patterns and colors show best on the stars. I have experimented using glitters, jewels, rhinestones and add-ons, but they never sold as well as the plain paper ones with no embellishments! The only thing I prefer to use now on mine is two-colored kitchen twine.

But don’t limit yourself! If your stars are fancier, try using a thin silk ribbon, or make your own fabric ribbon. If they are more rustic, use a rough twine or even thin leather cord.

I used to print my stars at home on thick card stock, but that gets so expensive so I sought out an alternative. Spoonflower’s Pre-Pasted Wallpaper is perfect for the job with just the right thickness!

How to Make Danish Paper Stars

Cut your wallpaper into two equal squares. For this tutorial I will be working with two 4″ paper squares, but you can experiment with different sizes!

On each square, fold the unprinted sides together at the corners and press the fold flat. Do this in both directions on each square so when the square lays open, you see two diagonal folds going corner to corner.

For the second fold, fold the straight edges to match each other, pattern side together – aka, hamburger and hotdog style. Repeat on both squares.

When the squares lay flat, you see fold lines going straight across on each side, plus the corner-to-corner folds. 

To make points that fold, you need to cut the square edges a bit. Using craft scissors, cut almost halfway in from the outside edge towards the center from the center lines only, not the corners! Each square will have four cuts. 

Next, lay the squares on their backs (printed side down) and carefully fold from the cut, towards the fold line, keeping the point in each corner.

Repeat on all four corners for each square. 

After they are folded, glue the folded point sides together so they hold their shape and give the stars that 3D look. I use Fabri-Tac because it has an almost-instant bond.

Fabric-Tac is a fabric glue, but I have been using it for my own handmade pop-up greeting cards for over 33 years. The glue is extremely strong with an instant bond that does not soak through or discolor the paper. I find the glue at my local fabric store, but you can also find it online. A hot glue gun also works!

To glue the points together, place glue on one side of each star point and fold in half so the two printed sides are touching. Squeeze tightly with your fingers to hold in place until the glue stars to dry.

Once your star points are glued together, it’s time to add your hanger! This step is crucial if you plan on using them as ornaments, but there are so many ways to use these stars. You could stick them to a wreath base, string them together as a garland or whatever else you can imagine – the opportunities are endless!

I use decorative cotton baker’s twine found in many fabric or craft shops. For my red gingham stars, the red and white twirly twine looks perfect. You only need one 11”-13” length of twine or ribbon per star. If your stars are smaller, cut a smaller length, etc., but make sure the ribbon or twine is at least longer than one point on the star!

Put a small dab of glue in each corner at the base of one point and lay the ends of the ribbon or twine in the glue and gently tamp the twine into the glue.

The final step is to attach your star halves. Add a dab of glue to each corner at the base of every point and put the other half of the star on top, with its points juxtaposed between the points of the other star half.

Hold it together gently for maybe 20-30 seconds – longer if you use a different glue that bonds slower.

After the glue bonds the sides together, let the stars dry over night so they are adhered permanently.  Then hang on your tree, attach as an embellishment to a wrapped present or attach to a door knob. 

If you want to make bunting or garland, glue ribbon or twine on two sides of each star, stringing each star along until you have reached your desired length.

I usually end up giving the stars to visiting friends and family, straight off my tree. If you come for tea and admire the ornaments, I will encourage you to take the one you love most for on your own tree. I usually end up with just twinkling lights on my tree by Christmas day! I makes me happy to know people admired my handmade craft so much, they saw no problem in denuding my tree!