This paper craft garland is something that I’d wanted to try after seeing a version for sale in Toast - a British high street clothing brand - last Christmas. It’s a simple but effective folded paper Christmas decoration that can be hung on its own along windows or shelving, or used as a base piece upon which to build other decorations around (such as ribbons and bows), along the fireplace mantel.

All you need to make this garland is the following:

Paper: wrapping paper or leftover wallpaper works well
A ruler and scissors, or a craft guillotine
Glue tape
Thin ribbon (2-3mm) or twine

For my garland, I chose to make a mix of both larger and smaller folder stars. To make the larger shapes, I used paper cut by 18cm x 12 cm; for the small, 10 cm x 8cm.

You’ll need two pieces the same size, both accordion folded. This entails folding over the paper on one side, then turning it over and folding on the reverse, repeating this rotation until the paper resembles a pleated bellow from an accordion instrument.

Once you have your two folded pieces of paper, bend each piece in the middle perfectly central, so the ends meet. Take your ribbon from the roll (don’t cut anything as yet), and, leaving a long enough piece in order to hang your garland, loop the ribbon around to join the two pieces of paper in a knot.

Once your paper is joined in the middle by the ribbon, take each end and shape it down with scissors. You can cut in a curve to create a petal-like effect at the edges, or a point for a sharper star-like edge.

You’ll then need some glue to attach each side of the paper to the next. I prefer to use Crafters Companion glue tape as it’s easy to use with no mess, but you can also use a glue stick. Make sure that your ribbon is positioned threading out the back of the garland before sticking down your edges.

You’ll need to repeat this method for every star on your garland. Make sure that you leave a big enough gap of ribbon between each star and keep tying the stars along until you are finished and you can cut your ribbon or thread.