Paper bag star craft party

How to make a paper bag star

Use your finished sample and the five photos to show each stage. Keep a practice bag nearby so you can demonstrate the glue placement without using a child’s counted stack.

1. Lay the first bag flat. Place it with the folded end toward you. Keep every bag facing the same way as you add it.
2. Add three glue-stick dots along the center line. Put one at the folded end, one in the middle and one near the open edge. Keep them within a strip about two fingers wide. Press the next bag on top, then repeat until you have eight bags. Check this glue pattern on your sample: the source does not specify the size of each dot, and the stack must hold together while its sides remain free to open.
3. Draw the cut shape on the top bag. Try a triangle point, a scalloped edge or a rounded petal. Follow the shape that worked on your sample rather than improvising the whole stack’s outline at the party.
4. Cut through the stack along the line. Help with the cut if a guest struggles to get through the layers. Do not assume that everyone can cut eight flattened bags comfortably.
5. Open the stack into a star. Pull the top bag to the right and the bottom bag to the left, bringing the two outside faces together. If it catches, check for glue holding the side edges shut rather than pulling harder.
6. Glue the final join. Run a glue-stick line over the two center faces where they meet and press them together for 30 seconds.

The original design describes an eight-bag, 16-point star and a six-bag, 12-point version. Check the shape and point count on your sample; the bag folds and outline you cut affect the finished design.

For children who would rather decorate prepared pieces, the washi tape butterfly station includes pre-cut wings for younger guests and avoids a wet-paint drying step.

Set up the cutting table and drying area

Arrange the work in three stages: stack and cut, paint and dry, then punch and string. Leave a two-seat space beside the cutting table for opening the stacks and making the final join. That space is part of assembly, not another activity to supervise.

Put four scissors and the glue caddy at the four cutting seats. Tape the five sample photos where guests can see them. Call the next child when a stack moves to the fanning space; do not fill a cutting seat before there is room to put the finished work down.

At the paint area, label every cardboard flat before the stars arrive. Write down the time each child finishes painting. The last star needs the same drying allowance as the first, even if the rest of the group has moved on.

Allow about 45 minutes for the source’s thin gold-edge coat, then use the result from your own sample to adjust the plan. Before handling a painted star, gently touch an edge: paint should not transfer to your fingertip. Check each star rather than treating the first dry one as proof that the batch is ready.

Put the hole punch and string at a separate clear bench. Keep scraps out of that area and allow a two-minute sweep after each cutting group.

During the drying pause, guests could draw, eat at another table or decorate their sleeves. The sleepover craft ideas include bookmarks and folded cards if you want a simple paper activity. Avoid adding another project that needs the same scissors or adult help at the busiest moment.

For a later winter party, the paper gingerbread house guide offers assembly and preparation notes. It does not include a measured cutting template, so you would need separate pieces or a template before using it as another build.

Hang the stars and pack them for home

Once a star is dry, punch one hole near the tip of a top point. Thread a 12-inch length of cotton string through it and knot the ends to make a hanging loop. This is a 12-inch piece of string before knotting, not a finished loop measuring 12 inches.

Hang the stars at three heights on a tension rod, or tape their loops to a window. If you want everyone to help with the display, reserve an extra ten minutes after drying and before packing. Take the stars down before parents arrive so you are free to greet them.

Slide each dry star into a named cardboard sleeve between two flat sheets. Try this with the sample first to check how the star sits in the sleeve without forcing its points. Pack the stars before coats go on, and gather the offcuts into the scrap bin.

The finished star can be the favor. The birthday party favor guide explains how to count take-home items and packaging without adding the craft supplies to the budget twice.

Other crafts to consider

Choose another main project if the star’s cutting or drying steps do not fit the guests and help you have. You do not need to run all these alongside it.

• For a working paper toy: the paper pinwheel station combines folding and cutting with a wind test. It needs an adult-run pinning step, so read that preparation before choosing it.
• For an animal to decorate: the cardboard animal station uses prepared bodies and a standing test. Prepare those bodies ahead rather than expecting to cut them while supervising stars.
• For a shared display: cardboard collage houses gives guests pre-cut houses to decorate and arrange as a street.
• For filling and tying instead of cutting stacks: the sock caterpillar station has a filling area, yarn ties and a separate face-drying step.
• For a paper character: the paper monster activity starts with prepared folded bodies and adds arms, eyes and other features. Use prepared parts if you want to avoid another cutting queue.

The broader craft party ideas guide can help you compare projects by their finished object and the preparation each one needs.