DIY Moravian Star Tree Topper

Charlotte@Living Well on the Cheap  —  December 10, 2013 — 8 Comments

One of the projects I knew I wanted to tackle on this rainy weekend was a DIY tree topper. I didn’t know what kind, just that A) the cheap and glittery topper we’ve had for years has never really been my cup of tea and B) I didn’t feel like digging through boxes of Christmas decorations to look for it. I started googling and searching Pinterest on Saturday morning and before long found this tutorial and template and hatched a plan to put my own spin on it using materials I already had on hand.

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I’ve had this book of music for a while now. I found it at an estate sale and figured I could use the pages for some sweet project down the line and in the meantime it’s looked cute sitting on a shelf.

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I started by gently tearing out ten pages. A lot of them are Christmas carols, which was a happy accident.

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I printed the template and traced the lines with a sharpie to make them easier to see, then taped it up on a window so that I could trace it onto the pages.

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I was able to fit two templates on each page. As is my standard mode of operation, I threw perfection to the wind in this endeavor.

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Then I cut each one out, folded it along the lines, and used some double-sided tape to secure it into a pointed shape. I could have used glue, but the tape was handy.

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I realized after snapping this picture that there were only 19 points and I needed 20. I’d forgotten to cut one of them out!

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This is perhaps my favorite way to spend a weekend afternoon. Jack was napping, Nick was out, and I was free to sit and work on a project of my choosing while watching TED talks (this playlist is great and so inspiring!).

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I printed out the template for the base of the star on ivory cardstock, cut it out, and then after using a pair of scissors to score along the lines began to fold it into shape, using regular tape to secure it as I went. When it was almost finished I took a styrofoam ball that I already had (from shortening Jack’s mobile when he learned to stand. I just removed the yarn that had once covered it) and placed it inside the base before taping up the final side.

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Then I took two pieces of wire and jammed them each through an opening in the base and into the styrofoam ball.

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Next, I started using double-sided tape to adhere each point to a face of the base. The wires really made it easier to handle as the sides filled out.

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Ta-da! I’m glad I used ivory cardstock since so much of it shows between the points. It’s really not noticeable at all, even with the black lines along the folds.

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To secure it to the tree I just cut the top branch to a manageable height and then wrapped the two wires around it (one clockwise, one counterclockwise). I love it.

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I’m going to have to package it up carefully next month so that I can reuse it in years to come! I’m keeping things really simple this Christmas and was considering not even putting ornaments on the tree, but the more I look at it the more I’m itching to fill it in a little more. Hopefully I’ll find the time to get to that this week in between work and playdates and various appointments. I hope your Tuesday is not too dreary. It’s a damp and frigid 36º here in south Louisiana, but I hear that other parts of the country are expecting quite a bit of snow today with a big winter storm. What I would give to have a snow day!

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Charlotte@Living Well on the Cheap

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8 responses to DIY Moravian Star Tree Topper

  1. Bridget from Cali December 10, 2013 at 8:34 pm

    Your tree topper turned out terrific! Great project! Hope you get your snow day. We had a fresh fall day with beautiful blue skies in LA. I put on long sleeves and a light windbreaker over loose fitting capri pants to run errands today because it seemed cool here at 65′, but I actually roasted in the car with the sun beating down on me through the window in traffic. It’s been pretty brisk here since Thanksgiving. We got some snow in some lower elevations in surrounding mountain areas. We might actually have a true winter this coming season.

    • Charlotte@Living Well on the Cheap December 12, 2013 at 2:38 pm

      Thanks, Bridget! That’s how it often happens here in Louisiana-you think it’s a cold day until you spend some time in the sun!

  2. That is very cute!

  3. Very nice! I have written a book about these types of stars. It covers how to design the patterns for hollow centered (no core shape to glue points to… Just the points) it comes with printed patterns (for those who think cutting and folding and assembling is enough of a project) for 6 complete paper stars of different sizes. Paper star patterns are also available individually. I am holding a contest in 2014 for decorating these paper stars. The 6 patterns include 6, 8, 12, 20 (like the one shown here by Bridgette) and two 26 point (Moravian star and star of Bethlehem) Please check it out at How to Make Moravian Stars” - Thanks!

Trackbacks and Pingbacks:

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