Star Light Frames

Would you like to add photo frames and page accents like these to your scrapbook albums? They come in any of three sizes and are fairly simple to fold…especially after you fold the first one! You can make these stars in 9 easy folds out of a rectangle of paper. Your papers can be scraps or full sheets of paper. You choose the pattern paper designs you like! You choose the colors.

I love this Star technique because you can make anything from small page accents or ornaments all the way up to the largest frame which fits a 12x12 layout perfectly. I know you feel your family members are the STARS in your life. You are a star as well! So let's make up a few of these. I'll show you how step by step.

Finished measurements of the three stars shown are as follows:
Small:
- outer measurement is 3.25 inches diameter
- inner opening measurement is 1 inch diameter

Medium:
- outer measurement is 6.25 inches diameter
- inner opening measurement is 2 inches diameter and fits a small photo

Large:
- outer measurement is 11.25 inches diameter
- inner opening measurement is 3.5 inches diameter and fits a normal photo

Your materials will depend on which sized star you plan to create. I suggest starting with the medium star. It is the easiest to handle. Part of the charm of these stars is that there is a little white triangle showing around the inner circle. This contrast is formed by using patterned papers that have white backs. Do not use cardstock as it is generally too thick to fold into these shapes and has no contrast. Remember to use lightweight patterned papers for ease of folding.

for small star: 8 coordinating scraps of patterned lightweight scrapbook paper cut into 2x3 inch rectangles

for medium star: 8 coordinating scraps of lightweight scrapbook pattern paper cut into 4x6 inch rectangles

for large star: 8 coordinating pieces of patterned lightweight paper cut into 7.3 x 11 inch rectangles
(for this larger size I use 8 sheets of lightweight 8.5x11 paper sold in variety packs and cut it down to the width size I need.)

Each basic piece starts out looking like a rectangle and ends up looking like half of a folded boat. You join them all at the end of the process. Make 8 of them identical like this and set them aside until all eight are folded.

Step One: Cut your 8 Rectangles.
You can cut 8 coordinating rectangles in any size given above in the Materials section depending on the size frame you want to end up with.
2x3 or
4x6 (recommended to start) or
7.3x11

However, I recommend starting with 8 of the 4x6 sized rectangles which will make a medium star. This can be used as a page accent or a photo frame for a small photo like a charm or a wallet. (At the holidays, you can also make them out of foil gift wrap into tree ornaments! :)

Step Two: Fold it Horizontal
Lay the paper patterned side down on the table and fold it in half horizontally to mark the center and then open it up again flat. You will be mainly working with the backside of the patterned paper for much of the construction of the basic piece. In my figures shown here, my pattern paper is yellow and my backside of the paper is white.

Step Three: Fold it Vertical
Now fold the paper in half vertically. This marks the center. Open it up again.

Step Four: Fold the Top in Half Again
Now go back and fold only the top half in half horizontally again to mark it. Unfold it. The fold you just completed marks the paper for the second time horizontally.

Step Five: Fold that Top One More Time Horizontally.
Fold it so that the fold marks now the paper again horizontally. The flap you create is about 1/8 the total height of the paper.

Step Six: Bottoms Up
Now we go back to the bottom of the rectangle and fold up that bottom until it meets the flap at the top in step 5.

Step Seven: Lower that Top Down one Fold
Now fold the top down one notch further (on the fold line you made in step 4) so it looks like this. It will overlap a bit like a gum stick wrapper.

Step Eight: Fold the Top Half Backward
Flip that top section toward the back now. You will see white instead of pattern along the top now. Unfold the bottom half of the rectangle flat again so you can do the next triangle folds.

Step Nine: Triangle Fold 1
Fold the top right corner down to the (step 8) fold line. You should see a little triangle bit of the pattern paper now in the white as shown here.

Step Eleven: Fold that Bottom Up Again
Now that the two triangles are made, fold up that bottom again. It will look a little like a boxy ocean liner boat at this point.

Step Twelve: Half way Horizontal
Fold the basic piece in half vertically along the fold line created in step 3.

Then flip it over. This is the completed Basic Piece. You will need to go back to step 2 and create eight of them in total

The first basic piece folds may take you a few minutes to master. but once you learn it, the other rectangles will go quickly. After you learn it, you will be able to make the basic piece in under a minute each. When you get eight identical pieces done, you are ready to assemble the entire frame.

Insert
Insert the edges of the second basic piece into the top folds of the first. In my example below I am inserting a pale polka dot pattern basic piece into a yellow basic piece. I start pushing the edges of the second piece into the first one at an angle. The second piece slips behind the white triangle and under the pattern paper of the first piece. Don't force anything at this point. You just want to get it started.

Snug
Now I push the second piece into the first a little more snugly. Those little white triangles help guide me. When the white triangles meet, I stop pushing. We will make further adjustments later.

Keep Joining The Eight
Now I go on and continue adding my basic pieces in the same manner. I insert piece 3 into piece 2 and so on around.

Joining the Last One
This can get a little tricky. I usually think "Oh my how will it fit!" about this point. But it will. Go gently and guide it along as you did the others. It may look a little distorted or wavy like this at first.

Flatten
But just flatten it out by laying it on the table surface and gently push on it from above and from the sides to slightly get the pieces to settle into the right proportion.

You're DONE!! Hurray!
You can now either mat it or use it as is on a page. The 4x6 rectangles make a mat that will fit a 2 inch photo. Be sure to use a page protector over it so people don't try to take it apart and figure it out!

After you master the Basic Piece fold for the Star Light Frame, make a few more. They make great page additions, hostess gifts for swaps, page challenge rewards, and goodie bag items for cropping parties. Now that you know the basic fold, you can create the larger frame for a 12x12 page too. What a wonderful gift that would be for a grandmother or grandfather set into a frame! Your scrapping buddies will want to know how you did it! Everyone will ask you to teach them how to make them!

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Featured Scrapbooking Supplies (from Scrapbook.com):

EZ2Cut Shapemakers Cutting Templates

Mats and Frames Lesson from Scrap Tutor