A Fun and Crafty Activity

Here's a non-sewing activity that the whole family can enjoy, and you can still have your hands in the fabric. Seasonal stars made with folds of fabric are just the ticket for some group fun.

I first saw these Scandinavian Stars while browsing through Pinterest several months ago. I liked the idea and thought others would, too. I cut a bunch of fabrics and took them to our August quilt retreat at Needles n Pines. We gathered around the dining table and made our stars, yet I have no pictures. It was night time; dark for quality pics.

When Frienzies rolled around in October, Susan had a fun Halloween activity for us (we like activities, don't we, Pam?). Immediately, I knew Scandinavian Stars would be our activity for November. 

Briefly, the October activity was making this jack-o-lantern out of a canning jar decorated with torn bits orange tissue paper and black construction paper. We Mod-Podged the paper onto the jar. Once dried, just pop in a battery-powered tea candle. Voila! There you have a really easy, re-usable pumpkin!

Now, back to the Scandinavian Stars. We had Frienzies at Sherrie's house, so I arranged with her to bring the supplies for making stars. She fixed up a little ironing station in her kitchen, and we sat around the dining table folding and making our stars.

Sherrie's pretty table ready for our luncheon. She is one of several Frienzies who have Fiesta dinnerware - always a festive table! After our meal, we cleared everything away for crafting.

Pam and Sherrie getting started.

Susan has a finish!

Two stars made.

The Frienzies showing off our stars.

Now, Frienzie Pam took this activity one step further. She prepared enough fabric for 10 stars and took it to her family's Thanksgiving Dinner. Late on Thanksgiving Day, she sent me some messages telling me how her family loved the activity - it was a BIG HIT!

Four generations of Pam's family are represented around this table showing off their completed stars. Love it! The youngest of the participants is Emma seated in the front right; she took to it straight away and ended up making two stars! Yay, Emma! Just goes to show you that this is an activity for any age. Pam says her Aunt Sandy is 80 and her niece Emma is 12. Fun for the whole family!

Pam's daughter Carly requested a Thanksgiving activity every year. I can see why, too. When you can have a project and still maintain conversations, then you have a winner! The Scandinavian Star is definitely a winner.

I have now made 8 stars. The first 4, as you can see, have jute hangers sewn on. These are the ones I made back in August at the quilt retreat. The remaining 4 await their hangers. Two are Christmas and two use 4 fabrics rather than 2. I think they would all look good on a tree or wreath. The fabric does not have to be matchy-matchy.  Great for scrap-busting!

If you are interested in making some stars for your Christmas decorating, the best way to learn how is to watch some YouTube videos. I found several that were helpful. The one I returned to repeatedly was this one by Erica Arndt, quite user friendly and short. 

I will link up with Kathy and her Slow Sunday Stitching party. Let me know if you try these stars! I sorta' feel like they could become addictive.

Happy Quilting, Friends!