25 festive decorations
for every occasion
By Karen-Marie Fabricius
Guild of Master Craftsmen Publications, Ltd., March 2017
Paperback, £12.99
ISBN 978-1-78494-337-0
Star rating (very appropriate!): ****
This delightful new title from Danish papercrafter Karen-Marie Fabricius will surely brighten
your crafting day. In Denmark, paper stars are part of the festive tradition.
Making paper stars is Karen-Marie’s pet project – and in this title, she shares
her star-making know-how with you – folded, papercut, woven and most
prominently, stars fashioned using a quilling comb. The stars would make superb
party decs – birthdays, weddings, anniversaries
– and come into their own at
Christmastime, of course.
The Woven Star
section contains some designs you may be familiar with – the 3-D Froebel Star, made out of woven paper
strips, popular mini Lucky stars
(wishing stars), Swing Star (curled
segments, in strips). The Origami section contains pleasing modular designs – Faaborg is a swirl of interlocking
elongated triangles, Svendborg is a
mind-boggling modular origami 3-D extravaganza. Many of these stars provide
good opportunities for using mixed prints – always a cheerful option. The kirigami section is perhaps the weakest
(it is the least 3-D), but here you will find the neat idea of using two
interlocking shapes to construct the finished star.
The Quilling Stars
are splendid. Fabulous filigreed extravaganzas. There are excellent
construction step-by-steps for these (and all the projects in the book) – so you
can create the stars in a methodical manner. Foolproof! Some of the stars use
only the quilling comb, others use comb plus conventional quilling tool. Some
are purely geometric, others are shaped into graceful organic curves.
The author had thought of everything – she has even included
a tutorial on how to magic your own quilling comb out of paper and cocktail
sticks, should the need (or inclination) arise. And, at the back of the book,
are handy templates with grids and concentric circles, for keeping your stars
on track.
Each section has a welcoming intro blurb – hygge – in which the author shares her
personal take on the projects to come. A sprinkling of historical info, some
personal reminiscences, suggestions for project end-use. Nicely done, and very
Scandinavian on-trend .:)
Note: I was given a review copy of this title.
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