How to Make a Star: Amazing DIY Wall Decor

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Inside: With just a few supplies you can transform a star used for yard art to your own DIY wall decor. Jump into this fun DIY craft project and adorn your walls with your own personality.

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Making my own wall decor

A few years ago I found a rustic tin star at a garage sale for a couple of bucks. It was cute enough on its own but I wanted to spruce it up and make my own wall decor.

With just some scrapbook paper and mod podge, I loved how it turned out so much, it was the first decor I hung up in my newly painted bedroom.

While I didn’t save before pictures of the star, I flipped it over so you can see it the material beforehand and how it looked after.

Recently while at Micheals I came across a wooden star and with my 40% coupon thought I’d try the same technique on a different medium. And the results were awesome!

How to make a star DIY wall decor

Supplies

Wooden Star or Metal or Tin Star – either type you can find at a craft shop. Any size will work but ideally, the side of one leg of the star won’t be any bigger than your paper so you don’t have to cut and overlap your paper. My stars were between 18-24 inches in diameter.
Mod Podge
Glitter Mod Podge (not pictured)
4-6 scrapbook papers that are color coordinated. I love the colors and patterns in DCWV Glittered and Foiled, Blossoms and Butterflies. Regardless of what kind of paper you use, make sure to use heavy cardstock.
Sandpaper
Paintbrushes

Step – by – step instructions

1. Make a template

Create a template for each side of the star. I used lightweight scrapbook paper to create the template. Lay the paper along one side of the star and score all three edges. You may be tempted to lay the star down on the paper and trace it with a pencil. But this won’t work, your template won’t be big enough.

Cut your template out then make sure it covers one side of the star. Flip both sides and ensure it fully covers both sides. It can overlap, you just don’t want it to be too small.

Flip your pretty scrapbook paper upside down and begin tracing your template with a pencil and cutting it out. Make sure to flip your template upside down when tracing so you can get both sides of the star.

If that doesn’t make sense – just start with one then lay out your pieces on your star. Alternate colors and patterns. If possible, cut out extra so you can play around with the color and pattern scheme.

2. Glue the paper to the star

Layout the cardstock on your star in the pattern you like. Don’t worry at this point if the cardstock is a little big and overlaps.

Regardless if you have a wooden or tin star, mod podge works great for this craft.

Taking it one section at a time, paint a generous amount of mod podge on the star and the paper, then adhere the paper to the star. Press down on the corners.

Continue to work around the star on all sides. If you’ve never worked with mod podge before here are a few things to know:

- dries quickly
- it’s sticky but go ahead and get your fingers involved
- dries clear
- when working with it, it appears to leaves streaks but when it dries all the streaks disappear
- it’ll quickly become your favorite glue

Your paper will overlap on the sides, center, and hang off on the bottom sides. You may be tempted to cut this, but it won’t look good. We will sand this down in the next step.

3. Sand the star sides

Once the mod podge has completely dried, it’s time to sand down all the seams. Using the sandpaper, sand down all corners, ends, and seams until they are smooth and white.

Note: if you have the opposite problem at this point, and have space in between the paper and you can see the seams – no problem! Go ahead and sand down the paper you do have. Then use a colored sharpie along all the seams to enhance the color of your seams. If you scroll back to the top of this post for the rustic, blue star I made a few years ago, you’ll see I enhanced all the seams with a brown sharpie for this reason.

Glitter, gloss, shine

Shake off all the dust from the sanding of the prior step. Get out a clean paintbrush and glitter mod podge.

Don’t hold back here as you add the finishing touches to your DIY star wall decor. Remember it will dry clear without streaks. Paint the whole star then let it dry completely before hanging. And that’s it!

Personalize it

Because of the bright colors and cheerful flowers of the paper, I chose to hang my newest star outside on my covered porch. This DIY wall decor would also make a fun gift – personalize it with the colors you know a loved one would enjoy.