Parol Star

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The stars have aligned! The parol star is a Filipino Christmas decoration symbolizing hope and the triumph of light over darkness. This traditional craft using flexible wood strips and beautiful, decorative papers is easy and fun, and will certainly bring warmth and light to any holiday décor.

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Instructions

  1. Cut 10 basswood strips to the same length. The longer they are, the bigger your star will be.
  2. Join two strips together with a rubber band. Repeat this pairing and banding until all but two strips are banded.
  3. Join two banded strips together on the opposite, open ends. Gently them pull open, creating a “W” shape. Cross the outer ends of the “W” over the center. Use a single strip of basswood to join both remaining un-banded ends of the shape.
  4. Repeating Step 3, create a second, identical star.
  5. Stack the star shapes together. Loosely band each of the five points, joining the top and bottom star together.
  6. Use the star as a template to trace the exact pattern on decorative paper and cut it out. Repeat this process so you have two pieces of paper and set them aside until Step 10.
  7. Cut five pieces of basswood about 1/5 the length of the pieces from Step 1. These pieces will become spacers between the two star frames.
  8. Gently pull the stars apart in the center. Glue one spacer in each of the five corners of the hexagon shape in the center of the star.
  9. Trace a single inner triangle of the star to use as a template. Cut 10 triangles from decorative paper.
  10. Cover the star with decorative paper and glue it in place.
  11. Optionally, add a light inside before covering the back. Leave a section of paper open for easy access if needed.