DIY Christmas Decorations: Decopatch Stars

As I write this post, I am becoming everything that I hate; My pet peeve is when I see a really great DIY tutorial that I want to get stuck in to straight away, only to realise that everything you need for it won't be found lying around the house. Who has time to go all the way to the store when there is serious crafting to be done?! So, I apologise for the fact that you probably won't be able to find all the things needed for this tutorial in your kitchen cupboard. However, if you are thinking of making some Christmas decorations this year I highly recommend taking a big trip to your local craft shop (or logging on to eBay) and filling up a basket full of stuff so that when you feel that creative urge to make something Christmassy, you'll already have everything you need!

This is my second post in my "DIY Christmas Decorations" series, and it was the one I was most nervous about. I've never tried Decopatch before and quite honestly I'm still not really sure what it is. I didn't look at any tutorials so I just found myself PVA'ing decopatch paper on to paper mache stars (Spoiler alert: I've just summed up the whole tutorial for you in one sentence).

I only made 5 of these stars, but there are lots of these paper mache shapes available; hearts, Christmas trees, candy canes, baubles etc. You could buy lots of different shapes and decorate them all with different patterned paper to create some continuity on your tree!

 You will need: Paper mache stars (I bought mine on eBay, but you can get them at most craft stores) // Tissue or decopatch paper // PVA glue // Paint brushes.

 Firstly, tear up your paper in to small bits. You'll need a base colour and a pattern to go on top.

Paint glue all over the star. Remember to keep a bowl of warm water next to you so that you can soak the paintbrush after!

 Start to place bits of paper on to the star, painting over them with PVA to secure them in place.

 Once the whole star is covered, prop it up to dry.

Next, take your patterned paper and start to glue bits of it on to the star, in the same way as the base layer. I had an opaque sheet and a rather see-through sheet, so I chose to layer them on top of each other. 

 As you can see, with just the opaque layer it looks pretty naff...

... But layering the see-through bits over the top helps to seal the whole thing together. 

 I also chose to do some with just the more see-through decopatch paper, as this created quite a rustic feel. 

Are you enjoying this series? Have you made any Christmas decorations this year?
KJ xo