Origami Star Resin Charm

 Recently while in Japan, I purchased a pack of origami paper strips with instructions to fold stars. HM Ben Franklin Crafts has for many years sold similar kits to make iridescent wishing stars to fill in a jar. The stars were easy to fold. I didn't include the cords that came with the kit because I wanted to use fancy braided ones with the metal findings.

Although the instructions were in Japanese, I was able to follow the numbers and complete the stars using 9-1/4" x 3/4" strips. This kit was convenient because the assorted strips of paper were already cut to the desired width. You can of course cut your own strips from large origami sheets purchased at our Celebrations store in Mapunanpuna. After folding the stars I brushed on LED resin (available on line from Padico). Because the curing time is so short (about 1 min.), it was easy to brush each top, bottom, and sides several time and set the resin.  (Work over parchment paper for easy clean up.)  Attaching the bell cap finding (from HM BFC resin department) is a little harder because it needs to balance on the very top of the star. I discovered that applying a small dot of resin on the top of the star and hardening it provides a good base to then attach the bell cap.  If the stars end up with some rough spots, you can smooth them out with a glass nail file.  I hope this post has encouraged you to try the new resin projects ( no messy mixing of resin chemicals). Just imaging all the resin projects you can create. Visit this site again to see more!