Domestic Mommies: Barn Stars on a Budget

Little Monkey has decided that he wants his room decorated to look like an old barn or garage (country decor, basically). That's easy enough for Daddy Monkey and I to handle, since we both like that type of stuff as well.

When he said 'barn', of course my first thought was barn stars! I'm sure we've all seen them. They range in price from about $10 to over $60. I've been wanting some for my front porch for a while now. Little Monkey loves them as well, but they are made of metal. Sharp, pointy and metal is NOT a good combination in a 4-year old's room! So I made it my mission to create some of my own, that wouldn't maim him if they fell off the wall, and for the lowest cost possible. I succeeded!

Yes, making them is a little more labor intensive (and messy) than running out to buy some, but well worth it in my opinion. They are lightweight and you can customize them to the exact size and color that you want.

Budget Barn Stars

Materials:

Corrugated cardboard (for star pieces)

Thick cardstock or thin cardboard (for making template)

Scissors

Marker

Hot glue and gun

Pliers

Pop tabs from soda can

Drywall joint compound or smooth paper

Fine grit sandpaper or cardboard nail file

Acrylic paints and brushes

Directions:

1. On cardstock or thin cardboard, draw an obtuse scalene triangle of desired size. (And you thought you'd never use that high school geometry class!), or in other words, a triangle with all 3 sides measuring different lengths and one angle that is greater than 90 degrees (see picture to left)

2. Using template, trace 5 triangles onto the corrugated cardboard (I used leftover shipping boxes that I had from people sending gifts to Baby Monkey), then flip the template to the reverse side and trace 5 more. This will be the body of the star.

3. Cut out all pieces and pair each up (1 right side and 1 reversed side), then glue the longest side together at a suitable angle (no specifics here, just go with what looks right). Make sure that the line of glue is towards the INSIDE of the star. Do this for all 5 pairs.

I hadn't glued it yet, but this is the inside portion.

4. To make star, glue all 5 pairs together on the longest sides into a star shape.

5. Using pliers, bend top of pop tab slightly and glue into place on inside of one of the star points.

6. Using the drywall compound, spread it onto all seams on the outside of star. Don't be afraid to get it thick, we'll fix it in the next step. Let dry completely. If you don't want to go through that much trouble, you could also use smooth paper (like copier paper) to "wrap" the star and cover the seams.

7. Take the sandpaper or file and smooth out the drywall compound. I personally used a small nail file and it worked wonderfully to get into all the tight areas. Dust off well.

8. Paint in desired color, or for a more rustic appearance you can paint the seams a rust color, let dry, then paint with the main color and gently wipe off any areas that you want the "rust" to show as you go. Let dry and hang up by the pop tab.