Of course pre-made printable origami star designs are awesome (I wouldn't be making them if they weren't) but sometimes you want to give the printer a break, make something entirely new, or you just don't have one around for a while, like on the bus or at school. This post is about alternatives to printable star-folding-strips.
Design your ownThe templates with just empty lines that I have
on here aren't just for cutting lines on the back of continuous patterns. You can also use them to design your own strips. Just print a sheet of blank strips and get going with the crayons, paint, pens, glitter and everything else you ever wanted on an origami star.
I did this when I started out cutting my own strips, and it looked like
this (the stars you see on the right) and
this.
It was great fun to do, and you could end up with some interesting looking personalized origami stars.
RecycleI occasionally use old magazines and catalogs to fold stars from. They usually have lots of colors, and best of all, they are entirely free. Some flyers and magazines use really thin glossy paper that isn't too suitable to fold sturdy stars from, but after some experimenting you should have a feel for the kind of paper you can use. Just cut the page into strips, and there you are.