Venla’s paper stars sometimes reveal a Freudian slip: “You might even surprise yourself”

Venla Moisala has been cutting paper stars ever since she learned to use scissors as a child. Making these stars is the first thing Venla does to begin her Christmas preparations. She pulls out scissors and paper by early December at the latest. Her nimble fingers are able to create patterns that range from animals to fantasy creatures.

How do you create your paper stars?

I use regular A4 copy paper, kitchen scissors, and Fiskars nail scissors, just like I did as a kid. It’s a wallet-friendly hobby. Sometimes, for more intricate designs, I wish I had a cutting mat and a scalpel. In the future, I’d like to work with larger sheets of paper, and then kitchen and nail scissors won't be enough. But for now, they’ve worked well.

Sometimes I’ll brew a cup of mulled wine, put on Christmas music, and start cutting. Before the holidays, I’ve also shared this craft with my colleagues at work. During our morning coffee breaks, I show them how to cut various patterns.

How many paper stars do you have so far? Where do you keep them?

In my lifetime, I’ve probably cut at least 300–400 stars for myself, as gifts, or as decorations at work. I keep about twenty paper stars tucked between books on my bookshelf.

Paper stars make wonderful Christmas gifts, and I often send them along with holiday cards. Recently, I’ve also started making them on commission. It’s tough to set a price, because I actually just want to give them away to everyone. Maybe I’ve asked for too little.

These days, my stars go beyond Christmas themes, so you can hang them in a window anytime. When placed close together, they look a bit like lace curtains and also serve as a light curtain and screen. I usually store my paper stars in books over the summer to keep them neat.

We moved to an old wooden house this summer. Its windows are quite visible to passersby, and paper stars really bring out the charm of a house that’s over a hundred years old. I love having so many extra windows to decorate with stars.

How much planning does this work require?

I often consider which patterns are symmetrical, how things look as mirror images, and how I can create light and shadow with the paper or its cutouts.

I’ve never followed patterns from elsewhere; I figured them out on my own. I’ve drawn and painted my whole life, which I believe honed my spatial and visual skills. The main thing is not to rush, because that drains creativity.

I typically don’t sketch with a pencil first; after folding the paper and thinking for a moment, I just start cutting. Mistakes rarely happen. Sometimes my hand slips and the figure loses its head or some other crucial piece.

You can design a pattern so it stays in the paper or is formed by the openings you cut out. I usually like to combine both. When it’s dark outside, the pattern shows up because the light from indoors highlights the shapes in the paper. When it’s bright outside and dark inside, the holes draw attention, and the paper stands out dark against the light sky. That way, the paper can reveal entirely new images.

Your paper crafts have become something of a social media phenomenon. How did that happen?

About a decade ago, I posted my paper stars for the first time. In the lead-up to Christmas, I asked followers which designs they wanted me to cut. Nowadays, people look forward to the day they can request a design. I’ll get a hundred suggestions in no time, and I can’t possibly do them all.

I’m not always in the mood for intricate patterns. Sometimes I just pick up the scissors and start cutting without a plan. As I work, I come up with new ideas. You can even surprise yourself.

Sometimes I’ve ended up with faces or slightly risqué shapes purely by accident. Maybe those are my paper cutting Freudian slips!

Make a similar giant snowflake out of tissue paper with our instructions–check them out! [in Finnish]